Larry Fogg Travels - Notes Home

July 2024
Svalbard, Norway

Travel Notes

After visiting Svalbard, Norway, in 2018 while on the last Holland America PRINSENDAM polar voyage, I wanted to return to Svalbard on an expedition voyage. I was looking into several expedition voyages when I came across a 2023 Svalbard circumnavigation expedition voyage offered by Atlas Ocean Voyages. When I tried to book the voyage, only suite cabins remained available. I continued to receive offers from Atlas. When the 2024 eleven night Svalbard Circumnavigation Expedition Voyage became available I booked a cabin. Although I originally booked for Jan to accompany me, she suggested that I take my grandson, Asher, instead of her. I made the necessary booking arrangements for Asher and me to take the journey together.

Asher and I arrived at Oslo, Norway, on Sunday evening, 14 July, and took a bus from the airport to the Thon Hotel Bristol in the city center. After checking into the hotel, we walked to a nearby fast food restaurant that was still open on Sunday evening. The next morning we met Rob Kendall and Tony Holmes from Texas during breakfast at the hotel. Rob and Tony, who had been on both the Aranui5 Marquesas Islands voyage and the Churchill, Canada, polar bear weekend trip, would accompany us on this trip. In addition, Todd and Jay, two friends of Rob and Tony, would also join us for the voyage. Asher and I spent Monday, 15 July, resting up after the long flights from Los Angeles to Oslo.

On Tuesday morning, 16 July, we met Rob and Tony in the hotel lobby and took a taxi to the Oslo International Airport to board the SAS flight chartered by Atlas to fly us to Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, and begin the expedition voyage aboard the Atlas WORLD VOYAGER expedition vessel. After arriving at Longyearbyen, our checked baggage was transferred to the ship while we were taken on a bus tour to see the last remaining coal mine at Longyearbyen and see the World Seed Bank. After a short bus ride through Longyearbyen, we were taken to the ship.

We settled into our stateroom with a balcony. We were then fitted for our arctic parkas and boots loaned to us for the voyage, and shown where our designated locker was located in the Expedition Room (commonly referred to as the “mud room”). Later we performed the required safety drill at our muster station and the Mandatory AECO Briefing. There were approximately 130 passengers on board and each passenger was assigned to one of the following six groups: Belugas, Reindeers, Terns, Seals, Bears, and Strawberries. The six of us were assigned to the Belugas. During the first afternoon on board, Rob arranged with the Maitre D’ to reserve the same table for the six of us situated in a corner of the Madeira dining room for the first seating every evening of the voyage. After cocktails and music in the Atlas Lounge, we enjoyed our first dinner aboard the ship. Later that evening, we experienced our first day of 24 hour sunshine which would last for the duration of the voyage. Breakfast and lunch would be buffet style in the Madeira dining room.

We began our first expedition on the morning of Wednesday, 17 July, with a port visit at Ny-Alesund (New Alesund). It is a research station located on the Kongsfjord and is where several arctic explorers launched expeditions to try to reach the North Pole. Both Admiral Byrd of the USA and Roald Amundson of Norway launched their successful North Pole Expeditions from Ny-Alesund. The passengers disembarked by groups and the Belagus were accompanied by an expedition guide through the town to a polar bear warning sign and the tower that was used for airship flights toward the North Pole before being given some free time to visit the farthest north post office and the historical museum. Since this was my second visit to Svalbard, I took minimal photos. My prior Svalbard photos can be seen on my Larry Fogg Travels website at “Polar Ice Voyage - July 2018.”

The 17 July afternoon expedition was a Zodiac expedition by groups near Sobblegrotta where we became accustomed to riding in the Zodiacs and saw numerous Arctic Terns and some Puffins.

The 18 July morning expedition was a Zodiac landing at the Lloyd Hotel, a landmark within the beautiful fjord of Möllerfjorden, which is the eastern arm of the two arms of Krossfjorden. The area is known for its magnificent scenery that includes high peaks and glaciers that calve into the fjord. The Lloyds Hotel is a small cabin painted in bright orange. Atlas provided expedition guides for two hikes here: a long hike and a short hike both starting near the Lloyds Hotel cabin.

The 18 July afternoon excursion was a landing at Signehamma, an area of natural beauty far into the fjord of Krossfjorden. Here lie the remains of a German weather station from World War II. After landing, Atlas again provided for two hikes: a long hike to the weather station remains and a short hike along the beach. I opted for the shorter hike. After the hike, our Zodiac cruised past the bird cliff where Brünnich’s guillemots jump off the cliff with their chicks at the end of July and beginning of August. After the landing expeditions returned to the ship, the ship sailed past the Lilliehook Glacier which is approximately seven kilometers wide.

On Friday morning, 19 July, we arrived at the Arctic Polar Icecap and sailed part way into the pack ice. The polar ice cap is stunning and, since I was not able to see it during the 2018 cruise, I was overjoyed to actually see it on this voyage. After backing out of the pack ice and sailing through the floating chunks of sea ice to the outer perimeter, Atlas offered Zodiac rides along the outer edge of the smaller floating sea ice chunks. Later in the day, the ship turned into the sea ice where all passengers assembled around the bow observation deck for a voyage group photo.

On Friday afternoon, we left the polar sea ice and sailed past the little archipelago of Sjuøyane (the seven islands), with its characteristically hat-shaped mountains en route to Storøya. During dinner, while en route to Storøya, several guests were fortunate to see a polar bear swimming in the ocean as the ship passed beside it. We arrived at Storøya on 20 July for our morning excursion landing. Storøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago. It is located east of Nordaustlandet, separated from Nordaustlandet by the strait of Storøysundet. The southern part of the island is covered by the glacier Storøyjøkulen. Storøya is included in the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve. Its highest point is about 250 meters above sea level. Atlas arranged for two hikes after landing on the island: a long hike up a glacier and a shorter hike to the base of the glacier ice. I took the shorter hike and saw polar bear tracks as well as a partial skull of a polar bear before taking a Zodiac back to the ship.

The 20 July afternoon excursion was a Zodiac cruise off the coast of Kvitøya. Kvitøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of 682 square kilometres (263 square miles). It is the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Russian Arctic possession, Victoria Island, lies only 62 kilometres (39 miles) to the east of Kvitøya. The island is almost completely covered by Kvitøyjøkulen, an ice cap with an area of 705 square kilometers (272 square miles) with a classical, hourglass-shaped dome, which has given it its name. The few ice-free land areas are each only a few square kilometers large and very barren and rocky, the largest being Andréeneset on the southwest corner of the island. Kvitøya is a part of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve. From our Zodiac, we were able to observe a group of walruses swimming off of the coast. In addition, I was able to photograph two polar bears walking along the shore.

The 21 July morning excursion was a Zodiac cruise along Alkefjellet. Alkefjellet is a cliff in Lomfjordhalvøya in Ny-Friesland at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Alkefjellet is a bird cliff facing towards Hinlopen Strait. Alkefjellet (‘mount guillemot’) is the nesting location for over 60,000 breeding pairs of Brünnich’s guillemots. The cliffs are made of basalt columns up to 100 meters high, interspersed with a dark layer – a dolerite intrusion. The molten rock, as it intruded, caused the limestone in the contact zone to re-crystalize and form marble. The cliff was stunning in the morning light and proved to be a highlight of the trip.

The 21 July afternoon excursion was a Zodiac cruise along the front of Etonbreen. Etonbreen is a glacier on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The glacier debouches into Wahlenbergfjorden. It is named after Eton College. The Norwegian Polar Institute and the University of Oslo collaborate to take mass balance measurements on Etonbreen, an arm of Austfonna. Austfonna is the largest ice cap in Svalbard and has been monitored using a weather station and annual mass balance measurements since 2004. This glacier was massive with a vertical face extending the entire width of the glacier. There were numerous melt water waterfalls emanating from the glacier face. The Zodiac cruises also went among the icebergs that were floating away from the calving glacier.

The 22 July morning excursion was a Zodiac landing at Palanderbukta. Palanderbukta is a fjord or bay in Gustav Adolf Land at Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, a southern bay of Wahlenbergfjorden. The bay is named after Swedish naval officer Louis Palander. Palanderbukta has a length of about twelve nautical miles. Southwest of the bay is the peninsula Scaniahalvøya, with the ice caps Glitnefonna and Vegafonna. Atlas provided two guided hikes: a long hike and a short hike. I opted for the short hike, and our Zodiac driver took us for a cruise in front of the adjacent glacier. The 22 July afternoon excursion was a Zodiac landing at Ardnesset. Ardneset is situated on the southwest corner of Wahlbergøya and was inhabited by a large pod of walruses both on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Atlas landed the Zodiacs approximately 500 meters away from the walruses, and we hiked toward the pod on the beach. We were able to take wonderful photos of the walruses, both on the beach and in the water. This was another highlight of the expedition.

The 23 July morning expedition was a Zodiac cruise along Brsvellbreen. Brsvellbreen is a glacier in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The glacier is a 45 kilometer long streaming southwards from the ice dome Sørdomen of Austfonna, debouching into the sea on the south coast. In the late 1930s it was observed that the glacier had exhibited a recent huge surge, forming a ten kilometer long tongue into the sea. This glacier, representing 13% of the total surface of Austfonna, is well known in the Arctic for its spectacular waterfalls and glacial streams. The Zodiacs cruised not only in front of the gigantic glacier vertical wall of ice but also among the icebergs in the water drifting away from the glacier. This was another highlight of the expedition.

The 23 July afternoon excursion was a Zodiac landing at Vibebukta. Vibebukta is a bay at the shore of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The bay is named after hydrographer Andreas Vibe. It lies between Gustav Adolf Land and the glacier Bråsvellbreen. According to the literature, in the upper Carboniferous / lower Permian, near 300 million years ago, Spitsbergen was near the equator. Back then, animals including brachiopods, corals, and bryozoa (sponges) lived in these warm, shallow shelf seas. Today, some of the rocks in Vibebukta are full of fossils of this ancient marine life. During the Atlas guided hikes, people spent time near the shore looking for fossils. I remained on the ship during this excursion.

The 24 July morning excursion at Sundneset was cancelled because the sea was too rough for safe Zodiac travel. The ship continued on to the scheduled Zodiac cruising excursion at Kapp Lee. Kapp Lee is the northwesternmost point of Edgeøya, a southeastern island in the Svalbard archipelago. Three huts are located on this headland, one of which is known as Karosaelen, “the carousel,” for its octagonal shape. Built by trappers in 1904, this hut lies next to two others that were built in the 1960s as outposts for oil explorations. Since the excursion scouting team observed a distant polar bear on the side of a mountain, the excursion was limited to Zodiac cruising. Since I had decent polar bear photos from the 20 July Kvitøya Island excursion, I stayed on the ship for this excursion. Asher went on a Zodiac with Rob and Tony and was able to see his first polar bear in the wild.

The 25 July morning excursion was a Zodiac landing at Boltodden. The bay Kvalvågen is on the east coast of Spitsbergen, and Boltodden is part of the Kvalvågen area. Boltodden is known for dinosaur footprints. Dinosaur footprints, approximately 30 centimeters in length from the cretaceous Iguanodon, a vegetation dinosaur species, have been found here. Since the terrain was described as very rocky, and since I had seen dinosaur footprints at other places during my travels, I opted to stay on the ship during this excursion.

The 25 July afternoon activity was the polar plunge off a platform of the ship. Since Rob, Tony, and I had previously taken a polar plunge in Antarctica, we watched Asher take the plunge here. As an extra incentive for Asher to take the polar plunge, Tony purchased an “I Survived the Arctic Polar Plunge” t-shirt at the Atlas gift shop and gave it to Asher.

The 26 July morning excursion was a choice of a Zodiac landing and hike along the beach at Hansbreen or a Zodiac cruise in front of the glacier. Hansbreen is a glacier in Wedel Jarlsberg Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It covers an area of about 64 square kilometers and has a length of 15 kilometers. The glacier is located north of Hornsund and approaches the sea near Isbjørnhamna. It is named after Austrian nobleman Hans Rafael Wilczek. The glacier has been subject for studies of climatic effects, as one out of four selected glaciers at Svalbard. While others landed on the beach and hiked toward the glacier, I opted for the Zodiac cruise and was the only person besides the driver on the Zodiac. With a walrus surfacing next to the Zodiac, my solo Zodiac cruise was wonderful and provided amazing photo opportunities.

The 26 July afternoon excursion was a Zodiac cruise at Burgerbukta. Hornsund is a fjord on the western side of the southernmost tip of northern Norway's Spitsbergen island and Burgerbukta is a bay in the north of Hornsund. The coastline of Hornsund is diversified, with a number of bays at the mouths of mountainous glacial valleys. Some of these bays have appeared as late as the beginning of the last century due to recession of glaciers. Since I had completed a marvelous solo Zodiac cruise in the morning, I opted to remain on the ship and enjoy photo opportunities from the ship.

The evening of 26 July was a final recap and guest slide show of special moments for the passengers before the final dinner. After dinner, guests packed up their checked baggage to be placed outside the cabin doors by 7:00 AM the following morning.

On Saturday morning, 27 July, we disembarked from the ship and boarded buses that took us to a local shopping mall with free time until time to reboard the buses. The buses then took us to the airport where we located our baggage and checked into our Enter Air charter flight back to Oslo. Back at Oslo, Asher and I took a taxi to the Thon Hotel Vika Atrium. I had visited the Viking Ship Museum while in Oslo in 2014. Although it was closed for renovations this time, my prior photos can be seen on my Larry Fogg Travels website at “Norway - February 2014.”

On Sunday morning, 28 July, we met up with Rob and Tony to visit the Norway Historical Museum. After touring the historical museum, we took a Museum Island ferry to visit the Fram Museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum, and the Maritime Museum. Since I had previously visited these museums in 2014, I took minimal photos. My prior photos can also be seen on my Larry Fogg Travels website at “Norway - February 2014.”

We first visited the Kon-Tiki where the original balsa wood raft is on display. Thor Heyerdahl gained worldwide fame when he crossed the Pacific Ocean from Peru to French Polynesia on KON-TIKI in 1947. The film about the expedition, which won an Oscar in 1951, is screened every day at noon. Heyerdahl also had spectacular expeditions on the reed boats Ra and Tigris. The vessel Ra II is also on display at the museum. Ra II was a reed boat that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados in 1970. In addition, the museum has a nice exhibit about Easter Island.

The next stop was at the Fram Museum, which houses the FRAM, the most famous ship in polar history. It is known for expeditions to the North and South Poles and can be toured by visitors to the museum. In an adjacent building, connected by an underground tunnel, the museum houses GJOA, the first ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. The museum exhibits document polar exploration expeditions and includes spectacular models of FRAM icebound, aircraft and airships, a theater, and a polar activity center.

Our last stop of the day was a visit to the Norwegian Maritime Museum. It emphasizes ship building, maritime history, art, and archaeology. We took the ferry back to the city center ferry port. Later that evening, we met Rob and Tony at the Cathedral Café for dinner before saying goodbye and thanking them for being super traveling companions on this trip.

On Monday, 29 July, Asher and I walked to the Munch Museum to enjoy the art of the Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch. His 1893 work “The Scream” has become one of Western art’s most acclaimed images. The highlight of the museum was the opportunity to see three of the four existing original paintings of The Scream. The museum is huge with 12 floors plus a rooftop café. After touring the museum, we visited the Oslo Deichman Bjorvika Public Library which was announced in 2021 to be the world’s best new public library by the International Federation of Library Associations. We walked back from the library to the hotel and rested before going to dinner.

On Tuesday, 30 July, we took a taxi to the airport and boarded our flights back home to Los Angeles. Despite Atlas having lost its cruise director the day before the expedition began and looking past some organizational and expedition time management issues, the trip was delightful. In my opinion, however, based upon many years of travel, while Atlas Voyages was a better on-board ship experience, the Europa and Aranui expedition voyages were better managed.

See pictures from Svalbard

See pictures from Thailand and Singapore

May 2024
Thailand and Singapore

Travel Notes

In July 2023, I came across a bargain airfare round trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Singapore Airlines with a connecting flight from Singapore to Chiang Mai via Scoot Airlines. I booked the flights for May 2024 and subsequently arranged to modify the itinerary to spend three days in Chiang Mai which I had visited numerous times before. I would spend the remainder of the time in Singapore before returning home. I flew nonstop on Singapore Airlines and arrived in Singapore on 4 May. Since I had a 23-hour layover in Singapore, I stayed one night at the Singapore Airport Crowne Plaza Hotel. Although Scoot Airways is a budget airline affiliated with Singapore Airlines, it offered advanced seat purchase options and a “Book Me First” option which I immediately purchased to ensure space for my hand-carry cabin luggage.

I arrived at Chiang Mai early afternoon on 5 May and took a taxi to the Chiang Mai Marriott hotel. After getting a snack at the Marriott Club Lounge, I spent the remainder of the afternoon resting up from the travel from Los Angeles to Chiang Mai. Since I had Marriott lounge privileges, I ate delicious buffet breakfasts and dinners in the lounge.

Chiang Mai is the biggest city in northern Thailand and the second largest city in Thailand. It replaced Chiang Rai as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. King Mangrai founded Chiang Mai during 1296 CE. His son, Chai Songkhram, succeeded him as king in 1311 CE, and his dynasty ruled the Lanna Kingdom for more than two centuries.

On 6 May, I decided to visit the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Chiang Man, which I had visited on my first trip to Chiang Mai more than 30 previously. It was built during 1297 CE and King Mangrai moved there when he started construction of old Chiang Mai City. He used the temple to camp and oversee the building process. Everything about Chiang Mai and its culture began with Wat Chiang Man.

I was most interested in photographing the Wat Chiang Mai Chedi, the oldest structure in the complex. Wat Chiang Mai Chedi also holds the hair of a Buddha inside the chamber. Visitors are not allowed to walk up the stairs or enter the chedi. The architectural design originates from Sri Lankan and Lanna styles. The square foundation supports the gray stone second tier. The second tier is surrounded by 15 elephants that look like they are emerging from within. The elephants serve as representatives of the idea that they are the guardians of the relics that the chedi holds. The top of the chedi is a beautiful golden stupa that stands tall and contrasts with the older looking lower layers.

I took a taxi to Wat Chiang Man. During my visit I took extensive photos of the chedi and other structures. I very much enjoy the incorporation of elephants in the temple complexes of northern Thailand. After visiting the temple, I took a taxi back to my hotel and walked around the neighborhood. That evening, I explored the Night Bazaar and enjoyed walking through the temporary shopping booths that lined both sides of the main street in front of the Night Bazaar.

Chiang Mai was experiencing a heat wave and excessive air pollution. I spent the following day relaxing at the hotel and checked in for my 8 May Scoot flight back to Singapore. That evening, I made a last visit to the Night Bazaar and bid goodbye to Chiang Mai.

On Wednesday, 8 May, I flew back to Singapore. Since my most recent visit to Singapore was during 2013, there were many new attractions for me to explore. After arriving in Singapore, I took a taxi to the Sheraton Towers Hotel on Scott Road. The Newton Circus MTR metro station entrance was a short walk from the hotel. Since I had Sheraton lounge privileges, I ate buffet breakfasts in the dining room and buffet dinners in the lounge. The one exception was a fish head curry lunch at the famous Banana Leaf Apolo Indian Restaurant on Race Course Road.

On Thursday, 9 May, I purchased my MTR transit pass at the Newton MTR station and traveled to Little India. I went to a shopping mall where I found the batik sun dresses that my wife loves and purchased two. After returning to the hotel, I relaxed and began planning my activity for my time in Singapore. I decided to visit the following Gardens by the Bay attractions: Flower Dome, Cloud Forest, Supertree Grove, OCBC Skyway, Supertree Observatory, and the Floral Fantasy. In addition, I wanted to visit the National Orchid Garden and the new Bird Paradise aviary.

The Gardens by the Bay is a 250 acre nature park in the Central Region of Singapore adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. It has multiple venues as well as paid attractions. The three acre Flower Dome is the largest greenhouse in the world, as listed in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records, and replicates a cool-dry Mediterranean climate. In addition to a changing flower field display, it features the following eight gardens: The Baobabs, Succulent Garden, Australian Garden, South African Garden, South American Garden, Olive Grove, California Garden, and Mediterranean Garden. The Flower Dome greenhouse structure has no interior supports.

The two acre Cloud Forest is a higher greenhouse structure but slightly smaller than the Flower Dome. It replicates cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 and 3,000 meters (3,300-9,800 feet) above sea level that are found in South-East Asia and Central- and South America. It features a 42 meter (138 feet) “Cloud Mountain.” An elevator takes visitors to the top of the mountain from which they descend the mountain via a circular path that crosses underneath the 35 meter (115 feet) waterfall multiple times. It consists of several levels including The Lost World, The Crystal Mountain, The Cloud Forest Gallery, The Cloud Forest Theater, and The Secret Garden. The literature states that the Cloud Fountain is the world’s second tallest indoor waterfall.

The Supertree Grove consists of 18 tree-like structures that dominate the Garden’s landscape with heights ranging between 25 and 50 meters (82-160 feet). They are vertical gardens that perform many functions including planting, shading, and working environments for the gardens. The OCBC Skyway is an elevated walkway located between two of the larger Supertrees that allows visitors to enjoy a panoramic view of the gardens. There is also the Supertree Observatory that opened in 2019. The observatory is housed inside the tallest Supertree. Visitors take the elevator to the upper level indoor Observatory Space area with full-height windows and a peripheral outdoor walkway. In addition, visitors can take a flight of stairs from the Observatory Space to the Open-Air Rooftop Deck on the canopy of this Supertree that offers 360-degree views of the Gardens and the Marina Bay Area.

The Flower Fantasy is part of the Bayfront Plaza and is a 1,500 square meter (16,000 square feet) greenhouse consisting of four garden landscapes of floral artistry. In addition to floral exhibits, there was a climate-controlled enclosure containing colorful poison frogs. There is also a 4D ride experience which I opted not to take.

I spent three of my days in Singapore visiting the Gardens by the Bay and would rate it as a must see when visiting Singapore.

I spent one day visiting the National Orchid Garden, which is the main attraction within the Botanic Gardens. It is located on the mid-western side of the Botanic Garden and occupies a three-hectare hilly area. It has a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. It houses the following attractions: Burkill Hall, VIP Orchid Garden, Orchidarium, Tan Hoon Sing Misthouse, Lady Yuen-Peng Bromeliad House, and Coolhouse. This is another amazing site not to be missed when visiting Singapore.

I spent a fifth day visiting the Bird Paradise aviary which replaced the former Jurong Bird Park and opened 8 May 2023. It now forms part of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, consisting of the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, and the upcoming Rainforest Wild Park. Bird Paradise covers approximately 17 hectares (42 acres) with larger and double the walk-in aviaries of Jurong Bird Park. The most recent literature stated that the park had 3,500 birds consisting of 400 different species. While this may sound like a broken record, the Bird Paradise is truly another attraction that should not be missed.

I checked out of the Sheraton on 15 May and flew back home to Los Angeles. There were many changes in Singapore since my prior visits more than ten years ago, and I am very happy that I was able to visit many new attractions.

See pictures from South Pacific Voyage

February/March 2024
South Pacific Voyage

Travel Notes

While on the Holland America voyage circumnavigating Japan and Pacific Ocean crossing via Alaska, we booked a South Pacific Holland America itinerary round trip out of San Diego, California. The voyage was 35 days to the Hawaiian Islands, Fanning Island, Raiatea, Tahiti, Moorea, Fakarava, and Nuku Hiva on the cruise ship KONINGSDAM.

Since the Amtrak train tracks were washed out near San Clemente, we took the bus from downtown Los Angeles to Old Town San Diego on Friday, 16 February, and a taxi to the Westin Bayview hotel. The following day, we boarded the KONINGSDAM at the San Diego Cruise Ship Terminal to begin the voyage. During the sea days en route to Hilo, Hawaii, we attended several presentations on board the ship and enjoyed the evening performances.

We arrived at Hilo on Friday morning, 23 February, and went on the “Hawaii Volcanoes National Park & A Taste of the Big Island” excursion. The first stop was to visit Rainbow Falls. Waters of the Wailuku River drop 24 meters (80 feet) to create Waianuenue or Rainbow Falls. The falls plunge in front of a lava cave that has been created by the back splash as it falls into the pool below. After arriving at the Volcano National Park, we drove the Crater Rim Road to the Kilauea Crater Overlook. This lookout provided unobstructed panoramic views of the crater. From here we back-tracked on Crater Rim Road to view several steam vents en route to Volcano House. We also saw some Hawaiian Geese by the road before reaching Volcano House.

Volcano House, opened in 1846, is situated above the crater rim. It has hosted numerous famous guests including Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Amelia Earhart, Louis Pasteur, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Volcano House Overlook is between Volcano House and the rim of the crater. Not only is the view from the overlook spectacular, but the panoramic views from within Volcano House are stunning.

After leaving Volcano House, we drove to an area of a lava flow where people can experience walking on lava from an eruption several years earlier. Our final stop at the park was to hike the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku) trail. A lava tube is created when a river of molten lava leaves a cave-like tube after the molten lava has finally drained from it. The trail is 0.8 km (1/2 mile) long and runs through a rainforest to and through the Thurston Lava Tube.

We stopped at the Volcano Winery where we tasted several wines and ate a picnic lunch provided by the excursion. This winery claims the title of being the southernmost winery in the USA. Our final stop was to visit the Macadamia Nut Factory before returning to the ship.

On Saturday morning, 24 February, the ship arrived at Kahului, Maui. Since we didn’t have a shore excursion booked, we took a taxi to the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens. This garden was established during the 1970s and is the only botanical garden in Hawaii. It is located on a coastal dune system featuring native Hawaiian coastal and dry forest plants. The site was formerly a zoo and a botanical garden before the zoo closed in 1997. The garden is home to more than 60 varieties of native Hawaiian plants.

On Sunday, 25 February, the ship arrived at Nawiliwili, Kauai. We had visited Kauai in the past and took a short walk from the ship along Kalapaki Beach. The weather was nice and the scenery was beautiful.

The ship arrived at Honolulu, O’ahu on Monday, 26 February, for a two day visit. Since I didn’t have a shore excursion booked, I walked to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History. It was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family. It is the largest museum in Hawaii and houses the world’s largest collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens.

The museum is well worth visiting when in Honolulu. The artifacts are truly exceptional and well captioned. I only visited the main museum building with the Hawaiian and Polynesian artifacts, but there are additional exhibits as well as a planetarium. The collection of numerous wooden sculptures was extensive and well presented. A 1909 giant sperm whale is suspended in the main exhibit hall. A small hall beside the main hall had a wonderful exhibit showing all of the Polynesian island chains and nearly all of the various outrigger canoe styles from each region. After visiting the museum, I walked back to the ship.

On the morning of Tuesday, 27 February, we embarked on the “Iconic Diamond Head Adventure Hike” shore excursion. The proper name for Diamond Head is Le’ahi, a volcano formed about 300,000 years ago during a single brief eruption. The crater covers 350 acres and is about 0.65-mile wide. The summit of the crater is 232 meters (761 feet) high and is at the southwestern rim. In the late 1700s, Western explorers and traders visited Le’ahi and mistook the calcite crystals in the rocks of the slopes of the crater to be diamonds. The name Diamond Head became the common name for the crater. Today, Le’ahi (Diamond Head) is the most recognized landmark in Hawaii. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968.

After driving to Diamond Head, we drove through the Kahala Tunnel into the crater. The hike is 1.3 km (0.8 mile) to the summit one way. The trail climbs to 171 meters (560 feet) above the crater floor. It follows an uneven and vertical terrain with steep stairways and semi-dark tunnels. Highlights along the trail included a lookout on the concrete foundation which held a winch and cable that lifted materials from the crater floor to this point during construction at the summit. Two more lookout sites are available en route to the summit observation station. The Fire Control Station Diamond Head, summit observation station, was built at the summit of the crater between 1908 and 1910. The tunnel and metal spiral stairs within the Fire Control Station add interesting aspects to the hike.

We departed Honolulu on the evening of 27 February to sail to Fanning Island. At about 11:00 AM, the Captain made an announcement that, due to a medical emergency, the ship would change course and sail toward Kona, Hawaii, to meet a US Coast Guard helicopter to perform a medical evacuation of the patient at an estimated time of 4:30 PM. As we continued toward Kona, the time for the evacuation kept slipping and at the end of the day, we sailed to Kona and the patient was evacuated via tender boat at midnight. We were informed the following morning that the coast guard helicopter designated to perform the medevac procedure refueled at Kona, and then was unable to take off due to a mechanical malfunction. The result was that we would now skip Fanning Island and would continue directly to Raiatea.

After several sea days, we arrived at Raiatea, French Polynesia, on Tuesday morning, 5 March. Jan and I went on the Holland America shore excursion that consisted of a catamaran cruise from the port to the Marae Taputapuatea UNESCO protected site. We passed Tapioi mountain and the Temehani plateau surrounded by lush deep green valleys en route to the archaeological site. Marae Taputapuatea is a large marae complex at Opoa in Taputapuatea, on the south eastern coast of Raiatea. The site features a number of marae and other stone structures and was once considered the central temple and religious center of Eastern Polynesia. In 2017, the Taputapuatea area and the marae complex were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its political and religious significance and its testimony to traditional eastern Polynesian culture.

Marae generally consist of an area of cleared roughly rectangular land (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori), and perhaps including paepae (terraces), which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes, and, in some cases, a central stone ahu or a'u. The Marae Taputapuatea complex is positioned at the end of a peninsula that juts into the lagoon surrounding Raiatea. The center of the complex holds the marae itself, a rectangular courtyard measuring 44 by 60 meters and paved with basalt. At the east end of the marae is the ahu, a basalt and coral platform used for ceremonies. Other marae are located within the marae complex, including marae Hauviri, which was used for the naming of chiefs.

I found the site to be very interesting with similarities of the terrace construction to the sites at Rapa Nui (Easter Island). At the location where the catamaran docked, a local guide escorted us to the site and provided ample historical information on Marae Taputapuatea. After the description by the guide, we were given some free time to explore the site before returning to the catamaran for the cruise back to the ship.

On Wednesday, 4 March, we walked around the Raiatea port area, visited local shops, and found an ATM to obtain some local Pacific Francs for use while visiting French Polynesia. We departed Raiatea at 5:00 PM to sail to Papeete, Tahiti.

We arrived at Papeete, Tahiti on Thursday, 7 March, and, after disembarking, we went on the afternoon Holland America Tahiti West Coast shore excursion. The morning excursion was delayed nearly an hour due to extremely heavy street traffic. This delay, in addition to the heavy traffic we continued to encounter, added time constraints to our scheduled visits.

The first stop on the excursion was at the Museum of Tahiti and The Islands. Since I visited here in July 2023 and have extensive photos of the exhibits, I took minimal photos during our visit. This museum is located on an ancient site in Tahiti and showcases ancient Polynesian history and culture. Our visit was limited to 30 minutes which is much too short for a first time visit to the museum.

Our second stop was at the Arahurahu Marae, a sacred structure of black stone built solely for rituals. The Arahurahu was set at the foot of a cliff surrounded by jungle. Access to the site was by a trail lined with tikis leading to a three-story marae. This site was restored in 1953 and is still in use today as part of the Polynesian Renaissance. It is the only marae in all of Polynesia that has been fully restored.

We continued on to visit the Vaipahi (rushing water) Gardens. Our stop here was approximately twenty minutes, but the site was wonderful with a waterfall and amazing colorful plants and ponds with water flowing through them. I recommend this as a not-to-be-missed attraction when visiting Papeete. The photo opportunities here are amazing.

Our final stop was to visit the Grottos de Mara’a, also known as Ferns Grotto. These grotto caves were described in Captain Cook’s journal and were also a popular bathing spot for Paul Gauguin on hot afternoons as described in his book, Noa Noa. Once again, due to time constraints, we were only able to visit the Grotto Vaipoiri. After visiting the grotto, we drove back to the ship and arrived nearly two hours late. Fortunately, the ship spent the night at Papeete.

On Friday, 8 March, since we didn’t have a shore excursion scheduled, we walked from the ship along the harbor to visit Paofai Gardens. The Gardens of Paofai were inaugurated on 2 February 2010. It encompasses an area of five hectares open to the public and offers a peaceful, shady area in the middle of Papeete town center. There is a fitness trail, leisure area, and picnic site, as well as several grassy lawns where people can relax. Since it is adjacent to the harbor, it provides stunning views of the harbor and Moorea. After exploring Paofai Gardens we returned to the ship, which was scheduled to depart Papeete at 4:30 PM.

We arrived at Opunohu Bay, Moorea, on Saturday, 9 March, and took a tender boat to go ashore at Papetoai Marina. We paid a deposit for a 3 hour shore excursion reservation for the following day at 9:30 AM. Since we didn’t have any shore excursion booked for the day, we set out to explore the local area near the marina. As we walked along the main road, we soon discovered that aside from the marina proper the only nearby attraction was Magic Mountain Lookout. I decided to hike up the mountain in the sweltering heat while Jan visited with a local lady at her roadside handicraft stall.

I paid 200 Francs to access the steep road up the mountain. I was passed along the road by several small 4x4 ATV off-road vehicles as I trudged along on the steep uphill hike. I didn’t have enough water as I continued toward the top and finally decided to abandon the hike with about 10% remaining to the summit. I did take some beautiful scenic photographs of Opunohu Bay, the mountains, and the atoll reef in the distance. After returning to the main road, I stopped to purchase a Coca Cola before walking back to meet Jan. We continued walking to the tender dock at the marina to return to the ship.

On Sunday morning, 10 March, we took a tender to meet our 9:30 AM excursion that we reserved the day before. After paying the balance due for our reserved excursion, we were told to wait for the excursion to begin. At 9:30 AM, we were told that the tour needed to book at least 2 more people to go forward. After another 20 minutes, the tour offered to take us on a private tour for double the amount that we had already paid. We declined the offer, and the tour operator reluctantly refunded our money. We looked around and found another comparable tour for a slightly larger fee departing in ten minutes. We booked the tour and joined other people in a small air conditioned van that was less than half full.

Our first stop on the tour was at Belvedere Lookout which offered views of both Opunohu Bay and Cook’s Bay. From there we visited the Opunohu Valley Maraes but did not have time to visit the entire site. This site will be a good place to explore if I ever return to Moorea. We continued on past pineapple and sugar cane fields to the main road. We then continued driving around Opunohu Bay and Cook’s Bay with excellent photo stops. One highlight as we drove around the island was a stop at the iconic Toatea Lookout. We made a brief stop at the Moorea ferry terminal and at a Polynesian Warrior statue as we continued our drive around Moorea. The tour was excellent and well worth the cost. We returned to the ship which departed Moorea at 4:30 PM.

After one additional sea day, we arrived at Fakarava, Tuamotu, on Tuesday morning, 12 March. Fakarava is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group of islands in French Polynesia. It is the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls. The atoll is roughly rectangular measuring 60 kilometers (37 miles) in length and 21 kilometers (13 miles) in width. Fakarava has approximately 837 inhabitants. This was a tender port and, aside from the beach, there is a unique lighthouse and a colorful church in addition to some local shops.

After I arrived on shore, I walked along the lagoon beach to visit the church and walk through the local cemetery to access the ocean side of the atoll. The temperature was very hot with periods of light rain. As the rain intensified, I returned to the tender dock and then returned to the ship. From the ship, the unique lighthouse was clearly visible off in the distance. I was able to take a decent long-range photo which I cropped into a good photo of the lighthouse. Several fellow passengers said that they were able to travel to remote locations where they encountered good snorkeling opportunities.

After another day at sea, we arrived at the island of Nuku Hiva on the morning of Thursday, 14 March. Nuku Hiva is an island in the Marquesas group of the French Polynesian islands. Since I had visited here last year during my voyage on the ARANUI 5, mixed-class freighter, I booked “Taipivai Valley: Scenic Drive,” the only shore excursion offered by Holland America, hoping to see some new sights. During my visit to Nuku Hiva last year, Lehai, my English speaking tour guide, told me of another archaeological site in Taiohae village which we didn’t have time to visit. The name of this site is Tohua Temehea and I decided to visit the site before my pre-booked excursion began.

After arriving via the tender, my first stop was to visit the handicraft shop near the pier to shop for a “flower stone” sculpture. Flower stones are only found on two beaches world-wide with one being at a Marquesas island beach. I found a flower stone sculpture of a sea turtle which I immediately purchased. With my flower stone purchase completed, I walked along the shore to the location of Tohua Temehea.

Tohua Temehea is an ancient ceremonial and meeting site in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva. A Tohua is a large rectangular plaza with flat areas surrounded by platforms. It is the ancestral home of Queen Vaekehu who was considered to be the last queen or chieftainess of the Taiohae. She married another chief of the once divided tribe reuniting the two halves of the tribe. The site now contains a number of carved stones brought from around the Pacific for the First Marquesan International Art Festival. I highly recommend a visit to this site for travelers visiting Nuku Hiva for the first time.

After exploring Tohua Temehea, I walked back to the pier to wait for Jan to take a tender to join me for our afternoon Taipivai Valley Scenic Drive excursion. Taipivai Valley is a valley that runs from inland Nuku Hiva to the Comptroller Bay. The tour consisted of a caravan of vehicles and we were in a small 4 wheel drive truck. The tour stopped at a couple of high viewpoints overlooking the valley and then descended into the valley to visit the historic site of Tohua Te Aitua. There is not much literature available about this site, but there was one reference that it is the location of a Marquesas Islands Festival held there once every five years. There were several platforms within a large plaza-like area with many beautiful sculptured tiki statues at various locations. We were offered fruit to snack on as well as a variety of handcrafted items for sale. From here we drove to Taipivai Beach, located at Comptroller Bay, for a brief stop. As we drove back to Taiohae, we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking both Taiohae Bay and the cruise ship before another stop at the cathedral. From here we returned to the tender docking area and took a tender back to the ship. This port concluded our island visits before returning to San Diego, California.

After eight more days at sea, we disembarked at San Diego and took a Lyft car back home.

January 2024
Chile

Travel Notes

I decided to return to Chile, South America, in January 2024 to expand on my prior travels there. After returning from the Holland America voyage circumnavigating Japan and Pacific Ocean crossing via Alaska, I began planning a possible itinerary for Chile. I finally decided that I wanted to spend a week at the Atacama Desert, visit Torres del Paine, take the Navimag Ferry through the Patagonian Fjords, visit the Chilean Lake District near Puerto Montt, and possibly visit a high altitude lake on a day trip from Santiago.

I booked a one-stop flight on Latam Airlines from Los Angeles to Santiago departing 4 January with a return Latam Airlines nonstop flight on 30 January. I also booked travel between Santiago, Calama, Puerto Natales, the Navimag Ferry, and Puerto Montt. Since the regular passenger car that I had previously rented at Calama during my 2023 visit was inadequate for the Atacama Desert roads, I booked an Avis 4-wheel drive 6-speed manual transmission mining truck for driving the Atacama roads.

This was my fifth visit to Santiago. I revisited the Pre-Columbian Museum and old Santiago Railroad Station Museum. I also decided to take the metro train to visit Plaza de Maipu at the end of Line 5. Plaza de Maipu, however, was nothing to write home about. On Tuesday, 9 January, I flew from Santiago to Calama and rented a red Mitsubishi L200 4x4 truck from Avis at the Calama Airport and drove to San Pedro de Atacama where I checked into the Terrantai Lodge Hotel for the next seven nights. This is the same very nice hotel that I stayed at in 2023.

On Wednesday morning, 10 January, I drove to the Rainbow Valley, Valle de Arcoiris, which I had not previously visited. I drove on Highway 23 and turned right at Highway B-207, driving past the Petroglifos de Verbas Buenas to an unmarked road just before reaching Rio Salado. I turned left on the unmarked road and, after fording Rio Salado four times with my 4x4 truck, I finally arrived at the Rainbow Valley. I drove through the valley until the road ended and did a small amount of hiking. The valley was picturesque but was not as spectacular as I was hoping. After driving back to Highway B-207, I continued on to revisit the small village of Rio Grande. It was now time to backtrack to San Pedro de Atacama with a stop to revisit Petroglifos de Verbas Buenas.

On Thursday morning, 11 January, I decided to visit an archaeological site near the town of Peine about 100 kilometers south of San Pedro. I drove south on Highway 23, past the town of Toconao, to Highway B-355, which would take me to Peine. As I approached the turnoff to Peine, a group of civilians had set up a roadblock to prevent travel on B-355 in both directions. I later learned that the civilians were protesting Lithium mining that is threatening flamingos in the National Flamingo Reserves at Salar de Atacama.

Since I could no longer continue to Peine, I turned left on B-379 to Highway 23 and continued to the town of Socaire. I stopped at a tourist office in Socaire and purchased admission tickets to visit Salar de Aguas Caliente, Laguna Miscanti, and Laguna Miniques. I continued on Highway 23 to Salar de Aguas Caliente. After hiking around a portion of the picturesque trails there, I backtracked on Highway 23 to an unmarked unpaved road leading to Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques. Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miniques are both situated within the National Flamingo Reserve Sector 3. Both picturesque lagoons had interesting wildlife to photograph. After visiting the lagoons, I photographed the church at Socaire on the return trip to San Pedro. In retrospect, the roadblock en route to Peine was a blessing.

On Friday morning, 12 January, I decided to visit Geysers del Tatio approximately 84 kilometers north of San Pedro. I drove north on Highway B-245 past Quebrada Escalera and stopped to admire Laguna Flamingos which was part of Rio Putana where I also saw gunacos, vicuñas, wild donkeys, and many birds including Andean Flamingos. After passing the village of Machaca, I got a wonderful view of Volcan Putana before Highway B-245 turned into a terrible unpaved road. After continuing on the unpaved B-245, I encountered road construction and was directed to leave B-245 and drive on tracks in the desert paralleling the highway construction. The off-road driving became increasingly challenging as I tried to determine which set of track ruts to drive in as I continued on to the geysers.

Before arriving at the geysers, unpaved Highway B-245 was once again navigable but had a washboard-like surface typical of unpaved secondary roads. Geysers El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers at 4,320 meters (14,170 feet) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the highest altitude geyser field in the world. After touring the visitor center, I drove to the first of several parking areas and hiked around several geysers that were the location of what was sometimes used as a hot spring swimming area. The swimming area was pretty much empty of water and was surrounded with Do Not Enter barriers. I continued driving from here to other areas of the geyser field and hiked around several spectacular geyser cones and colorful hot springs.

After visiting the geysers, I drove back to San Pedro and was lucky enough to find the Church of San Pedro de Atacama open for visitation. It is a Catholic church constructed during the Spanish colonial period and is reportedly the second oldest church in Chile. The original church was destroyed by fire and was reconstructed. Notable is the use of dried cactus wooden planks for the roof and the use of llama skin leather strips to lash together the joists and rafters supporting the roof. The entry gate is also constructed with dried cactus boards and lashed together with llama skin leather strips.

On Saturday, 13 January, I decided to drive Highway 27 across the mountains past the Paso Portezuelo de Cajon border crossing into Bolivia to Salar de Loyoques ó Quisquiro, approximately 25 kilometers from the Paso Jama border crossing into Argentina. This was a trip that I was unable to accomplish during my 2023 visit. Highway 27 was a very good road and my first brief stop was to view Salar y Laguna de Tara. Tara means nest of flamingos. The Salt Lake Tara is the natural habitat for a large number of Andean Flamingos nesting here. The fauna consists of three species of flamingos, vicuñas, foxes, highland guinea pigs, chululos, Andean gulls, jergon ducks, and guallata geese. It is located in between volcanos in the National Reserve of the Flamingos at 4,300 meters (14,107 feet) elevation. Its surface is 48 square kilometers big and is composed by lagoons and small rivers, creating spectacular scenery with hilly regions, volcanos, animals and native vegetation. After taking some photos here, I continued on to Salar de Loyoques Quisquiro and would return here on the return drive to San Pedro. This site should not be missed when in the area.

Salar de Loyoques ó Quisquir covers an area of around 80 square kilometers. The average surface elevation of its drainage basin is 4,430 meters (14,530 feet) and is located within the La Pacana caldera. After purchasing admission, I hiked around a portion of the trails within the tourist access to the site. The flamingos here also provided for wonderful photo opportunities. The weather was perfect for beautiful photos of all of the salars and lagunas that I visited.

On the return drive to San Pedro, I also stopped to view and photograph Vega Quepiaco adjacent to Highway 27. Vega Quepiaco is the Quepiaco River located at approximately 4,500 meters (14,764 feet) elevation and covers an area of 28 hectares. It was very picturesque with several vicuñas grazing in the river. Continuing my drive back to San Pedro, I photographed both the Paso Portezuelo de Cajon border crossing into Bolivia and Volcan Licancabur on the border of Chile and Bolivia.

On Sunday morning,14 January, I decided to drive north to visit the small village of Caspana on the recommendation of one of the employees of the Terrantai Lodge Hotel. This involved repeating the drive north of San Pedro on Highway B-245 to Highway B-157. This time I stopped at the viewpoint to take photographs of Quebrada Escalara, a deep canyon with dramatic curves and lines with a reed-filled riverbed at the bottom. As I continued north, I drove past the Laguna Flamingos, Rio Putana, Machaca, and the unpaved off-road portion of B-245 to the intersection of Highway B-157 to Caspana. After turning onto B-157, I was able to photograph many vicuñas grazing in the picturesque Rio de Juana. Highway B-157 was a beautiful drive over the mountains and around Quebrada Chita, Chita Canyon. Before reaching Caspana, I saw a sign pointing to Caspana on an unpaved road. I took this unpaved road which ended up being a shortcut to Caspana across a desert plateau. After arriving at Caspana, I found it to be a small village with difficult access involving extremely narrow one lane roads. I stopped at a small store to purchase a soft drink before beginning the long drive back to San Pedro.

On Monday, 15 January, I decided to revisit the Valley of the Moon. After arriving at the visitor center for the Valley of the Moon, visitors were required to purchase admission tickets at a ticket vending machine. Much to my surprise, many people were having difficulty getting the machine to issue tickets with the staff needing to reset the machine multiple times. When my turn came, the machine attempted to charge my credit card and after my credit card sent a validation code to me, the machine denied my card which I had been using on a daily basis. I decided that I would not continue trying to get admission to the Valley of the Moon and left. I continued down the road from the Valley of the Moon to visit the Aldea de Tulor Archaeological Site. The visitor center has replica structures with a guided tour to brief people before allowing them to visit the actual site. This is one of the oldest sedentary archaeological sites in northern Chile. It is composed of the remains of a series of interconnected circular structures used by the ancient inhabitants of the site. Two replica structures had been constructed on the site.

I continued on the road to attempt to visit Laguna Cejar. Since I was not part of a large pre-reserved tour group, I was denied access and simply took a long distance photo of the lake. Not to be deterred by the events so far today, I drove to Highway 23 where I photographed some goats drinking at a waterhole adjacent to the highway and continued on to visit the town of Toconao. Toconao had a wonderful town square with a gorgeous white bell tower across from the Toconao Church. The church was impressive and, as I walked around the town, I came across the wonderful remains of an old truck that I found to be very photogenic. After a brief visit to a souvenir shop, I continued driving to the intersection of Highway B-355 which I took until I came to the intersection of a road with a sign to Laguna Chaxa.

I took the unpaved road B-373 to Laguna Chaxa and purchased admission at a very impressive visitor center with extensive displays in both Spanish and English about the site. Laguna Chaxa holds the title as the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos’s most easily accessible flamingo-breeding site. All three types of flamingos found in South America can be found at Laguna Chaxa: the Andean, James, and Chilean. I hiked along the pathway across a portion of the laguna to an elevated concrete visitor viewing platform and took spectacular photos of the laguna and the many flamingos present. This wrapped up my visit to the Atacama Desert, and I returned to San Pedro.

After breakfast on Tuesday, 16 January, out of an abundance of caution, I walked to the hotel secure parking lot to make sure that my rental truck was ready for the 100 kilometer drive to the Calama airport. Much to my surprise, my left rear tire was flat. I walked back to the hotel and one of the ladies called her husband who came to help me change the tire. After the tire was successfully changed, I examined the flat tire and observed that a nail had punctured the tire when I parked the truck in the lot the night before. With the tire changed, I checked out of the hotel and drove to the airport to fly back to Santiago.

Since my next flight departed Santiago to Puerto Natales at 5:31 AM on Thursday, 18 January, I spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Santiago Airport Holiday Inn hotel. My flight to Puerto Natales was uneventful and, after collecting my checked bag at the tiny airport, I arrived at the Hotel Costaustralis by taxi a little before 10:00 AM. The hotel gave me an early check in as well as a buffet breakfast. What a great way to start my visit at Puerto Natales. The hotel was on the waterfront with a nice pedestrian path along the shore of the Señoret Channel.

Puerto Natales is a port city on the Señoret Channel in Chile’s southern Patagonia. It is the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park to the northwest, and the port for boats touring the Patagonian fjords. Since I already had reservations for a day trip to Torres del Paine for Friday, 19 January, I walked along the waterfront and then walked through a portion of downtown Puerto Natales. I located the Navimag Ferry Office and docking area during my walk along the waterfront.

Torres del Paine National Park is a massive, mountainous national park in southern Patagonia known for its scenic glaciers, beautiful lakes, lush forests, and the three iconic granite peaks of Paine Massif. The Torres del Paine are the distinctive three granite peaks of the Paine mountain range or Paine Massif. From left to right they are known as Torre d'Agostini, Torre Central, and Torre Monzino. They extend up to 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) above sea level and are joined by the Cuernos del Paine. The area also boasts valleys, rivers such as the Paine, lakes, and glaciers. The well-known lakes include Grey, Pehoé, Nordenskiöld, and Sarmiento. The glaciers, including Grey, Pingo, and Tyndall, belong to the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.

Early morning on 19 January, I was picked up at the hotel by a tour group in a small bus for a 10-hour full-day tour of both Torres del Paine and Milodón Cave. The weather was overcast with occasional drizzle and low clouds obscuring much of the view of the mountains. We stopped en route at a rustic handicrafts store where people purchased some food and souvenirs before continuing into the national park proper. The route taken by our driver was reversed from the advertised route and when we arrived at the classic viewpoint for the three granite giant peaks beyond the lake, the clouds obscured the view completely. This was probably the biggest disappointment of my entire trip.

As we drove in the park, we saw a flock of Andean Condors devouring a carcass. The condor sighting was very cool and provided wonderful photos. We also saw two Rheas, ostrich-like birds, close enough for decent photos. I really appreciated seeing the Rheas since I hadn’t seen any during my trip to the Atacama Desert. During the drive through the park, we also stopped to sample Calafate Berries which grow wild in the park. We also stopped at viewpoints near different lakes and at a viewpoint for the Salto Grande Waterfall between Lago Nordenskiöld and Lago Pehoé. Some of the lakes had rainbows due to the ongoing occasional drizzle. We stopped for a wonderful buffet lunch at a restaurant near the boat landing for the catamaran cruises to the Grey Glacier.

After lunch we drove to visit Milodón Cave. The Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument, located 24 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Puerto Natales, is situated along the flanks of Cerro Benitez. It consists of several caves and a rock formation called Silla del Diablo (Devil's Chair). The monument includes a cave which is notable for the discovery in 1895 of skin, bones, and other parts of a ground sloth called Mylodon darwinii, from which the cave takes its name. The largest cave in the monument is the 200 meters (660 feet) long Milodón Cave. It was discovered in 1895 by Hermann Eberhard, a German explorer of Patagonia. He found a large, seemingly fresh piece of skin of an unidentified animal. In 1896, the cave was explored by Otto Nordenskjöld and later it was recognized that the skin belonged to Mylodon – an extinct animal that died 10,200–13,560 years ago. A life size replica of the prehistoric Mylodon, an herbivore resembling a large bear, was erected at the entrance of the cave. It became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch.

After hiking from the parking lot to visit the Milodón Cave, we walked past the Mylodon replica and along a pathway through the cave. Aside from the history of the cave, the actual cave itself was nothing special. As we were leaving, we saw a Caracara bird which provided a photo opportunity before the drive back to Puerto Natales.

In the interim, after receiving a message from the Navimag ferry that the departure to Puerto Montt would be delayed from early Saturday morning until sometime Saturday evening, I extended my reservation at Hotel Costaustralis to add one additional night. The message also stated that passengers should meet Saturday evening, 20 January, with their luggage at a room around the corner from my hotel.

After breakfast on 20 January, I spent time walking around Puerto Natales to find some camera lens cleaner and purchased a cup of cappuccino with a delicious cookie. I did an early check-out at the hotel that evening, took my luggage to the room, and checked in for the ferry. The weather had deteriorated and the winds became so strong that the ferry Captain could not dock at Puerto Natales. Finally, at approximately 10:00 PM, the ferry management advised that the Captain would not dock that night and instructed us to leave with our luggage and wait for a new departure time the following day, 21 January. I took my luggage back to the hotel and re-claimed my room. During the night, I received a message that we would meet to board the ferry at 12:00 PM on Sunday.

On Sunday morning, 21 January, I once again checked out of the hotel and walked with my luggage to the ferry office where all the passengers waited to be taken by bus to board the Navimag Ferry ESPERANZA. I finally boarded the ferry for the trip to Puerto Montt. This would be my third trip northbound through the fjords toward Puerto Montt. The best voyage through the fjords was on the tall ship EUROPA in 2010 which included visits to the Fairway Island Lighthouse, the Skua Glacier at Esterno Amalia, Puerto Eden, and Locos Island. I encourage readers to also explore this South America March-April 2010 trip on my website.

The Navimag Ferry had a no smoking policy, and no alcoholic beverages were available for purchase. It had a large room for guest relaxation as well as cafeteria dining for meals. The meals were all the same unless a passenger specified a food allergy on the booking form. Passengers lined up at designated times for meal service and were served portions as they passed with their tray along the food. Additional portions could be obtained by going through the line a second time. Water, coffee, tea, and three very sweet fruit drinks were available self-serve 24 hours a day. There was also a lounge on deck where specialty coffee drinks, tiny microwaved pizzas, and other pastries could be purchased during specified hours.

There was a map of the ship’s route through the fjords on the wall of the cafeteria where a small magnetic ship would occasionally mark our position. The crew would post scenic highlights on tv monitors in the cafeteria, along with available activities and the menu for the next upcoming meal service. There was access to the main deck bow during most of the voyage as well as other areas for viewing the surroundings. The weather was overcast with low clouds and occasional drizzle for much of the voyage. During the voyage we saw waterfalls cascading down the sides of mountains and occasional decent views of the mountains when the clouds permitted. We stopped to deliver some cargo at Puerto Eden, the only village in the area, but no passengers were allowed to disembark. We actually got sunshine during the last day as we sailed toward Puerto Montt and were treated to good views of islands, mountains, and local volcanos.

After disembarking from the ferry at approximately 6:00 PM on Wednesday, 24 January, I took a taxi to the Marriott Courtyard hotel. This is a franchised hotel. The passenger elevators were out of order so I had to use the food service elevator accessible through the kitchen. Other than the elevator issue, my room was nice and the restaurant was good. Since I arrived one day later than originally planned, my pre-booked Get Your Guide tour of the Chilean Lake District was scheduled for the next morning.

Early Thursday morning, 25 January, the small tour bus picked me up for the lake district tour. The bus continued on to Puerto Varas to pick up the remaining additional passengers. Puerto Varas is a city in southern Chile's Lake District. It sits on the southwest banks of the expansive Lake Llanquihue and offers commanding views of snow-capped Osorno Volcano and Calbuco Volcano, both still active. Traditional German-style architecture characterizes the town, reflecting its colonial past. Other attractions in the area include the Saltos del Río Petrohue (Petrohue Falls) within the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, Lake Todos los Santos, and the Osorno Volcano Ski Center.

We drove Highway 225 from Puerto Varas along the shoreline of Lago Llanquihue and then along Río Petrohue to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. We stopped to visit Petrohue Falls and hike the trails adjacent to the Río Petrohue rapids downstream of the waterfalls. We were able to get good views of Volcan Calbuco and Volcan Osorno during our visit. We continued on Highway 225 to Petrohue where we took an optional boat ride on beautiful Lago Todos los Santos. The views of Volcan Calbuco and Volcan Osorno including Volcan Puntiagudo with the lake in the foreground were spectacular. After the boat ride we drove back to Ensenada for lunch at Restaurante Bordelgado situated on the shore of Lago Llanquihue.

After a very nice lunch, we took Highway 225 to Highway U-55-V climbing up the mountain to Highway V-555 and on to the Osorno Volcano Ski Center. From here I took the two optional ski lift rides up another 4,000 feet near the Volcan Osorno Glacier. The views from the ski lift chairs were stunning and offered a photo opportunity for decent close up photos of the glacier. After returning to the ski center, we boarded the bus and drove back to Puerto Varas, where we saw many people swimming in Lago Llanquihue. Puerto Varas is truly a much nicer tourist destination than Puerto Montt.

On Friday morning, 26 January, I flew back to Santiago and returned to the Sheraton Convention Center Hotel. Since this would be my sixth visit to Santiago, I decided to spend Saturday and Sunday at the hotel working on my photos. On Monday, 28 January, I decided to schedule one last day trip for the following day: a Get Your Guide tour to a vineyard with a hiking trail through an archaeological site at the vineyard and continuing to the Portillo Ski Center and Laguna del Inca. I chose this day trip primarily because of the advertised archaeological hike. The evening before the trip, I received an sms text advising that the vineyard would be closed and the wine tasting would be held at a restaurant along the route to Laguna del Inca.

The tour picked me up early Tuesday morning, 29 January, and the first stop was at a convenience store on Highway 60 where the tour guide and several passengers purchased food for breakfast. We continued on Highway 60 to a restaurant where the tour guide and driver served a white wine and a red wine for tasting while the restaurant provided snacks. After the wine tasting several guests walked to an area nearby where they interacted with domesticated llamas and other animals. From here we continued on Highway 60 toward the Argentine border. At one point along the way, we were able to catch a glimpse of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the western and southern hemispheres, with an elevation of 6,961 meters (22,838 feet) which exceeds any peak in Europe, Africa, and North America.

The Portillo Ski Center is 160 kilometers (100 miles) by vehicle from Santiago. Its hotel sits at an elevation of 2,880 meters (9,450 feet) above sea level, and the highest ski lift reaches 3,310 meters (10,860 feet). It is located close to the Argentina border. Portillo has become one of the principal destinations for ski racers to train during the northern hemisphere summer and hosts the national ski teams of Austria, Italy, and the United States. Laguna del Inca is a glacier fed lake with a surface elevation of 9,360 feet and a surface area of 353 acres. The Portillo Ski Center is located at the southern end of the lake. The stream that drains the lake is a tributary of the Juncalillo River, which flows into the Juncal River.

Before arriving at Portillo we needed to drive the 29 hairpin turns climbing 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) on Highway 60. The locals in Chile often refer to this section of hairpin turns as “Los Caracoles.” After parking in the Portillo Hotel parking lot, we ate lunch at the hotel and then had free time to explore the Laguna del Inca viewpoint exhibits and to hike down to the lake. Laguna del Inca was very beautiful and I hiked about half way down to the edge of the water. We drove back to Santiago after visiting Portillo.

On Wednesday, 30 January, I packed up and went to the airport for my Latam Airlines flight back to Los Angeles. This was another very good trip to Chile.

See pictures from Chile

November 2023
Canada

Travel Notes

On 18 September, while on a high speed train from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie, China, I sent an SMS text message to Rob Kendall, a fellow passenger on the ARANUI 5 when I traveled to the Marquesas Islands. I told him that I was back in China and planned to hike a mountain the following day. He replied that he had just returned home from three weeks in Spain, Ireland, and Portugal. He also said that his next trip would be to Churchill, Manitoba, for Hudson Bay polar bears and added: “Wanna go?” I replied that I wouldn’t return home until mid-October and probably would not be able to fit it into my travel schedule.

He wrote back that it would only be a long weekend: one day there, three days on the ground, and one day returning. After he confirmed that the operator, Heartland International Travel & Tours, only had three spots left, he sent me the information which I immediately sent to Jan at home in Los Angeles. After Jan said that she would like to go on the trip, I got back with Rob to let him know that both Jan and I wanted to go but only on the condition that two spaces were still available. Rob confirmed the availability of two spots but notified me that the operator could only hold them for two days due to our last minute booking.

I asked Rob to send the information to Jan who filled out the required paperwork for both of us and returned the paperwork along with payment to Rob to finalize the trip. Meanwhile, I booked the air travel for me and Jan through CtripEnglish while I was at my hotel in Zhangjiajie. With everything confirmed, upon my return home, I would gather up my winter travel clothes and anything else that I might need.

On the morning of 1 Novembert, Jan and I flew nonstop on WestJet from Los Angeles to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. After clearing Canada Immigration, I called the Winnipeg Airport Hampton Inn to pick us up at the arrivals terminal. We had a very nice room at the Hampton and were impressed with the complimentary shuttle service provided by the hotel to/from nearby places. We walked to Chicago Joe’s, a restaurant in the Victoria Convention Center and Spa, for a very nice dinner. After dinner, the Hampton provided shuttle service back to the hotel.

Rob, Tony, Salle, and Ellen arrived at the Hampton very late that night and we didn’t meet up with them until mid-morning the following day. I knew both Rob and Tony from the Marquesas voyage, but it was my first introduction to Salle and Ellen. After our morning organizational meeting in the lobby, Jan and I elected to take the hotel shuttle to visit the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada while the others decided to visit the Manitoba Museum and walk to other places of interest.

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is located in a new facility that was completed 4 August 2021 at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. The museum has a large hangar floor and a mezzanine with a view of the airport runways. The museum’s collection includes more than 90 historic aircraft as well as 70,000 artifacts, texts, and photographs. Aircraft are displayed on the floor and suspended from the ceiling. Also included are one-of-a-kind aircraft, military jets, bush planes, and commercial aircraft. Exhibits are clustered in zones representing different aspects of aviation history, such as Canadian Innovation, Northern Connections, and Military Skies. Interactive displays such as Experience Flight and the Mechanics Workshop present a hands-on educational experience. A comprehensive aviation library located within the museum is one of the largest in Canada.

After the shuttle returned us to the hotel, we began organizing our belongings for the next day when we would board our charter flight to Churchill. Our remaining luggage would be transferred to our pre-arranged rooms at the historic Fort Garry Hotel. Rob and Tony called later in the afternoon to let us know that both Salle and Ellen had decided to skip dinner. The four of us went to Chicago Joe’s Restaurant for dinner.

We departed the Hampton Inn lobby at 5:30 AM on Friday, 3 November, to go to the Charter terminal for our CalmAir charter flight to Churchill. We departed Winnipeg at 6:15 AM, were served breakfast on board, and arrived at Churchill around 8:45 AM. We took a bus some distance to the Tundra Buggy Dock where we would board our Tundra Buggy.

The visibility at the Churchill Airport was 5 miles at 10:00 AM, decreasing to 3 miles at 10:45 AM, and further decreasing to 2 miles at 1:50 PM. The average windchill was -4 degrees F (-7.78 degrees C) with wind gusting up to 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour). We also experienced blowing snow flurries with rapidly drifting snow. Our Tundra Buggy driver informed us that in very cold windy conditions, polar bears hunker down to shelter from the wind.

According to the tour operators, the Tundra Buggy is described as “... a very unique vehicle, well heated, and washroom equipped. The Buggy’s over-inflated tires allow unparalleled access onto the tundra. Conservation regulations restrict the routes these vehicles can follow in order to protect the fragile ecosystem of this sub-arctic region. The knowledgeable Tundra Buggy driver/interpreter will make every effort to ensure you have the most favorable conditions to photograph the bears. A platform on the rear of the buggy allows passengers to get an unrestricted view of the bears.” The Tundra Buggy passenger capacity is 40 people, with a spacious center aisle, and it has school bus type windows all along each side of the vehicle. The upper portion of each window can be lowered for unobstructed viewing from within the vehicle.

After boarding our Tundra Buggy, our driver/interpreter provided a briefing and then began our drive along the Tundra Buggy Trails. Our driver told us that it would be about an hour drive to reach the optimum polar bear viewing areas. During our drive out, one of our passengers spotted what he believed to be a polar bear walking far away in the distance. Our driver stopped and, sure enough, we could see a polar bear walking. I lowered the upper portion of the window adjacent to our seat and was able to photograph the bear using my camera’s maximum 30x optical zoom.

The weather continued to deteriorate during our Tundra Buggy day trip expedition. We were able to see another polar bear sleeping while sheltering from the wind. This bear ultimately moved, and I was able to take some additional photos and short video clips. Later, when we returned to this same location, it was completely covered with snow accumulation. I took a short video clip of the partially snow-covered polar bear with movement of the snow confirming that the bear was breathing.

During our time in the Tundra Buggy, we saw the two Tundra Buggy Lodges where people can book overnight and longer stays. We were also served a very nice lunch in our Tundra Buggy and were well informed by our driver during all our time on board. Beside the polar bears, we saw an Arctic Fox sheltering adjacent to a large rock, two Red Foxes, and a covey of Ptarmigans.

After returning to the Tundra Buggy Docking area, we transferred to a bus that took us into the town of Churchill where we were served dinner at the Seaport Restaurant. After dinner, the bus took us to some local stores for people who wanted to do some shopping. We returned to the Churchill Charter Terminal in time for our 8:30 PM flight back to Winnipeg. Shortly after arriving at the terminal, we were informed that CalmAir had diverted the airplane, which we had chartered for the entire day, to replace another CalmAir airplane that was delayed by a mechanical issue.

After a lengthy delay at the Churchill Charter Air Terminal, we finally boarded another CalmAir airplane around 11:00 PM for the return flight to Winnipeg. Upon arrival at Winnipeg, we were transferred to the Fort Garry Hotel and arrived in our room sometime after 2:00 AM. After arriving at the hotel very late, we decided that we would plan to leave the hotel at 11:00 AM the following morning instead of the original 9:30 AM departure time for our scheduled Winnipeg sightseeing tour.

The next morning, Saturday, 4 November, we met up in the lobby of the hotel at 11:00 AM to go to the Leaf Botanical Garden. The Leaf is located in Assiniboine Park and is surrounded by roughly 30 acres of public gardens known as Gardens of The Leaf. The Leaf Botanical Garden is a spectacular indoor horticultural attraction where visitors journey through four distinct biomes: the Hartley and Heather Richardson Tropical Biome, the Mediterranean Biome, the Babs Asper Display House, and the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden. Since we arrived later than originally planned, we were given a short guided tour before our pre-scheduled lunch at the Gather Restaurant at the Leaf. The food at the restaurant was amazing.

We continued from the Leaf to embark on a short sightseeing tour en route to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. During this drive, our guide pointed out many landmarks, including a house that Neil Young once lived in, the Manitoba Legislative Building, Union Station, and the Esplanade Riel.

The Manitoba Legislative Building, originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, was completed in 1920 along with its famous Golden Boy, a gold-covered statue that sits at the top of the building’s cupola. It is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly and accommodates the offices for Manitoba’s Premier, the Lieutenant Governor, and the ministers and deputy ministers of provincial departments.

The Esplanade Riel, named after Louis Riel, is a five-meter wide and 250 meter-long foot bridge located north of the junction of the historic Red and Assiniboine Rivers and provides a link between The Forks and Winnipeg’s French Quarter. The bridge is cable-stayed from a single, transversely inclined pylon rising 57 meters above the Red River. It was opened in December 2003. It is also the only bridge in the world to have a restaurant in the middle where people can meet.

The last stop on our Winnipeg sightseeing tour was at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. It is the world’s first museum dedicated to human rights. Located adjacent to The Forks, it is also a Canadian Crown corporation and national museum. The purpose of the museum is to explore the subject of human rights with a special, but not exclusive, reference to Canada, to enhance the public’s understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others, and to encourage reflection and dialogue. It was opened on 19 September 2014. We had a short guided tour of the museum, which was excellent, but we could have used more time to truly appreciate the museum. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Winnipeg.

After we returned to the Fort Garry Hotel, Rob, Tony and I walked to the historic Winnipeg Union Station. It was constructed between 1908 and 1911 as a joint venture between the Canadian Northern Railway, the National Transcontinental, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, and the Dominion government. The first train to enter the station was on 7 August 1911 and the station officially opened on 24 July 1912. The main hall has a beautiful dome, and the building has large pictures along the wall as you walk toward the tracks. It is well worth a visit. After I returned home, I discovered that I missed seeing the Winnipeg Railway Museum located on the no longer used tracks 1 and 2. I am disappointed that I missed this museum.

After exiting the station, we walked behind the station en route to the Forks Market. In the open area behind Union Station, I saw a couple of vintage passenger rail cars and a caboose which are, in hindsight, part of the railway museum. The Forks Market was the first building to open at The Forks in 1889 as a horse stable. It is now a vibrant food hall with endless dining choices plus more than fifty shops. Rob and Tony had coffee before we walked back to the hotel.

The Fort Garry Hotel was built between 1911 and 1913 for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. It is one of a series of hotels constructed by Canadian railways in what is known as Chateau style. It is referred to as a palatial edifice on a downtown street lined by major institutional, commercial, and apartment structures. The Fort Garry Hotel is unique and is said to be the last surviving grand hotel in Manitoba. Our room was very comfortable, and we enjoyed our time there.

On Sunday, 5 November, we took a taxi to the Winnipeg airport and boarded the first of our Air Canada flights back home to Los Angeles. In retrospect, this was a phenomenal trip, and our experience on the day trip to see the Hudson Bay polar bears was fabulous.

See pictures from Canada

September/
October 2023
China

Travel Notes

My last trip to China was in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and the worldwide testing and strict travel restrictions. Although I was able to travel extensively to many foreign countries beginning in 2021, China remained closed to most foreign travel until mid-2023. After returning home from circumnavigating Japan, I learned that China opened up travel to foreigners and would honor all China tourist visas previously issued with expiration dates into the future. Since my existing China tourist visa would not expire until February 2025, I booked a return trip to Shanghai for mid-September 2023 with a return home in mid-October 2023.

Without any fixed agenda, I booked four nights at the Westin Shanghai Bund Center hotel where I planned to research and book additional travel reservations while in Shanghai. After arriving in Shanghai and taking a taxi to the hotel, I began to feel the impact of current governmental restrictions. I discovered that my current email, AOL, is no longer supported in China so I suddenly had no access to my AOL email and contacts. In addition, I learned that Gmail and all things supported by Google, including Google Maps and Google Translate, were no longer accessible. WhatsApp was no longer available and, although I could receive limited WhatsApp messages, I could not connect to my WhatsApp account. I also found that my T-mobile SMS text messages worked between China and the USA but not within China. About halfway through my trip to China, T-mobile no longer allowed me to make local phone calls within China. I also quickly discovered that none of my American credit cards could be used with local merchants in China.

Today in China, nearly all transactions are electronic transactions by a mobile phone App. Almost nobody carries Yuan currency and most merchants were unable to provide Yuan as change for cash purchases paid for in Yuan. Fortunately, Bank of China still honored my ATM card and allowed me to obtain China Yuan to pay for items. Carrying around large amounts of small Yuan notes for ordinary transactions like restaurants, admission fees, taxis, trains, etc. would become the new normal for me. Apple based applications (Apple translate and Apple maps) would become godsends and the Ctrip English app and website would accept charges booked on my American credit cards for airline, train, and hotel reservations. In addition, my Bonvoy and Hilton Hotel apps worked for hotel reservations. When I tried to use Skype, Microsoft determined that I was logging in from an unusual location and then sent a sign-on access code to my inaccessible AOL email which made Skype also unusable. Welcome to travel within China as a foreigner.

I arrived at the Shanghai Pudong PVG airport on 14 September at 4:40 PM and, after clearing immigration, I took a taxi to the Westin Shanghai Bund Center hotel. Over the next several days, I spent time walking around downtown Shanghai and obtaining a large quantity of Yuan for ordinary purchases. While in Shanghai, I also spent time researching and booking ongoing travel reservations. My new itinerary would include Zhangjiajie, Chengdu, Kāshí, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Nanjing, and Suzhou.

On Monday, 18 September, I took high-speed train G1369 from Shanghai Hongqiao station to Zhangjiajie West station to visit Tianmen Mountain. After checking into the Zhangjiajie Hilton Hampton Inn hotel, I ate dinner at a local restaurant. I then located the nearby Tianmen Mountain Cableway station that I would take to the mountain the following morning. Tianmen Mountain, located about 8 kilometers from downtown Zhangjiajie, is 1,518 meters (4,196 feet) high. Tianmen Mountain got its name from the Tianmen Cave, a natural karst cave across the mountain, that is 431 feet high and 187 feet wide. This cave is also referred to as the “Stairway to Heaven.” The Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the “longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world.” The mountain has glass walkways, escalators, and walking paths that make it a unique mountain hiking experience.

On Tuesday morning, 19 September, I purchased an all-inclusive access ticket to visit and hike Tianmen Mountain. The ticket provided access to the Tianmen Mountain Cableway, the mountain escalators and chairlift, the second Tianmen Mountain Cave Express Cableway, and the shuttle bus back to the main cableway station.

After riding the main cableway all the way to the upper station, I hiked to Yunming Fairy Peak Pagoda and then took a chairlift across the mountain summit to the Tianmen Mountain Temple. From there, I hiked to the Cliffside Path South and continued on via the Eastern Cliffside Glass Bottom Path. From the glass bottom path, I hiked across the top of the mountain, above the cave, to the North Overlooking Tianmen Cave. From here I hiked to the Transmountain Escalator which took me to the entrance of Tianmen Cave at the top of the Stairway to Heaven. After spending some time in the cave, I hiked to the multiple Tianmen Cave escalators that took me down to the square at the base of the Stairway to Heaven looking up toward Tianmen Cave. I hiked from there to the Upper Station of the Tianmen Cave Express Cableway. I took the cableway down to the lower station and boarded a shuttle bus that took me to the main cableway station near my hotel. By the time I reached my hotel, I had logged 18,741 steps for the day.

On Wednesday, 20 September, I took a bus to the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon to visit not only the canyon but also the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge. This glass bridge has a length of 430 meters (1,410 feet) and a height of 300 meters (985 feet). I admired the beautiful Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon below as I walked across the bridge. As I returned back across the bridge, a rain shower began and continued in earnest during the bus ride back to Zhangjiajie.

As rain continued on Thursday, 21 September, I visited the Zhangjiajie Museum which had a nice arrangement of exhibits and artifacts. From the museum, I continued on to visit what is referred to as Dayong Ancient City. This area appeared to be a modern-day creation of an ancient city in which most of the buildings were unoccupied and closed. I ate lunch here and had a delicious spicy shrimp dish.

On Friday, 22 September, I took the G6429 high-speed train from Zhangjiajie West station to Huaihua South station and connected with the G2165 high-speed train to the Chengdu East station. After arriving at Chengdu, I took a taxi to the JW Marriott Chengdu hotel. The following morning, I took the metro to the Chengdu East station, where I purchased a train ticket from Chengdu to Leshan to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha on 24 September. I also purchased a train ticket from Lanzhou to Nanjing for later in my travels. During the afternoon of 23 September, I re-visited the Chengdu Museum located near my hotel.

The train trip to Leshan took about one hour on Sunday, 24 September. Located at the joint of the Minjiang, Dadu, and Qingyi rivers, Leshan Giant Buddha sits facing Leshan City across the river. It is the largest cliff rock carving Maitreya Buddha statue in the world. It was listed as a World Natural & Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.

In ancient Tang Dynasty (8th century AD), the water at the confluence of the three rivers was very fierce and boats were often capsized here. Thus, to slow down the water flow, Monk Haitong recruited craftsmen to build the Giant Buddha. Haitong began the carving in AD 713. When carving the shoulder of the Buddha, Haitong passed away. After his death, the project was suspended for a long time. Some years later, the apprentice of Haitong continued to build the Giant Buddha with the help of a donation from local government officer Zhangchou Jianqiong. The project was suspended again when the knees were just completed. Forty years later, the project was continued again, and, after the efforts of three generations, the Giant Buddha was finally completed in AD 803. This huge project took nearly 90 years to complete.

The Giant Buddha was carved from the Lingyun Mountain, with its head reaching to the mountaintop and its feet standing next to the river. The total height is 71 meters. The head measures 14.7 meters high and 10 meters wide. The ears are 7 meters long, while the nose is 5.6 meters long and the mouth and eyes are 3.3 meters long. The distance between knees and insteps is 28 meters tall. The insteps can hold over a hundred people. There are 1,021 spiral coils on the Buddha head, all consisting of stones inlaid onto the rocky head. Two Virudhakas that measure over 16-meters tall stand side by side on the cliff to protect the Giant Buddha.

On Monday, 25 September, I flew from Chengdu to Kashi on Air China and checked into the Radisson Blu hotel. Locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Beijing, Kashi is a beautiful oasis that has been the epicenter of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia.

Kashi is located in the southwestern edge of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. As the westernmost city of China the name Kashi has its origin in the Uyghur word Kashgar and has multiple meanings including “colored brick houses” or “jade converging land.” Kashi area was ruled by Kingdom “Shule” which was once of the ancient kingdoms in the Western Regions during pre-Qin times. During the late Qin and early Han Period, the area was under the jurisdiction of the Huns. In 119 BC, Zhang Qian entered Shule on his mission to connect with the Western Regions. In 60 BC, the imperial court of the Han Dynasty set up a Western Regions Frontier Command and Kashi was officially incorporated in the Chinese territory as part of the Western Regions. By the Tang Dynasty, Kashi had become an important military stronghold, one of the four towns in Anxi of the Western Regions.

From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, Kashi was ruled by the Karahan Empire and the Western Liao Kingdom successively. Kashi was made the capital city of the Karahan Empire. After the successful westward expedition by Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, Kashi was granted to Chagatai, Genghis Khan’s second son, as his fief. Since the Han Dynasty, the southern, northern, and central routes of the Silk Road all passed through Kashi, where it became the meeting point for westbound travels. As the distribution center and transit point of commodities, Kashi played a pivotal role in the development of the Silk Road. To this day, Kashi still retains many famous historical sites such as the Apak Hoja Tomb (Fragrant Princess Tomb), the Id Kah Mosque, the former site of the Yarkant Kingdom, the Moer Pagoda, the Stone City, etc. All of these sites attract people to come to Kashi to track down the vicissitudes of history and culture of the Western Regions.

The unique regional environment of desert oasis and the heavy historical and cultural influences formed Kashi’s unique ancient style and traditional district layout. While this was very common in Central Asia, West Asia, and China’s Western Regions in ancient times, it is no longer seen in modern times. As the only existing district bearing typical western region characteristics in ancient times, Kashi’s historic old district offers valuable information for the study of cultural development and evolution of cities in the Western Regions in ancient times and the developmental history of Xinjiang.

On Tuesday, 26 September, I visited Kashi Ancient City, walking around the narrow streets and taking in the atmosphere of a bazaar dating hundreds of years old. It is difficult to determine how much is actually ancient and how much has recently been restored. I also took a shuttle bus ride through two portions of the old city.

The following day, I visited the Xiangfei Garden complex which was quite large and included not only the Arbaheja Mausoleum complex but also two old mosques and a Uyghur folk village and bazaar. The Arbaheja Mausoleum, a magnificent Muslim building in the outskirts of Kashi, is said to have been built during the seventeenth century and is covered with glazed green tiles with a vaulted top. The walls and doorways are all elaborately decorated with flower patterns. Inside the mausoleum are seventy-three tombs of five generations of the Arbaheja clan. Much of the social position of the Arbahejas came from the fact that during the Qing Dynasty, a daughter of the family was married to Emperor Qian Long and was given the title Xiang Fei (Fragrant Concubine). She was buried at the Eastern Tombs in Jixian County, Hebei Province, after her death. Her mausoleum is still called Xiang Fei Tomb in her memory. I went from here to visit the Kashi Museum which was well worth the visit.

On Thursday, 28 September, I tried to find the Kashi Grand Bazaar which was listed as a must-see attraction. The first taxi driver dropped me off in front of a bazaar that had no connection to the Kashi Grand Bazaar. It was located beside the river, opposite the Kashi Ancient City, and provided several good photos. After three missed attempts by taxi drivers who had no idea where the Kashi Grand Bazaar was located, I settled on walking down a traditional Uyghur food street and purchased some delicious naan bread. In retrospect, I probably should have requested the taxi drivers to take me to the Kashi Sunday Bazaar. I then returned to the Kashi Ancient City where I took a couple of photos of the Id Kah Mosque.

On Friday, 29 September, I flew from Kashi to Urumqi on Hainan Airlines. It had been seven years since I visited Urumqi and I was interested to see the extent of the changes over that time period. Urumqi is the capital of the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. The city (whose name in Uyghur means “fine pasture”) is situated in a fertile belt of oases along the northern slope of the eastern Tien (Tian) Shan range. Urumqi commands the northern end of a gap leading from the Tarim Basin into the Junggar (Dzungarian) Basin.

The area first came under full Chinese control in the 7th and 8th centuries, when the Chinese established the protectorate general of Beiting some 80 miles (130 km) to the east. A county named Luntai, which had earlier been founded at Urumqi in 640, became an important center for caravans traveling into the Ili River valley from the main route across Turkistan. After the withdrawal of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) from the area in the 750s, Urumqi came under the control of the Uyghurs. It again came under Chinese rule during the campaigns of the Qing Dynasty against the Dzungars in the 18th century.

In 1760, military colonies were established in the surrounding oases, and, in 1763, a Chinese city called Dihua was founded there. The city became an important Manchu garrison for northwestern China. When the Muslim rebellion broke out in Xinjiang in the 1860s, Urumqi was taken by the rebels in 1864, but it was eventually recaptured in 1876 by Qing forces under Zuo Zongtang. When the province of Xinjiang was set up in 1884, Urumqi (Dihua) became its capital.

Since my last visit, massive infrastructure changes had been completed including everything from the airport to elevated highways and an extensive high-rise apartment development. I stayed at the Hilton Urumqi hotel. This hotel was adjacent to a new exhibition center as well as the Hongguangshan Mountain Park, the Red Hongguang Dafo Temple, the new Urumqi Cultural Center, and the new Urumqi Museum. The infrastructure changes were so dramatic that I didn’t recognize Urumqi after seven years of modernization.

On Saturday, 30 September, I hiked through the Hongguangshan Mountain Park to visit the Red Hongguang Dafo Temple. This temple, the largest Han Buddhist Temple in Northwest China, is notable for a very large Golden Buddha statue that dominates the skyline above the temple complex. The Buddha statue measures 40.8 meters high and 14 meters in diameter. Buddha’s hands are 5.7 meters high while Buddha’s ears are 2.6 meters high.

After spending time to thoroughly explore the temple, I took a taxi to visit the new Xinjiang Museum. Another magnificent museum complex, Xinjiang Museum has imported several exhibits that I had seen at other regional museums seven years earlier. The exhibits here were wonderful, and I am very happy that I chose to visit the museum.

On Sunday, 1 October, I walked from my hotel to the Urumqi Cultural Center to visit the new Urumqi Museum. In this municipal museum, the exhibits were very well presented. I was amazed that nearly everything here in Urumqi appeared to be very newly constructed. I took a taxi from the Urumqi Cultural Center complex to the Urumqi Grand International Bazaar.

During my last visit here, I had the opportunity to hold a golden eagle in a relatively uncrowded area of the bazaar. This time, access to the Urumqi Grand International Bazaar was controlled similarly to downtown Lasha, Tibet, and the bazaar was packed with people. I was looking forward to having lunch at one of the local Uyghur streetside restaurants of seven years ago, however, the streetside restaurants were also a thing of the past. I settled on some grilled lamb kabobs at one of the current restaurants within the confines of the updated bazaar.

On Monday, 2 October, I flew from Urumqi to Lanzhou on China Southern Airlines and stayed at the Hilton Lanzhou City Center hotel. Since I had visited Lanzhou on prior occasions, I visited the Gansu Provincial Museum the following day. It was a rainy morning, and the museum was very crowded. Parts of the museum building appeared to have been recently refurbished while other parts of the building appeared neglected. The exhibits were worth the visit, and I was glad that I took time to return.

On Wednesday, 4 October, I took high-speed train G1972 for an all day trip to Nanjing. After arriving at Nanjing station, I stayed at the Westin Nanjing Xuanwu Lake hotel.

On Thursday, 5 October, my first visit was to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. This memorial is very well organized and presented. It documents the 300,000 victims of the 13 December 1937 Japanese bombardment of Nanjing and takes several hours to completely tour the exhibits. I didn't realize that Nanjing (Nanking) back in 1937 was the capital city of China and the fall of Nanjing was a massacre of epic proportions. After the fall of Nanjing, the capital of China was relocated to Chongqing.

My second visit was to the Nanjing Municipal Museum, also referred to as the Chaotian Palace or Worshiping the Heaven Palace. It was originally a temple and one temple building contained a large collection of historical exhibits and artifacts. After visiting this museum, I had the taxi driver drive across the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge before dropping me off at my hotel.

On Friday, 6 October, I went to the Qinhuai River Scenery Belt, a scenic zone en route to the Confucius Temple. The Confucius Temple was very picturesque and well worth the visit. I then took a taxi to the Nanjing Museum, a large new complex, and visited the Historical Exhibits Hall. From here, I continued by taxi to a park adjacent to the Xuanwu Lake and the Nanjing City Wall. After hiking along the lake, I came to a place where I could climb up to the top of the Nanjing City Wall. I hiked along the top of the wall to an exit point near my hotel. The wall has been restored and is a truly wonderful experience – almost like a section of the Great Wall of China.

On Saturday, 7 October, I took high-speed train G7009 from Nanjing to Suzhou and stayed at the Marriott Suzhou hotel. The following day, I walked along Dongbei Jie eu route to the Humble Administrator’s Garden and Suzhou Museum. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is a World Heritage Site and is considered by some people to be the finest garden among China’s four most famous gardens. It was a spectacular garden and one of the highlights of this trip.

The Suzhou Museum is located on a portion of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Although it was nice, it simply couldn't compare to the many other museums that I visited during this trip.

My last stop was at the Hanshan Temple. Hanshan Temple, literally meaning Cold Mountain Temple, is located in Gusu District of Suzhou city. In the Zhenguan period (AD 627-649) of the Tang Dynasty, Hanshan and Xiqian, two famous monks at that time, founded Hanshan Temple. In more than 1300 years, Hanshan Temple was destroyed by fire at least five time. The last reconstruction was during the Guangxu period (AD 1875-1908) of the Qing Dynasty. In history, Suzhou Hanshan Temple was one of the top ten famous temples in China.

On Monday, 9 October, I took high-speed train G2873 from Suzhou to Shanghai and returned to the Shanghai Westin Bund Center hotel. Since I had been to Shanghai on previous occasions and did not have a burning desire to visit anything new there, I stayed at the hotel and began working on editing photos and writing my travel notes.

On Thursday, 12 October, I flew back home to Los Angeles. As I contemplate the complexities and difficulties with my current independent travel to mainland China, I have decided that this could very well be my last trip to the mainland.

See pictures from the Marquesas Islands

June 2023
Marquesas Islands

Travel Notes

After visiting Easter Island in January 2023, I researched travel to the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, because the native inhabitants of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) believe that their ancestors came to Easter Island from the Marquesas Islands. Recent scientific and archaeological evidence tend to support this belief. I found that a mixed-class freighter operated by Aranui Cruises sails between Papeete, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands. I booked this 12-day voyage for June 2023 aboard the ARANUI 5.

I departed Los Angeles on Thursday, 15 June, on a flight to Papeete, Tahiti. I spent two nights at the Tahiti Hilton Hotel before boarding the ARANUI 5 on Saturday, 17 June. The ARANUI 5 is 124 meters long and carried 120 crew members plus approximately 130 passengers on this voyage. Meals for the passengers were served in the dining room on Deck 4. Breakfast was always buffet while lunch and dinner were served. Wine was included with both breakfast and dinner. Other public areas included a Lounge on Deck 5, the Veranda Bar on Deck 6, a Sky Bar on Deck 9, as well as open deck areas aft on decks 7 and 8.

We sailed from Papeete at 4:00 PM en route to the atoll of Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Archipelago. After sailing, we had an English Speaking group meeting with our assigned guides, Lehi and Spencer, who would be our personal guides for the duration of the voyage. This was the first of daily meetings where they would brief us on the upcoming activities and shore visits. Our first dinner onboard was at 7:30 PM and breakfast in the morning was between 6:30 and 8:30 AM.

We arrived at Rangiroa on Sunday morning, 18 June. Rangiroa is the largest atoll of French Polynesia and the second largest atoll in the world. We were transported to the beach in what Aranui describes as barges. I believe they are more like the design of beach landing crafts used during the Second World War. They are flat bottom vessels with a ramp at the front to allow for dry landings on the beaches. They are much better for beach landings than the typical Zodiac boats. They also have doors on both sides to allow boarding and disembarkation at the ship and at piers.

People desiring to go ashore had the choice of an optional glass bottom boat excursion, spending time on the beach, going snorkeling from the beach, or visiting a pearl farm. I opted to walk along the beach looking for some scenic photo opportunities. The total time on shore was nearly four hours.

Back on the ship, lunch was served as we began the long journey to the Marquesas archipelago. During the afternoon, we had our daily English-speaking group meeting to discuss upcoming itineraries. Prior to dinner, we were given a presentation by the Captain. This was followed by a fashion show where two crewmembers demonstrated the pareo attachment possibilities.

Monday, 19 June, was a sea day. Unfortunately, the guest lecturer on the Marquesas for this voyage missed the ship. As a result, onboard activities included weaving of leis, our daily group meeting, a presentation on the preparation of raw fish, an Ori Tahiti dance class, a ukulele class, a fashion show, and karaoke in the Veranda Bar.

We arrived at Nuku Hiva on the morning of 20 June. Nuku Hiva is 1,400 km away from Tahiti and is part of the northern group of the Marquesas archipelago. Like all the islands of the Marquesas archipelago, Nuku Hiva is volcanic and formed by the emerged ridge of volcanoes that have been extinct for 2 million years. The highest peak is 1,223 meters above sea level. Nuku Hiva is the second island after Tahiti in size. The municipality of Nuku Hiva is made up of 3 associated municipalities: Taiohae, Taipivai, and Hatiheu-Aakapa. The Taipivai Valley is famous for being home to the American writer Herman Melville. The village of Taiohae is the administrative capital of the archipelago.

After disembarkation, we visited the Cathedral of Taiohae. We continued from there to visit a craft center at Taipivai en route to the Kamuihai Archaeological Site. Here we were greeted by local dancers performing a pig dance in front of a gigantic Banyan tree. We toured the site and the one item that I found to be the most impressive was a large turtle petroglyph on top of a large boulder sitting on one of the platforms near a stone tiki.

We continued to the village of Hatiheu for a buffet lunch at the Chez Yvonne Katupa restaurant. The lunch was local Marquesas cuisine, and it was wonderful. After lunch, we could either take a car back to the ship or further explore Taiohae and then walk back to the ship. I opted to go to Taiohae and walk back along the beach to take photos of sculptures along the way.

Back on the ship, we had our daily group meeting and then had a Polynesian evening with an exquisite buffet on Deck 7 followed by a Polynesian show.

On the morning of Wednesday, 21 June, we arrived at the island of Ua Pou. Ua Pou is the third largest island of the Marquesas archipelago after Nuka Hiva and Hiva Oa. It has stunning basaltic peaks that dominate the bay of Hakahau. It is also famous for its “flower stones” because the designs of the stones look like flower petals. The real name of this volcanic rock is Garnet Phonolite, which is found only here in Hohoi Bay and in Brazil.

After breakfast, people without an optional excursion could disembark at the pier in Hakahau and hike up a nearby mountain to the cross overlooking the village of Hakahau. I had booked the optional full day excursion that consisted of both a morning 4x4 guided tour to Hohoi Bay as well as an afternoon 4x4 guided tour to Hakahetau. Yolani was the driver of my 4x4 vehicle. The morning tour stopped at various viewpoints en route to Hohoi Bay including the site where the 2019 Festival of the Marquesas Islands (Matavaa O Te Henua Emana) was held. The festival occurs every two years and gathers dancers, singers, and artists from not only all over the Marquesas but also from Tahiti and Rapa Nui. This festival consists of three days of music, dance, and joy to celebrate the beauty of the Marquesas culture and to share it with everyone who has the chance to be there. It also rotates among different islands.

After spending some time at Hohoi Bay, hoping to find a flower stone on the beach, we returned to the Hakahau Cultural Center to see a Polynesian dance performance. We then walked from the cultural center to the Chez Tata Rosalie restaurant for a very nice buffet lunch featuring local food varieties.

After lunch, I again met Yolani for the afternoon excursion. While I was on the afternoon excursion, the other passengers had free time and were treated to a Tahitian “Ori Tahiti” performance on board the ship. Meanwhile, my afternoon excursion took in several very nice viewpoints en route to the village of Hakahetau. Hakahetau is a small picturesque village at Hakahetau Bay. Village residents and the mayor served drinks and fruit to us while they played Polynesian music. We returned to the ship from here, arriving about thirty minutes before the ship departed.

We arrived at Ua Huka Island early morning on Thursday, 22 June, and anchored in Vaipaee Bay. Ua Huka is in the Northern group of the archipelago and is one of the smallest islands in the Marquesas. The highlights include an arboretum that brings together more than three hundred species of trees from all over the world. It is also famous for its endemic Blue bird, the Pihiti (Marquesas lory). Ua Huka is the only island free of the black rat in the Marquesas archipelago.

After breakfast, we were transported to the pier by the ARANUI 5 landing barges. We boarded 4x4 vehicles at the pier and were driven to the Arboretum for a guided tour. From here, we drove along the coast with a stunning viewpoint stop en route to visit the Community Museum of Ua Huka that has wonderful historical exhibits. We continued on to the Hane Handcraft and Sea Museum. After visiting the sea museum, we continued on to visit the Te Tumu Museum and then had a very nice buffet lunch featuring local dishes at the Te Tumu restaurant. After lunch, we were given a choice of riding back to the ship by 4x4 vehicle or returning part way and hiking the last two miles back to the ship to be ready for the daily English-speaking group activity meeting.

We arrived at Hiva Oa on the morning of 23 June. Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas archipelago. This island is famous because both French artist, Paul Gauguin, and Belgian poet, singer, and actor, Jacques Brel, are buried here. The village of Atuona is where Paul Gauguin lived and created some of his works of art. The village has a wonderful museum displaying replicas of many of Gauguin’s works in addition to a replica of his “house of pleasure.” Brel was an avid pilot and would use his twin engine airplane, named Jojo, in medical evacuations to Tahiti when locals were in need. The small Brel museum is adjacent to the Gauguin museum. It is a green building that houses his restored airplane. While I believe the Gauguin museum is a bargain, I feel that the Brel museum admission is somewhat excessive.

We docked at the Atuona pier. People who wanted to take a two-mile hike to visit the cemetery departed the ship first. Later, people who wanted to take a bus to town disembarked. I chose to hike to the cemetery to see the graves of Gauguin and Brel. I continued hiking downhill into town and visited both museums. I returned to the ship for lunch and then returned to town after lunch to visit the Tohua Pepe, town square. It was restored for one of the installments of the legendary Marquesas Arts Festival. It resembles an ancient ceremonial complex and is lined with stone statues. As I walked around the complex, some young girls were practicing Marquesas dancing. I later returned to the ship to get ready for the daily activity meeting.

We returned to Hiva Oa on the morning of 24 June and docked at the Pumau pier to visit the Maa’e Iipona archaeological site, which had incredible tikis. Much of this site remains unexcavated, and it was the most elaborate site that we visited in the Marquesas Islands. After visiting the site, we returned to the ship for a group activity meeting to prepare for our visit to Fatu Hiva. During lunch, the ship relocated to Tahuata Island. Tahuata Island is only four kilometers away from Hiva Oa and is only accessible by boat. It is also the smallest island in the archipelago. We visited the village of Vaitahu and the craft center with an adjacent festival area containing many tikis. We also visited the Catholic church with pebble walls and a magnificent stained glass window featuring Marquesan history embedded within the glass.

We arrived at Fatu Hiva during the morning of 25 June and docked at the Omoa pier. This island is only accessible by boat from Hiva Oa. Fatu Hiva is not only the southernmost island of the Marquesas archipelago but also the most isolated. The island is made up of only two villages located in the hollow of two calderas formed by the two volcanoes of the island. Hanavave features baroque basalt columns while Omoa, the capital, features a rocky peak with a profile of a moai pascuan. Fata Hiva is also the island of tapa, the transformation of plant fibers into fabrics. Tapa making is traditionally done by women, and the designs are often inspired by ancient Marquesan tattoos.

We were given three options upon arrival. People who signed up for the 15 kilometer (10 mile) hike from Omoa to Hanavave disembarked first and began hiking after viewing a tapa demonstration on the waterfront. People who signed up for the optional tour and non-hikers disembarked later and also viewed the tapa demonstration for all non-hiking passengers. Non-hikers would return to the ship for lunch and continue to Hanavave Bay aboard the ship.

I signed up for the optional tour from Omoa to Hanavave in a 4x4 vehicle. After visiting the craft center on the waterfront, we drove the same mountain road that the hikers walked along. At the summit, we were served the same picnic lunch that the hikers ate, then continued by 4x4 to Hanavave. We were treated to many stunning views during the optional tour.

After arriving at Hanavave, people had a choice of returning to the ship or watching a demonstration of “Pani” and “Aeu pipi” in the Vanavave Cultural Center. I chose to return to the ship. That evening we had a farewell to the Marquesas with musical entertainment on Deck 7.

After a sea day with a lovely Polynesian brunch, we arrived at Makatea on Tuesday morning, 27 June. Makatea is an isolated coral island situated within the Tuamotu Archipelago. It has a wide 30 square kilometer plateau bounded by 80 meter-high cliffs that rise up from the sea. It is also the remnant of a barrier reef now disappeared. Important quantities of phosphate were discovered on the island and were mined from 1917 until after the end of World War II. Today the island is home to 94 inhabitants.

Passengers from the ARANUI 5 picked up a picnic lunch before being transported by the barges to shore. They viewed remnants of the phosphate mining operation and railroad en route to a cave where some people went swimming. After enjoying a picnic lunch, they returned to the ship to begin packing up for disembarkation at Papeete, Tahiti, early the following morning.

We arrived at Papeete at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, 28 June. After disembarking, I took a taxi to the Tahiti Hilton hotel where Hilton upgraded me to a multi-room suite. The following day, I took a taxi to visit the Tahiti and the Islands Museum. This museum reopened in the spring of 2023 following extensive renovations. The building was gorgeous, and the exhibits were exceptional with some back on loan from the British Museum. Reviewers have complimented the museum on its picturesque location on the Nu’uroa Cape. It is divided into four distinct sections: the first focuses on geography and natural history; the second on pre-European culture; the third on the effects of colonization; and the fourth on natural wonders. I would recommend this museum to anyone visiting Papeete.

After the wonderful visit to the museum, I returned to the hotel and prepared for my flights home the next day. On the evening of Friday, 30 June, I boarded my flight to San Francisco where I connected with my flight to Los Angeles. I returned home on the morning of Saturday, 1 July.

April/May 2023
Japan & Alaska

Travel Notes

Jan and I originally booked a Holland America voyage circumnavigating Japan and continuing on to Vancouver, BC, during 2019 prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. It was canceled and rescheduled several times by Holland America. Holland America finally rebooked us on a similar voyage departing Yokohama, Japan, on 10 April 2023 and ending at Seattle, Washington, on 7 May 2023.

We flew to Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday, 4 April, and spent three nights in Yokohama before boarding the Holland America WESTERDAM cruise ship. It rained the first two days at Yokohama, but we were able to visit the Sankeien Garden on Sunday, 9 April.

The Sankeien Garden is a beautiful 175,000 square meter Japanese garden. It was created by Tomitaro Hara, a Japanese businessman who is often referred to as Sankei Hara. He acquired the land in 1902 and began construction of the garden. The centerpiece landmark of the garden is the Tomyo-ji three-storied pagoda that was originally constructed in Kyoto in1457 and relocated to Sankeien in 1914. The garden has a beautiful lake and, as of 2022, contains 10 national important cultural property buildings and 3 Yokohama city-designated tangible cultural buildings. There are a total of 17 buildings located on the grounds. The garden was first opened to the public in 1906. It was given to the city of Yokohama in 1953. We hiked around the garden and marveled at the gorgeous photo opportunities available.

During the morning of Monday, 10 April, we boarded the WESTERDAM and settled into our stateroom on Deck 8. We departed Yokohama in the evening and arrived at Omaezaki, Japan, the following morning.

Our first Holland America shore excursion was a visit to the Nihon-daira National Park, the Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, and the Yaizu Fish Market. The Nihon-daira National Park is a scenic area located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan. Nihon-daira is a hill area with a height of 307 meters. It won 1st prize of Japan’s Top 100 Tourist Attraction competition, with a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji, Shimizu harbor, Izu peninsula, and the Japanese Southern Alps. There are many different views that can be seen from the top, such as the plum plantation blooms during February and March and the cherry blossoms in late March. When we visited the Nihon-daira Lookout, the weather was hazy and Mt. Fuji was barely visible.

We also rode the Nihon-daira ropeway that connects the Nihon-daira peak with the Kunozan Toshogu Shrine. The ride to visit the shrine took about five minutes each way and offered a beautiful view of Suruga Bay.

The Kunozan Toshogu is a Shinto shrine that is the original burial place of the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Thus, it is the oldest of the Toshogu shrines in the country. The shrine has a history of over 400 years. It enshrines Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and brought peace to Japan for 265 years. Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) endured many hardships in his youth before becoming the first Tokugawa shogun in 1603. He retired as Shogun in 1605, and spent the remainder of his days in Sumpu, the current Shizuoka City. At the age of 75, he passed away on 17 April 1616. Before his death, Ieyasu had instructed his retainers to bury his remains at Kunozan. Ieyasu’s successor, the second Shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, carried out Ieyasu’s instructions and ordered a shrine to be built to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu. The beautifully decorated shrine buildings were designated as a National Treasure in 2010.

We stopped at the Yaizu Fish Market before returning to the ship. This was the obligatory shopping stop. The only thing that intrigued me was a machine where people could try to snatch crabs from a bin using a mechanical arm with a drop-down claw. It was similar to machines in the USA that children use to get stuffed animals from a bin.

After sailing overnight, we arrived mid-morning at Kobe, Japan, on Wednesday, 12 April. Since we didn’t have an excursion, we took taxis to visit both the Ikuta Shrine and the Sorakuen Garden.

The Ikuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Chuo Ward of Kobe, Japan, and is among the oldest shrines in the country. According to Nihon Shoki, the second oldest book of classical Japanese history, it was founded by the Empress Jingu at the beginning of the 3rd century AD to enshrine Kami Wakahirume. It was one of three shrines established at this time; the others are Hirota Shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu, and Nagata Shrine, dedicated to Kotoshiro-nushi (also known as Ebisu).

Ikuta Shrine is worshiped as a guardian of health. This is also reflected in the shrine’s name, as the first Chinese character means “life.” For the people of Kobe, Ikuta Shrine is also a symbol of resurrection, as it survived several challenges in the past: wars were fought in and around the shrine grounds during the Genpei War (1180 - 1185); heavy flooding from the nearby river occurred in 1938; there were air raids over Kobe during World War II; and it suffered from the damage caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. Ikuta Shrine withstood all the damage and is therefore a symbol of hope for the residents. This is particularly evident on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, when people throng the shrine by the thousands for hatsumode (the first Shinto shrine visit in the New Year), praying for good health and happiness for the coming year.

Our next stop was to visit the Sorakuen Garden which is located in Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan. It is one of the few historical Japanese gardens that exists within Kobe city. It adopts a “chisen kaiyu shiki” style that features a path around a pond. The giant camphor tree standing inside the garden is considered one of the most iconic elements of the site. This tree is known to have been there before the original residence of Kodera Yasujiro was built. It was formerly attached to the Taisho-era residence of Kodera Yasujiro. Ownership passed to the city of Kobe in 1941. Most of the former residence was destroyed in the Pacific War; the stables of 1907 survived and have been designated an Important Cultural Property. Also contained within the garden are the former Hassam Residence, built by the English architect Alexander Nelson Hansell in 1902 and relocated to its current site in 1963; an Edo-period building shaped like a boathouse, dating from 1682-1704; a tea house; and a stroll garden. In 2006 Sorakuen was registered as a Place of Scenic Beauty.

After another night at sea we arrived at Kochi, Japan, on Thursday morning, 13 April. Since we didn’t have an excursion, I took a taxi from the ship to visit the Chikurin-ji Temple and the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden.

Chikurin-ji is a Shingon temple located on top of Mount Godaisan about 5 kilometers southeast of downtown Kochi. Godaisan was named after a famous mountain temple in China, Wu-t’aisan (Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province). The name Chikurin-ji means “Bamboo Forest Temple.” According to legend, Emperor Shomu (701-756) ordered the monk Gyoki to find a mountain that resembled Wu-t'aisan, and, after having chosen this mountain, established a temple here. Gyoki is also credited with carving the honzon (main image) for the temple, a statue of Monju Bosatsu. Known as the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Monju is very popular with students taking exams. Chikurin-ji Temple is the 31st temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage and has a 5-story pagoda in the style of the Kamakura Period, though it was built in 1980.

The Makino Botanical Garden, also known as the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden, was established in 1958 with a research laboratory and museum dedicated to Tomitaro Makino (1862-1957), the “Father of Japanese Botany.” Today, its collections include Japanese Rhododendron, Acer, Chrysanthemum, serpentine plants, limestone plants, plants of the Sohayaki region, and wild plants of the Kochi Prefecture region. This beautiful 8-hectare garden, characterized by slopes and dells, contains more than 3,000 species of plants related to Dr. Makino’s work and brings color to all four seasons. The garden is the only one in Shikoku that is constructed to have a natural ecosystem that balances the rich and beautiful environment of Mount Godai at an elevation of 130 meters above sea level.

After sailing overnight, we arrived at Fukuoka, Japan, at noon on Friday, 14 April. We took a taxi to Sasaguri to visit the Nanzo-in Shingon Buddhist temple.

The Nanzo-in temple is notable for its bronze statue of a reclining Buddha, said to be the largest bronze statue in the world. Nanzo-in was originally located on Mount Koya, but local anti-Buddhist authorities threatened to destroy the temple in 1886. Public outcry led to a decade-long effort to have the temple transferred to Sasaguri. It was moved in 1899, under the leadership of Sasaguri priest, Hayashi Satoshi. Nanzo-in is the main location among the 88 temples that make up the Sasaguri Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage.

The reclining Buddha statue, known as either Nehanzo or Shaka Nehan (“Nirvana”) is 41 meters long, 11 meters high, and weighs nearly 300 tons. The statue depicts Buddha at the moment of death, or entrance into nirvana. The interior holds ashes of Buddha as well as two Buddhist adherents, Ananda and Maudgalyayana. Those relics were a gift from Myanmar as thanks for the sect’s donations of medical supplies to children in both Nepal and Myanmar. In 1995, 1,300 monks from Myanmar and Nepal attended the unveiling of the reclining Buddha statue. Inside the sculpture, sand from each of the 88 shrines that make up the Sasaguri Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage are stored below bricks within a narrow hallway.

The Nanzo-in temple has 4,315 nokotsudo, places where bones of the deceased are stored. The temple has a non-traditional fee structure for housing remains that is open to all sects of Buddhism, as well as to Shinto remains. This aligns with many other Buddhist temples that rely on a monthly fee for housing the bones of the deceased, which are then disposed of after a set period of time. Nanzo-in has one fee, which covers 200 years.

After a full day at sea, we arrived early morning at Kanazawa, Japan, on 16 April. Once again, we took a taxi from the port to visit the Kenrokuen Garden which is located next to the Kanazawa Castle.

Kenrokuen (Garden of Six Attributes) is a strolling style garden. It was constructed during the Edo period by the Maeda clan, the feudal lords who ruled the former Kaga Domain. Along with Kairakuen and Korakuen, Kenrokuen is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan and is noted for its beauty across all seasons, particularly during winter. Spread over nearly 25 acres, features of the landscape include meandering paths, a large pond, several tea houses, and one of Japan’s oldest fountains. First open to the public in 1871, the garden was later designated a National Site of Scenic Beauty in 1922, and subsequently received status as a National Site of Special Scenic Beauty in 1985.

The garden restoration began in 1774 by the 11th daimyo Harunaga, who created the Midori-taki (Emerald Waterfall) and Yugao-tei (teahouse). Improvements continued in 1822 when the 12th daimyo Narinaga created the garden’s winding streams with water drawn from the Tatsumi Waterway. The 13th daimyo Nariyasu subsequently added more streams and expanded the Kasumi Pond. With this, the garden’s current form was complete. The garden opened to the public on 7 May 1874.

Kenrokuen contains roughly 8,750 trees and 183 species of plants in total. Among the garden’s points of special interest are the oldest fountain in Japan, operating by natural water pressure; a Karasaki Pine, planted from seed by the 13th lord Nariyasu; and a stone lantern with two legs. In winter, the park is notable for its yukitsuri – ropes attached in a conical array to carefully support tree branches in desired arrangements to protect the trees from damage caused by heavy snows.

After another day at sea, we arrived mid-morning at Busan, South Korea, on 18 April. Here we went on our second Holland America excursion to visit the Tongdosa Temple and the APEC House.

Tongdosa is Korea’s largest temple. It is one of the Three Jewels Temples and represents Gautama Buddha. Tongdosa, known in Korean as “Salvation of the World through Mastery of Truth,” is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It is located in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was established by the monk Jajang-yulsa after he returned from Tang China in 646 AD, during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla. It thrived throughout the later Silla and Goryeo periods (918-1392), when Buddhism was the state religion, and remained strong even during Joseon.

Tongdosa is famous because there are no statues outside of the Buddha at the temple. The “real shrines of the Buddha” (relics) are preserved at Tongdosa. Courtyards at the temple are arrayed around several pagodas that house several relics of the Buddha himself, including a robe, a begging bowl, and a bone from his skull. All relics were brought back from Jajang-yulsa’s travels to Tang China that he undertook in 636 to study with ten other monks.

Only one building, the Mahavira Hall (the main Dharma worship hall), survived the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century (1592–98). The other buildings were rebuilt later in that period. At the height of its prosperity in the mid-15th century, Tongdosa is said to have had hundreds of buildings and thousands of monks. For over 1,300 years, Tongdosa’s Beopdeung (temple candle) has never gone out.

Our next stop was the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Memorial Hall in the APEC Naru Park at the southern end of Dongbai Island, Busan, South Korea. The APEC Memorial Hall was built to commemorate the success of the 2005 Busan APEC Conference. All three floors were built with transparent glass and tempered brackets. The exterior was built with elements of the traditional Korean pavilion. The two-floor outdoor courtyard has panoramic sea views. There is a huge traditional Korean mural that features twelve kinds of plants and animals, including pine, cypress, deer, and turtles.

After another day at sea, we arrived at Otaru, Japan, at noon on Thursday, 20 April. Prior to disembarking the ship, we were required to be processed by Japan Immigration officials to re-enter Japan. Otaru is a port city on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands.

Once we disembarked from the ship, we took a taxi to visit the Otaru Railroad Museum, which is part of the Otaru Museum complex. The facility is located on the 5.8 hectare site of Temiya Station on the former Temiya Line, which was the birthplace of railways in Hokkaido. The museum owns 8 of the 12 quasi-railway monuments in Hokkaido, including the Railway Vehicle Preservation Museum, which is the oldest existing locomotive depot and railway monument in Japan. The museum itself is an impressive display of the development of the rail system in Hokkaido, beginning with the Meiji Restoration Period when the government mandated expansion and settlement into the area.

The centerpiece is the Japanese Government Railway (JGR) Class 7100 No. 7106 “Shizuka” steam locomotive built by H. K. Porter, Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was first used in Hokkaido. The oldest brick roundhouse in Hokkaido and Japan was built in 1885 and it remains here to this day. From old conductor uniforms to railway lights and signals, the interior of the museum is a great introduction into the history of rail in Hokkaido. Outside the main building there are trains, tracks, and stations from every era on display everywhere. The museum was fully made over and re-opened on 14 July 2007. This museum was amazing.

After completing the visit to the museum, we began walking back toward the cruise ship port. We walked along the picturesque Otaru Canal to the intersection of Sushi Street. We decided to have sushi while in Otaru and walked up Sushi Street to a small sushi restaurant. We ordered sushi from what appeared to be a set lunch menu and enjoyed possibly the best sushi that we have ever eaten. With lunch complete, we continued walking along several “shopping streets” en route to the ship.

After sailing overnight, we arrived early morning at Aomori, Japan, on Friday, 21 April. We had another Holland America excursion to visit the Seiryu Ji Temple and the Sannai-Maruyama Archaeological Site. This excursion also included a very nice lunch at a Japanese wedding facility.

Seiryu Ji is a newer Buddhist temple that was opened as a branch temple of Koyasan in 1984. It was founded by a Great Acharya Ryukou Oda, who later built Showa Daibutsu. Showa Daibutsu is approximately 21.35 meters in height and is the tallest seated bronze figure of Buddha in Japan. Within the site of the temple, there are the Main Hall, Five-story Pagoda, Kondo Hall, and some other buildings and statues. The Five-story Pagoda is 39 meters high and is the fourth highest in Japan. The grounds were picturesque with some cherry blossoms still blooming.

After lunch we visited the Sannai-Maruyama Site. It is an archaeological site and museum located in the Maruyama and Yasuta neighborhoods to the southwest of central Aomori. It contains the ruins of a very large Jomon period settlement. The Jomon Period is the earliest historical era of Japanese history beginning around 14,500 - 300 BC. The ruins of a 40-hectare settlement were discovered in 1992, when Aomori Prefecture started surveying the area for a planned baseball stadium. Excavation led to the discovery of storage pits, above ground storage, and longhouses. These findings demonstrated a change in the structure of the community, architecture, and organizational behaviors of the region. Because of the extensive information and importance, this site was designated as a Special National Historical Site of Japan in 2000. In 2021, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan. Its various reconstructions of Jomon structures, as well as a museum that displays and houses artifacts collected on the site, have collectively been designated an Important Cultural Property.

We sailed overnight and arrived early morning at Hakodate, Japan, on Saturday, 22 April. Since we didn’t have a shore excursion here, we took a taxi to the Goryokaku Tower to get an aerial view of Goryokaku Park and Fort Goryokaku.

The original Goryokaku Tower was completed in 1964. The present structure opened in 2006. It stands 107 meters tall and its observatory decks command the entire view of Goryokaku Park. It also provides views of Mt. Hakodate, Tsugaru Strait, and the Yokotsu mountain range. We were fortunate to be there at the peak of the cherry blossom viewing season. The 1,600 cherry trees that line the moat around the star-shaped fort turned the citadel pink. The tower is a premier viewing spot for the cherry blossoms.

Goryokaku was a fort completed in 1866 and was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo. It was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburo based on the work of the French architect Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.

The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by the Russian fleet. It became the capital of the Republic of Ezo, a state that existed only in 1869. It was the site of the weeklong last battle of the Boshin War between the Republic and the Empire of Japan. Today, Goryokaku is a park declared as a Special Historical Site, being a part of the Hakodate city museum and a citizens’ favorite spot for cherry-blossom viewing in the spring.

We took a taxi from the tower to the Mount Hakodate Ropeway lower station. The ropeway is an aerial lift that climbs Mount Hakodate. As of 2004, this was the most heavily used aerial lift line in Japan, transporting 1,559,000 riders yearly. The “Michelin Green Guide: Japan” gave the experience three out of three stars. In addition to the ropeway, the peak is also accessible by hiking, by bike, and by motor vehicle.

Mount Hakodate is an inactive volcanic mountain that was once separate from the mainland. Around 3,000 years ago, a sandbar connected the island to mainland Hokkaido, creating an isthmus called a tombolo on which downtown Hakodate is now located. The sandbar makes Mount Hakodate a tied island. It is renowned for its view of the surrounding bay and city.

When we arrived at the lower ropeway, we discovered that the ropeway was not operating. Consequently, our taxi driver drove us to the summit while stopping at a viewpoint mid-way up the mountain for a photo opportunity. At the summit, our taxi driver escorted us through the nearly deserted observation building providing us with a private tour of the facility and amazing views from the summit. We continued back to the cruise ship from here.

After another day at sea, we arrived early at Yokohama on Monday, 24 April. Due to forecasted bad weather to the north, the captain canceled the port visit to Kushiro, Japan, scheduled for 26 April and opted to stay at Yokohama overnight and depart during the evening of 25 April.

With two days in Yokohama, we decided to take a taxi to visit the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum on Monday, 24 April. The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, a food court that opened in 1994, is located in the Shin-Yokohama district of Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is devoted to Japanese ramen noodle soup and features a small recreation of Tokyo in the year 1958, the year instant noodles were invented. Within the museum are branches of famous ramen restaurants from Kyushu to Hokkaido. The list includes Ide Shoten, Shinasobaya, Keyaki, Ryushanhai, Hachiya, Fukuchan, and Komurasaki. In 2013, the museum added American restaurant Ikemen Hollywood to their restaurants, but subsequently closed the branch in June 2014. The museum has a Showa-era theme.

After touring the museum, we ate a bowl of ramen noodles in one of the restaurants and then took a taxi to the Aka-Renga Park located adjacent to the Osanbashi Yokohama International Cruise Terminal. Here we walked past the foundation ruins of the old center office of the Customs House Annex and visited a flower arrangement being constructed between the two Yokohama Red Warehouses. This provided several wonderful photo opportunities.

We continued walking along the waterfront to Yamashita Park where we strolled through the many flower exhibits that were part of the Garden Necklace Yokohama 2023 Expo. The exhibits were both extensive and amazing. We also viewed the ship NYK HIKAWA MARU which was docked adjacent to the park.

The following day, we took a taxi to visit the Yokohama Doll Museum. The doll museum is located near the Yokohama Marine Tower across the street from Yamashita Park. It is one of the largest doll museums in Japan. It displays 1,300 rare dolls from 140 countries around the world. The Yokohama Doll Museum first opened in March 1979. Earlier, in September 1978, a very large collection of dolls belonging to Hideko Oono was donated to the city of Yokohama. The 30th anniversary of Pickles the Frog special exhibit was featured on the third floor of the museum. This museum was definitely worth the visit.

We walked back to the ship from the museum and cleared Japanese Immigration prior to boarding the ship for our long repositioning voyage to Seattle, Washington, via Alaska. After six rainy days at sea, we arrived early morning at Kodiak, Alaska, on Tuesday, 2 May, where we cleared USA Immigration prior to disembarking.

The weather during the morning at Kodiak was beautiful and the morning light was perfect for photos. While in downtown Kodiak, we visited the National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center which had excellent exhibits. Once we completed our visit downtown, we walked back to the ship along the small boat harbor and canneries.

That evening, we departed Kodiak and had another day at sea en route to Sitka. We arrived at Sitka, Alaska, early on the morning of Thursday, 4 May, where we had another beautiful day. We had booked the “Birds, Bears and Barnacles” Holland America excursion which first took us to the Alaska Raptor Center. The center was established in 1980. The personnel there treat and rehabilitate injured raptor birds – with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. We were given an orientation presentation and viewed the bald eagle rehabilitation flight training center before going outside to see many of the birds at the center. There was also a nice nature trail through the forest adjacent to a stream where visitors could hike. The Raptor Center was well worth a visit. We continued on to visit the Fortress of the Bears, where orphaned black and brown bears reside in open areas. This stop provided photo opportunities of the bears.

A stop at the Sitka National Historic Park was substituted for the barnacles portion of the excursion which was canceled due to personnel illness. Since we had visited the National Park on two prior occasions, we walked back to downtown Sitka along the waterfront and I purchased a reindeer Polish sausage sandwich before returning to the ship to sail overnight to Ketchikan.

We arrived mid-morning at Ketchikan, Alaska, on Friday, 5 May. The weather at Ketchikan was overcast with periodic light rain. We had been here several times before and had booked the Holland America “Saxman Native Village Dance Performance and Totem Park” excursion for this visit. The village was about a fifteen minute bus ride from the pier. Here we visited the Beaver Clan House for a native dance performance and then went to the totem carving house where three carvers demonstrated totem pole carving techniques. We were then given free time to explore the numerous totem poles at the village. This was a very interesting excursion that I recommend.

After another day at sea, we completed our Holland America voyage and arrived at Seattle, Washington, early morning on Sunday, 7 May. We met up with our friends, Tom and Leslie from Orcas Island, and spent two more days in the Seattle area. On Monday, 8 May, we visited Kubota Garden, a 20-acre Japanese garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle. It was started in 1927 by Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese immigrant. Since 1987, the Garden has been maintained as a public park by Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Kubota Garden Foundation. Major features of the Kubota Garden include the Kubota Terrace, the Bamboo Grove, the Necklace of Ponds, the Mountainside, and the Tom Kubota Stroll Garden. Admission was free and strolling through the garden was wonderful.

On Tuesday, 9 May, we departed Seattle and flew back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Japan and Alaska

February 2023
Mexico Cruise

Travel Notes

After completing our Princess Cruise in December 2022, we arranged a family cruise for sixteen people and eight cabins aboard the DISCOVERY PRINCESS for the eight day cruise in February 2023. Jan and I boarded the ship at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, 25 February, to sail down the coast of Mexico and visit Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta.

Sunday, 26 February, was a day at sea and we arrived at Cabo San Lucas at noon on Monday, 27 February. After disembarking at Cabo, we walked to Marina Door 2 and located Esmeralda Tours for our whale watching tour that was scheduled to depart at 2:45 PM. A representative asked us if we would like to depart immediately instead of waiting until 2:45. We agreed and departed on a small boat with several other people to search for whales.

After sailing to the famous rock formations for the benefit of the other people in our boat, we began searching for whales in earnest. Although we saw a number of whales, most were visible only from a distance. It turned out to be mainly a nice boat ride. Of course, whale watching is a matter of being at the right spot at the right time to see the best whales.

We sailed from Cabo to Mazatlán and arrived at Mazatlán early Tuesday morning, 28 February. Well in advance of the cruise, we had booked a hike to the Faro Lighthouse on Cerro del Creston for 10:00 AM. About a week before arriving at Mazatlán, we received an email advising us that the hike would meet at the same location at 9:15 AM. When we arrived for the hike, we were informed that the hike was canceled due to insufficient interest. We were offered a Mazatlán City Highlights tour with a drop off at the lighthouse trail at the end in lieu of our hike. We agreed and joined eight other people for the city tour.

The first stop on the tour was at the viewpoint on Cerro del Vigia overlooking Cerro del Creston with views of the Faro Lighthouse, the Malecón, and the three offshore islands. One of the famous MAZATLAN tourist signs is situated here along with an old 1875 cannon commemorating the end of the Mexican-American War. We continued from here to Plaza Republica where there is a concentration of shoe shine and shoe repair stalls. The Plaza Republica was originally constructed in 1870. The ironwork Porfirian bandstand was constructed in 1909.

The plaza is situated in front of the Mazatlán City Hall building and the Basilica de la Inmaculada Concepción, the Central Mazatlán Cathedral. Construction of the cathedral began in 1856 on the site of an ancient Indian temple. Mazatlán’s turbulent history delayed completion of the church until 1899. After additional work, the church was elevated to the status of a “basilica.” The basilica has a unique architectural feature: each of its 28 stained glass windows incorporates a Star of David installed in gratitude for donations from German Mazatlán Jews.

We walked to the central market, Mercado Pino Suarez. This market is divided in sections by food types. There are aisles with fresh seafood, chickens, beef, and pork, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. The market also has cheese vendors as well as herb and spice shops. Beyond food, the market has numerous shops and vendors of tourist items, like t-shirts, hats, and all sorts of souvenirs. The upper level of the market has numerous small restaurants.

We continued on to El Clavadista where the Mazatlán Cliff Divers perform every day. People come here to watch the famous divers who collect tips following each dive. The divers climb to the top of the cliff, watch the waves below, and dive from the cliff into the ocean with as little as five to six feet of water. This is a truly amazing sight.

We drove along a portion of the Malecón before visiting old town Mazatlán. Plaza Machado is at the heart of Mazatlán Centro Historico and is one of the loveliest plazas in Mexico. Originally constructed in 1837, it is the oldest plaza in Mazatlán. Today, the restored Plaza Machado and its 19th century historic buildings are populated with sightseeing and tourist attractions like chic cafes, bars, art galleries, the Angela Peralta Theater, and other cultural attractions.

While at Plaza Machado, we visited the Hotel Raíces del Mar to see the fabulous art and décor of the building. It is a very popular hotel for tourists who want to stay at Plaza Machado. We walked from the plaza to see the Mazatlán Fine Arts Center and the Angela Peralta Theater.

After leaving Plaza Machado, we drove along the Malecón to the tourist area, with the exclusive tourist hotels and resorts, before driving back to see Liverpool Alley and returning to the ship. Liverpool Alley has sculptures of the Beatles walking across the street depicting the Abbey Road Album Cover. In addition, the alley has a mini cooper car, a red British phone booth, and a yellow submarine in the distance. We decided to return to the ship instead of being dropped off at Cerro del Creston for the hike to the Faro Lighthouse.

On Wednesday, 1 March, we arrived at Puerto Vallarta early in the morning and took a taxi to the Marina Vallarta for our Whale Research Adventure excursion. Our taxi driver did not know exactly where to drive us and, after stopping numerous times for directions, dropped us off about 500 meters from the location for our excursion. We finally arrived at the Ecotours office where we met up with other people for whale watching.

Prior to going to the boat, we were treated to a fabulous 20 minute presentation about the Whale Research Center conducted by a marine biologist who would also be our guide. After the presentation, we went to our small boat to begin our whale watching excursion. While out on the water, we saw dolphins and many whales. It was a marvelous whale watching excursion and our lucky day.

We returned to the ship and prepared for two more days at sea before docking back at the Port of Los Angeles. We disembarked at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, 4 March, and took a taxi home.

See pictures from the Mexico Cruise

January 2023
Chile

Travel Notes

After I decided to spend most of January 2023 in South America, I booked discounted business class flights on Aeromexico to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I then decided that I would like to visit Easter Island, Chile, and found the only available itinerary was a package through Expedia from 15 January to 20 January, which I purchased. I also wanted to visit the Atacama Desert in Chile and was able to book a package through Expedia from 22 January to 26 January. Since this itinerary did not allow me time to acclimate to some of the other higher altitude destinations in Chile, I decided to revisit Santiago and do some local sightseeing from there.

On Wednesday, 4 January, I boarded my Aeromexico flights from Los Angeles, California, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since my first flight was to Mexico City, Mexico, with a long connection layover, I spent the night at the Izzesleep Sleeping Pod hotel at the Mexico City airport after clearing Mexico immigration. I connected with my second Aeromexico flight the following morning and arrived at Buenos Aires on schedule late at night on 5 January and took the Airport Holiday Inn shuttle bus to the hotel.

After exchanging some US dollars for Argentina Pesos with the owner of the gas station near the hotel the following morning, I spent most of the day at the hotel and checked out at 2:30 AM to catch my LATAM Airlines early morning flight to Santiago, Chile. After arriving in Santiago on Saturday, 7 January, I received an early check in at the Santiago Sheraton Hotel where I would spend the next eight nights before traveling to Easter Island.

The Sheraton hotel upgraded me to a two room mini-suite with a wonderful view across Rio Mapocho, the river that flows through Santiago. Igor, the hotel bellboy, loaned me one of his Metro “bip!” cards which saved me cost of purchasing a card of my own. I added money for my metro usage during my eight days in Santiago revisiting some areas of Santiago and also exploring several new sights.

On Sunday, 8 January, I walked from the hotel to the nearby Pedro de Valdivia Norte neighborhood entrance to Metropolitan Park to ride the Santiago Cable Car to the station near the top of Cerro Cristobal. Metropolitan Park, covering 722 hectares, is the largest urban park in Santiago. The park was created in April 1966 to incorporate the Chilean National Zoo and the services of San Cristobal Hill. San Cristobal Hill began to be used in 1903 with the installation of the Mills Observatory, currently known as the Manuel Foster Observatory. The Statue of the Virgin Mary inaugurated on April 26, 1908, is the main icon on the hill.

I walked around the viewing terrace at the top of Cerro San Cristobal, visited the church, and climbed up to the Statue of the Virgin Mary before taking the Funicular down to Barrio Bellavista. The funicular runs nearly 500 meters on a 45 degree incline from the Barrio Bellavista station to the zoo station and continues to the summit. Although I had ridden the funicular and visited Cerro San Cristobal, this was my first time riding the Santiago Cable Car. After walking around the Barrio Bellavista, I returned to my hotel.

On Monday, 9 January, I took the Tours 4 Tips Offbeat Walking Tour that began at a meeting point in front of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Although I had taken this tour on a prior visit to Santiago, each tour guide interjects their own personal views into the tour. This time, the first stop was at an early Santiago house. Next, we took the Metro to visit Mercado Central de Santiago, which opened in 1872 and is primarily a fish market. We continued walking across a bridge over the Mapocho River to visit the La Vega Central Market, also known as Feriqa Mapocho. It was constructed in 1895. La Vega has 60,000 square meters of stalls and is home to over 500 dairy, meat, fruit, vegetable, and merchandise stores.

The last stop was at the General Cemetery of Santiago de Chile located in the district of Recoleta. The cemetery, inaugurated on December 9, 1821, by the supreme director Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme, occupies 85 hectares and is where nearly two million people are buried. Originally, Protestants, then called “dissidents,” could not be buried here. The Cemeteries Decree of 1871 established burial without distinction of creed in a duly separated space for dissidents and allowed the creation of secular cemeteries. This cemetery is the final resting place of almost all of the supreme directors and presidents of the Republic, as well as most of the relevant people of Chilean history. I took the metro back to Mercado Central where I ate lunch at one of the small fish restaurants before returning to my hotel.

On Tuesday, 10 January, I went to the Plaza de Armas, the main square in Santiago. I visited the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral that faces the northwest corner of Plaza de Armas. The cathedral was constructed between 1753 and 1799. I continued from here to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, an art museum dedicated to the display of pre-Columbian artworks and artifacts from Central and South America. The museum has more than 3,000 pieces representing almost 100 different groups of people ranging over 10,000 years. I had visited this museum two times before and was surprised to find that the second floor exhibits were closed to the public. The second floor had been closed for some time and no date was offered as to when it would reopen. Disappointed, I visited the exhibits contained in the basement. I will return here on a future visit to Santiago.

I returned to the Plaza de Armas and visited the National Historical Museum. Since 1982, this museum has been installed in the former Palace of the Royal Court, also called the Palace of Independence, on the northern side of Plaza de Armas. The building dates from 1808. A historical museum was originally installed in Hidalgo Castle of Santa Lucia hill in 1874, and, due to its popularity, organizers asked the government to create the National Historical Museum on May 2, 1911. It was moved to the current location in 1982, and the exhibits contained here are wonderful. From here, I walked to explore the neighboring streets and then returned to my hotel.

On Wednesday, 11 January, I took the metro to visit Cerro Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia Hill. It is a small 69 meter hill over the surrounding area. It is the remnant of a 15 million year old volcano and contains a 65,000 square meter park with ornate facades, stairways, and fountains. The name comes from the day in which Pedro de Valdivia conquered the hill on December 13, 1540, which celebrates “Santa Lucia.” Notable landmarks include two forts or castles built in 1816, an observatory built in 1849, and the exquisite Neptune Fountain and Terrace. Since I had not visited here before, I hiked the hill and was impressed by the diversity of photographic opportunities.

I walked from Cerro Santa Lucia to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. It was founded on September 18, 1880, under the name Museo Nacional de Pinturas and is the first art museum in Latin America. Since 1910 it has occupied the Palace of Fine Arts building in the Forestal Park. I was able to view all of the open galleries in about an hour before returning to my hotel.

On Thursday, 12 January, I took a hotel car to visit the Concha y Toro Winery tour. The Concho y Toro Vinyard was founded by Don Melchor de Santiago Concha y Toro, VII Marquess of Casa Concha and ex-Minister of Finance, and his wife, Emiliana Subercaseaux, in 1883. He brought grape varieties from the Bordeaux region in France. The grape varieties that he brought were: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Merlot, and Carmenere. The tour began with a walk through the gardens, the park, and the outside of the summer residence of the Concha y Toro family towards the end of the 19th Century. It included a visit to the Variety Garden where 26 varieties of grapes are growing. The tour visited the Old Pirque vineyard and afforded a panoramic view of the Maipo Valley from the vineyard's terraces where I tasted 3 wines. After the wine tasting, we visited the wine cellars, including the famous century-old Casillero del Diablo and also included a light show. Finally I was provided with exclusive tasting of four varieties of the Super Premium Marques de Casa Concha line accompanied by fine cheeses. This was a great tour and a wonderful way to spend the day.

On Friday, 13 January, I went to visit the area around the Palacio de La Moneda. I first visited Plaza de La Ciudadania, or Citizenry Square, which is situated in the southern facade of Palacio de La Moneda. It was built between November 2004 and January 2006 to celebrate the bicentennial of Chile’s independence in 2010. Paths leading down from the plaza give access to the Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda, a 7,200 square meter cultural facility with two main exhibition halls.

From here I walked past the Palacio de La Moneda, which was closed to the public and protected by guards. The palace occupies an entire block in downtown Santiago and is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. In 1930, a public square named Plaza de la Constitucion, Constitution Square, was built in front of the northern facade of the palace. During the military coup d’etat on September 11, 1973, the Chilean Air Force strafed the palace with unguided rockets and automatic cannon fire. The president Salvador Allende committed suicide in the palace. Reconstruction and restoration projects of the damage were completed in March 1981.

I arrived at the Plaza de la Constitucion and walked through the plaza as public demonstrations were in progress. I continued walking to Cerro Santa Lucia and north to the Bella Artes metro station to return to my hotel.

On Saturday, 14 January, I walked through the parks adjacent to the Mapocho River to revisit the Providencia Sculpture Park. It is located on the north bank of the river along Santa Maria Avenue, between Pedro de Valdivia and Nueva de Lyon Street. It was inaugurated in 1986 and has exhibits from more than 30 works by renowned Chilean artists. Since 2002 the park has been the arena for the Providencia International Jazz Festival. In 2008, the park was admitted to the International Council of Museums as a member in the open-air museum category.

After strolling through the sculpture park, I continued on to visit the Costanera Center Tower 2, also known as Gran Torre Santiago. It is a 62-story skyscraper, is the tallest building in South America, and is the second tallest building in Latin America behind Mexico’s T.Op Torre 1. It is part of the Costanera Center complex which includes the largest shopping mall in Latin America. Construction of the building began in June 2006 and was completed in 2013, reaching a maximum height of 300 meters (980 feet). In August 2015, an observation deck, called “Sky Costanera,” was opened to the public in floors 61 and 62.

On Sunday, 15 January, I flew to Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Chile, which is called Rapa Nui in Polynesian and Isla de Pascua in Spanish. I was met at the airport by a representative of the Uka Mana Hotel. The hotel was near the airport and some distance from Hanga Roa, the only urban center on the island. The hotel was recently renovated and my room was clean with an adjacent common area shared by hotel guests. While the complimentary breakfast was inconsistent and marginal, I tried two of the home-cooked dinners, which were subpar, more expensive than restaurants in Hanga Roa, and should be avoided. Prior to arriving on Easter Island, the hotel put me in touch with Guillermo Tephi who ran the 3-day Moana Tour that I booked in advance. In addition, I booked a fourth day hike to Maunga Terevaka volcano summit, which is the highest point on the island.

The name Easter Island was given by the first recorded European visitor, Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived at it on Easter Sunday in 1772 while searching for “Davis Land.” It is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world with Pitcairn Island, 2,075 kilometers away, being the nearest inhabited land. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888 and, in 1966, the Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship. Since 2007, it has been a special territory of Chile in the southernmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. The island is most famous for the nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, which were created by the Rapa Nui people.

After getting settled into the hotel, I called a taxi recommended by the hotel to take me to Hanga Roa to purchase the $80 USD required official Rapa Nui National Park Tourist Permit. The permit allows entrance to the park and access to all of the tourist sites within the park. While in town, I explored the portion of the town adjacent to the ocean and the small boat harbor area. Back at the hotel, I ate my first home-cooked dinner prepared by the hotel which had tiny portions. I figured that the dinner was sparse due to short notice and I made the mistake of ordering the home-cooked dinner for the following night.

On Monday, 16 January, Guillermo picked me up at the hotel for the first day of the Moana Tour. Our first stop was at Puka Manu Mea, a replica ancestral village that shows structures of different types. We walked from here to the site of Vaihu, the platform (“ahu”) of 8 moai that is next to the fishing bay of Hanga Te’e. The 8 moai now lie face down just as they were when they were knocked down from the ahu platform, while the cylindrical headdresses rolled a little farther. This is a place depicting how the ahu were left after the decline and destruction of the ancient culture.

We continued on to visit Rano Raraku, the moai statue quarry. The Rano Raraku volcano is an incredible and extraordinary site where the moai statues were made. Ranu Raraku became the quarry where almost all of the 1,000 that have been found were sculpted. The moai were carved here, then taken to the ahu or ceremonial platforms, and distributed along the entire coast to honor the memory of their ancestors.

Here we saw 397 moai in different stages of construction as we hiked the trail from the visitor center. About 70 moai are seen standing half-buried on the upper slopes. A kneeling moai is also found here. This was one of the most interesting sites that I visited on the island. The Ahu Tongariki site is visible in the distance near the shoreline.

We continued from Rano Raraku to Ahu Tongariki, the largest ceremonial site on Easter Island. Its moai were toppled during the civil wars and, in the twentieth century, the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has been restored and has fifteen moai, including one that weighs eighty-six tons, the heaviest ever erected on the island. All the moai here face sunset during the winter solstice. Guillermo told me that we would return the following morning to see the sunrise behind the moai.

We continued on to Anakena, which is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park. It is one of only two small sandy beaches in the otherwise rocky coastline. Anakena has two ahus: Ahu Ature has a single moai and Ahu Nao-Nao has seven moai. The beach also has a palm grove and a car park.

On Tuesday, 17 January, we departed the hotel at 5:30 AM and drove to Ahu Tongariki to see the morning sunrise behind the fifteen moai. This is a very popular experience with the tourist visitors to the island. Although this was interesting, the moai are all in the shadows and might offer better photographic opportunities with the moai facing the sunset.

We went from here to a spot on the coast where Guillermo’s wife brought food and met up with us for a breakfast adjacent to a small cave. After breakfast we went to the Rano Kau, a 324 meter (1,063 feet) tall dormant volcano that forms the southwestern end of Easter Island. Rano Kau has a crater lake which is one of the island’s only three natural bodies of fresh water. The archaeological site on Rano Kau is the ruined ceremonial village of Orongo situated at the point where the sea cliff and inner crater converge. The houses here are made entirely of a flat stone called kehu. This material allows the houses to survive the strong winds at the top of the volcano. In 1974 and 1976, all houses were restored. Many petroglyphs can be found here.

In ancient times, the annual “birdman” competitions took place here in which a representative from each of the tribes fought. Competitors would climb more than 200 meters down the cliff wall, swim out to the islet called Moto Nui, retrieve a newly laid egg from the manutara bird, swim back, and climb up the cliff again. The first competitor to return with an intact egg was declared the winner and would earn the privileges of the king for the next 12 months. He was also offered to choose for a wife one of the virgin girls from Ana O Kere, “Virgin Cave,” where the girls had been trapped to obtain white skin, which was considered a sign of beauty.

Our last stop of the day was at the Tahai Ceremonial Complex restored in 1974. Tahai comprises three principal ahu from north to south: Ko Te Riki, with restored eyes, Tahai, and Vai Ure. Many people come to this site at sunset to watch the sun descend behind the moai. I told Guillermo that I would like to return early in the morning for better photos.

On Wednesday, 18 January, we began the day at Puna Pau, the quarry of the pukao. Puna Pau was the sole source of the red scoria that the prehistoric Rapa Nui used to carve the pukao (topknots or headdresses) that were put on the heads of some moai statues. We hiked the trail around a portion of Puna Pau where there were large abandoned portions of red scoria with large petroglyphs carved into them.

We continued on to visit Ahu Akivi, a sacred place looking out towards the Pacific Ocean. The site has seven moai, all of equal shape and size. This site is located inland rather that along the coast. A particular feature of the seven identical moai statues is that they face the sunset during the Spring Equinox and have their backs to the sunrise during the Autumn Equinox. This precise feature is seen only at this location on the island.

We continued on to our last stop of the day to visit Ana Te Pahu, often referred to as Banana Cave. It is one of the most spacious caves of the many lava tubes found on the island. We hiked through a portion of the cave that was used to collect rainwater during the rainy season. Many edible and useful plants flourish in the cave.

On Thursday, 19 January, we first stopped at Tahai for the early morning photo opportunity before continuing on to hike to the summit of the Maunga Terevaka, the tallest and youngest of the three extinct volcanoes. The summit is 507.41 meters (1,664.73 feet) above sea level. Terevaka is the 12th most topographically isolated summit on Earth. The view from the summit covers the entire island including the two older volcanic peaks of Poike and Rano Kau.

After a short stop at one of the best handicraft stores in Hanga Roa, we returned to the hotel where I bid farewell to Guillermo at my hotel. At the end of that day, my pedometer had recorded 21,129 steps.

On Friday, 20 January, I flew back to Santiago where I spent the following day working on my photos before flying on to Calama, Chile. I arrived at Calama and picked up my Budget rental car to begin my 100 kilometer drive to San Pedro de Atacama where I checked into the Terrantai Lodge Hotel. My rental car was a Volkswagen GOL which, in retrospect, was a mistake. Given the condition of the roads that I encountered, I should have rented a heavy-duty 4-wheel drive vehicle with good road clearance.

The Atacama desert in northern Chile, often referred to as the driest non-polar desert in the world, has been used as an experimentation site on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes. The Atacama is so arid that many mountains higher than 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) are completely free of glaciers. The Atacama Desert is among the top three tourist sites in Chile and about 80 geysers occur in a valley about 80 kilometers from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro de Atacama lies at an elevation of about 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level. It was part of Bolivia since independence from Spain until Chile claimed ownership during the War of the Pacific when the Battle of Rio Grande was fought in the surroundings.

During the drive to San Pedro de Atacama, I stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the Valley of Death. The landscape was rugged and picturesque. I continued on to the Terrantai Lodge Hotel which turned out to be one of my better choices for this trip. It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. The building was clean and attractive with a very attentive outgoing staff led by Christian. My room was spacious and, with the ceiling fan, very comfortable. I had arrived at the hotel in time for “Tea Time” with complimentary teas and cookies from 4 to 6 PM. In addition, the hotel had complimentary wine tasting from 7 to 9 PM. The hotel also has a secured parking lot nearby and car owners are given a key to the lot. The buffet breakfasts were wonderful and included fresh squeezed orange juice, homemade breads and pastries, fresh ground coffees, cereals, fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, and eggs cooked to order. Christian gave me good advice on things to see and recommended a wonderful restaurant, Ckunna, where I enjoyed two excellent dinners.

After checking into the hotel, I explored the neighborhood around the hotel in search of the Tourist Information Office. The town is very picturesque with a town square, full of immense California Pepper trees, located adjacent to the Church of San Pedro de Atacama. This church was constructed during the Spanish Colonial Period in 1577 and is reportedly the second oldest church in Chile. I found out that the tourist office is closed on Sunday and decided to try again the following day. That evening, I experienced the Terrantai wine tasting and was impressed by the quality of the wines and the opportunity to meet and converse with other guests from many places.

On Monday, 23 January, I went to the tourist office only to find out that it is also closed on Mondays. I walked to a small store where I was able to purchase a very nice map to use for visiting different sites. I decided to visit the Yerbas Buenas, an area near the Rainbow Valley which has one of the most important groups of petroglyphs in the region dating from 3,000 years ago. The site had two groups of rock formations, and I hiked both to explore all of the ancient petroglyphs that I could discover. While driving, I saw feral donkeys, wild vicunas, and wild guanacos. From here, I continued as the paved road became continuously narrower until I arrived at the tiny town of Rio Grande which was settled beside the small river, Rio Grande. This small town has fewer than 100 inhabitants with structures made of stone, mud, and straw. After a short visit here, I drove back to San Pedro de Atacama.

On Tuesday, 24 January, I decided to visit Lake Lejia which is a circular, shallow lake at an elevation of 4,325 meters (14,190 feet) and a surface area of 1.9 square kilometers. This is a polymictic lake that occasionally freezes over. The lake is in a basin surrounded by volcanoes, such as Aguas Calientes, Lascar, Tumisia, Corona, and Overo. Andean Flamingos, phalaropes, and their parasites exist at the lake, and I was fortunate to see the flamingos when I finally arrived there.

I first drove across a portion of the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos in the Salar de Atacama en route to the town of Toconao. At Toconao, I took secondary road B-357 to the small town of Talabre where I was required to register and pay admission to continue on to Lake Lejia. I also purchased a very nice waterproof descriptive map of the immediate area. The quality of the road steadily deteriorated as I continued on to view the Talabre old town ruins. The town of Talabre had been relocated to the new location after a volcanic eruption of Volcan Lascar in 1993. Volcan Lascar is the only currently active volcano in the region and has an elevation of 5,592 meters (18,346 feet).

As I continued driving around Volcan Lascar through a valley toward Lake Lejia, I saw many feral donkeys, wild vicunas, guanacos, and llamas as well as a rhea which looks like an ostrich or emu. The scenery was absolutely stunning. As I arrived at Lake Lejia, there was a road that branched off to take hikers to a trailhead to hike to the crater of Volcan Lascar, the only active volcano in the region. I took many photos of the landscape and the lake which changes color in the sunlight during the day.

It was a long stressful drive back to Talabre and the car suffered a tire failure on the way. After changing the tire, I continued on with four tires and no spare. Back at Talabre, I registered to visit the Quebrada de Kezala rock art in the Talabre ravine. The same man who registered me for Lake Lejia closed his building and became my required guide to visit Kezala. We drove to a spot where we hiked down into the Talabre ravine to explore the extensive petroglyphs on the rock formations in the ravine. I was surprised at how many petroglyphs were at this site. After hiking out of the ravine, I drove him back to Talabre and continued back to my hotel.

That evening, I called the emergency roadside assistance phone number provided by Budget Car Rental at the Calama Airport. Much to my surprise, the number could not be reached by my iPhone. I also tried other phone numbers for Budget without being able to connect with any of them. The following morning, a staff member at the hotel tried with her mobile phone and was able to connect. We discovered that the phone numbers for Budget Car Rental and Emergency Roadside Assistance can only be reached using a mobile phone with a Chilean chip. When I talked to the Emergency Roadside Assistance, I found out that I needed to drive to Calama to get a new tire. Since I only had one more full day of sightseeing, I decided to visit the Valley of the Moon and roll the dice on my four good tires.

On Wednesday, 25 January, I visited the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). It is only 13 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama and has various stone and sand formations that have been carved by wind and water. The Valle de la Luna is a part of the Reserva Nacional los Flamencos and was declared a Nature Sanctuary in 1982 for its natural environment and strange lunar landscape. A prototype for a Mars rover was tested here by scientists because of the valley’s dry and forbidding terrains.

After purchasing admission, I drove to Duna Mayor, the first scheduled stop, and hiked to the scenic viewpoints. The black major sand dune was magnificent and the surrounding landscapes were amazing. The second stop was at Mirador Achaches where there were several scenic viewpoints. After hiking up to the first and highest viewpoint, I decided to take a pass on the very long hilly hike to the other two viewpoints. People returning from the other two viewpoints said that the first viewpoint, where I was standing, was the best viewpoint of the three. I continued on to the Mina de Sal Victoria and hiked to an abandoned salt mine where I saw wonderful salt crystals. My last stop was at Parada los Vigilantes o Tres Marias which was a collection of interesting stones. Since this was my last full day, I drove to the single petrol station in San Pedro de Atacama. It was the only petrol station within 100 kilometers of San Pedro de Atacama and added petrol for my upcoming drive back to the Calama Airport.

On Thursday, 26 January, I bid goodbye to Christian and the staff at Terrantai before driving back to the Calama Airport. After returning my car and checking into my flight to Santiago, I reflected back on my trip and decided that I would like to return to the Atacama next year and acclimate to the altitude before visiting the high Andes in southern Chile.

On Friday, 27 January, I spent a final day walking around parts of Santiago before flying back to Buenos Aires on Saturday, 28 January and arriving home on Monday, 31 January.

See pictures from Chile

December 2022
Mexico Cruise

Travel Notes

Jan and I decided to accompany our friends, John and Nancy, on an eight day Princess Cruise. On Saturday, 3 December, we boarded the DISCOVERY PRINCESS at the Port of Los Angeles to sail down the coast of Mexico to visit Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta.

Sunday, 4 December, was a day at sea and we arrived at Cabo San Lucas at noon on Monday, 5 December. After disembarking at Cabo, we walked to the Marina Door 2 to locate the tour company for our glass bottom boat excursion to the famous rock formations at the southern tip of the Baja Mexico Peninsula where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. It was a small boat with eight people on board.

We sailed out of the Marina to Lovers Beach and continued on to the rock formations. The guide pointed out several formations that he described as Neptune’s Finger, Pelican Rock, the Window to the Pacific Ocean, Scooby Doo Rock, and Arcos de Cabo San Lucas. The weather was perfect with clear blue sky and calm seas. After photographing the formations from the Sea of Cortez, we sailed around to photograph them from the Pacific Ocean side. We stopped at Lovers Beach to pick up a young couple who strayed there from an earlier tour. After returning to the marina, we explored a small area of Cabo before returning to the ship.

We sailed from Cabo San Lucas to Mazatlán and arrived at Mazatlán early Tuesday morning, 5 December. Since we had booked a Presidio River Adventure excursion, we located the tour desk inside of the cruise terminal building and checked into our tour. There were four of us on this tour which would take us to kayak on the Presidio River.

We were driven to the Presidio River in a relatively new Toyota SUV. After arriving at a location near the river that was some distance away in the mountains near Sinaloa, Mexico, we transferred from the SUV to a small truck equipped with six kayaks. We were then taken to the shore of the Presidio River downstream from the immense Picachos Dam. After being introduced to our experienced river guide, we were each issued an individual kayak and life vest along with kayaking tips. Once on the river, we were instructed to kayak single file behind the lead kayak while another kayak guide brought up the rear.

The river was much larger than I had expected and, although the current was slow for much of the trip, the current picked up as we made our way through a number of rapids. After about ninety minutes of kayaking, we beached the kayaks on the river bank and were picked up by the truck and transported to Restaurante Veranos in Sinaloa.

We enjoyed one of the very best authentic Mexican lunches I have ever had. The lunch for each couple included a prepared pico de gallo salsa, guacamole, a container where we prepared our own salsa from grilled tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and other condiments, as well as shredded beef wrapped in tortillas, beans, corn tortillas, a flaming tequila cheese dip, a beverage of our choice, and desert. Before returning to Mazatlán, we visited a small leather shop and a small tequila factory. The tequila factory store had an interesting presentation of coral snakes, rattle snakes, and a scorpion preserved in bottles of tequila. We returned to the ship approximately one hour before the ship sailed to Puerto Vallarta.

Upon arrival at Puerto Vallarta early morning on Wednesday, 7 December, we located our tour representative for our historic San Sebastián del Oeste excursion. Because we were provided with incorrect directions, we were lucky to finally find the tour representative. San Sebastián del Oeste is a small town founded after the mines of San Sebastián del Oeste were discovered on January 20, 1605.

San Sebastián del Oeste was one of the main mining centers in New Spain during the Colonial period. By 1785, ten gold and silver reduction haciendas and nearly 30 mines had been established there. The small town became a city in 1812 and reached its full maturity around 1830. San Sebastián’s productivity was halted by the 1910 military revolution. Soon after the revolution, foreign companies in charge of mining works moved to other areas. The last mine was abandoned in 1921 and San Sebastián fell into decay. It is off of the beaten path and, because it is at an elevation of 1,480 meters (4,856 feet), the climate here is a cloud forest. Today, San Sebastián del Oeste is known for its organic coffee and blue agave production.

We departed Puerto Vallarta in a van with a driver, a guide, and seven passengers for the 65 mile drive on a mountainous road to San Sebastián. As we got closer to San Sebastián, we crossed the Progresso Bridge. The literature states that it is one of the most beautiful concrete arch bridges in North America. It is 119 meters (390 feet) high, has a 144 meter (472 feet) span, and was completed in 2007. Immediately after crossing the bridge, we stopped at Hacienda Don Lalin.

Hacienda Don Lalin is a small tequila distillery. Our host and distiller, Lalo, gave a presentation on his distillery operation. He buys his piñas from commercial growers to make his tequila varieties. He offered us sample tastings of each of his tequila varieties including his raicilla which is similar to tequila or mescal, but has a smoky flavor.

As we entered San Sebastián del Oeste, we stopped at La Quinta Cafe De Altura (a farm and coffee plantation dating from the nineteenth century). San Sebastián is known for its organic coffee production and we were given an opportunity to taste some of the freshly brewed coffee. The farm grows organic food in addition to coffee and sells its products to visitors.

We continued on to have lunch at Comedor La Lupita for authentic Mexican food. The meal was served family style and was just average at best. Although there is another restaurant that is advertised as “world class” situated within San Sebastián, this was the one provided by our tour company.

After lunch we photographed the Small Bridge, a stone bridge from the nineteenth century, before continuing on to the main plaza where we parked and were given free time to explore the town. The town has retained its Spanish colonial influence with public squares, winding alleyways, original stone pavements, plastered mud-brick walls, archways, attics, and wooden and tile roofs among its distinctive traits. The Church of Saint Sebastián was originally constructed in 1608 and was designed in the Colonial Spanish Baroque style. It has Corinthian columns and ceiling vault murals. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1868. We walked around the town and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. Our tour guide said that it is a popular destination for visitors during the weekends and holidays.

We returned to the ship and prepared for two more days at sea before docking back at the Port of Los Angeles. We disembarked at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, 10 December, and took a taxi home. The DISCOVERY PRINCESS is a beautiful new ship, and we enjoyed our short eight day cruise.

See pictures from the Mexico Cruise

October 2022
Mexico City

Travel Notes

On Wednesday, 19 October, I boarded my United Airlines flights from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, Mexico. The flights were uneventful and, after clearing Mexico immigration, I found an ATM where I obtained some Mexican Pesos. Taxis were located outside of Baggage Claim Door 8, and I took a taxi to the Mexico City Marriott Reforma Hotel.

I planned on staying in Mexico for six days and decided to take day trips to the sites that I most wanted to visit. After checking into my hotel, I booked a day trip by van to visit Tlatelolco, Teotihuacan, and the Basilica de Guadalupe for Thursday morning. I then visited the hotel Concierge Desk to discuss sites that I was most interested in visiting. The Concierge was very helpful, and I booked a taxi to visit the Tenayuca Pyramid for Friday morning. I also booked a hotel car to take me to the Tula Archaeological Zone on Saturday. I left Sunday open to visit the National Anthropological Museum and Templo Mayor.

On Thursday morning, 20 October, I was picked up at the hotel for my tour by van. Much to my surprise, the tour consisted of the driver, the tour guide, and three other passengers. The van was quite spacious and turned out to be wonderful. Our first stop was at a place overlooking Tlatelolco, one of the two original cities of the classical Mexico City. This stop provided an overview from one corner of Tlatelolco. I was able to return here for a complete visit of the site later in the week.

We continued on to Teotihuacan with an obligatory shopping stop just outside of our final destination. The most interesting thing at this stop was a dog with many different colored markings.

We finally arrived at Teotihuacan where our guide obtained our entrance tickets. We entered near the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl which was our first stop. After exploring the Courtyard of the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, we walked to an area that provided a panoramic view of the Temple of the Moon. Our guide explained that the Mexican Government blocked access to the pyramids at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has decided to permanently block access to better preserve the site. This meant that the overlook near the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl was the only viewpoint overlooking the site. The lack of higher viewpoints enticed me to book a hot air balloon trip for my last day, weather permitting.

We took a stairway down into the main plaza area in front of the Temple of the Moon. After our guide gave us some additional insight into Teotihuacan, we were given an hour and a half to explore the site on our own. During this time, I walked down the Avenue of the Dead to the Temple of the Sun. The Temple of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world after the Great Pyramid of Cholula and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Since I was not allowed to climb it, I walked around it to take photos. As I walked back along the Avenue of the Dead, I stopped to take a photo of the Puma mural under a shelter. I continued back to the Temple of the Moon where access around the base of the pyramid was also blocked.

The Avenue of the Dead is about 4 kilometers long running from the Temple of the Moon to the Feather Serpent Temple with the Temple of the Sun roughly midway in between them. Teotihuacan is thought to have been established around 100 BC, with major monuments continuously under construction until about 250 AD. Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population estimated at 125,000 or more, making it the sixth-largest city in the world during its epoch. Its major monuments were sacked and systematically burned around 550 AD.

After visiting Teotihuacan, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant which was favored by our guide but where the service was extremely slow. As we returned to Mexico City, we stopped to visit the Basilica de Guadalupe complex. Here we visited both the original Old Basilica of Guadalupe and the new ultra-modern Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

On Friday, 21 October, I met my taxi to visit the Tenayuca Archaeological Site and museum. Around 1434 AD, Tenochititlan conquered Tenayuca, bringing it into the Aztec Empire. Tenayuca was still occupied at the time of the Spanish Conquest and fighting took place there in 1520. The conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo referred to Tenayuca as the “town of serpents.” The base of the pyramid is surrounded by a low platform supporting 138 stone sculptures of snakes. All of the serpent sculptures were associated with fire and sun worship. There is also a nice museum situated at the site adjacent to the pyramid. After visiting the museum, I was able to walk around the perimeter of the pyramid but access to the pyramid was not allowed.

On Saturday, 22 October, I took a hotel car to visit Tula, a Mesoamerican archaeological site that reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Tenochtitlan. The site is large with two large pyramids, two Mesoamerican ball courts, and several large buildings facing the main plaza. One of the buildings, the Burnt Palace, is covered with a series of columns. The main attraction at Tula is Pyramid B, the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. This pyramid is topped by four 4-meter high (13 feet) basalt columns carved in the shape of Toltec Warriors that once supported the roof of a temple on top of Pyramid B. These are replica columns with the original basalt columns on display at the Mexico National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. Visitors to the site are allowed to climb to the top of Pyramid B which provides wonderful views overlooking the site. Visitors are also allowed to walk through the Burnt Palace.

Around 1000 AD, there were problems created by the leaching of soil and the drying of the climate. Many of the living quarters appear to have been abandoned by 1150. It is not known when the ceremonial center fell but it was burned and the pyramids destroyed. There is evidence of the ceremonial center being burned during the 12th century.

After returning to Mexico City, the traffic on Paseo de la Reforma, the main street in Mexico City, as well as the street in front of my hotel, were blocked for the 14th Annual Parade of Fantastic Animals – “Alebrijes.” The parade started at the Zocalo at 12 noon and continued through to the Angel of Independence very near to my hotel. I was able to see some of the parade from my car as we drove nearby. After I returned to my hotel, I could see the parade unobstructed from my hotel room. This parade marks the official beginning of the Day of the Dead Festivities season. The fantasy animals will remain on display on the Paseo de la Reforma between the Angel of Independence and the Glorietta of Diana the Huntress from October 22nd to November 6th.

On Sunday, 23 October, I visited the Mexico National Anthropological Museum which was absolutely amazing. It contained the world’s largest collections of ancient Mexican artifacts from all over Mexico with 23 permanent exhibit halls for different regions. In addition to indoor displays, there are also displays outside including a large scale model of Teotihuacan and one of the large Olmec stone heads. One section had the original basalt columns of the Toltec Warriors from Tula. Another had a replica of the Temple of the Serpents from Teotihuacan. Another highlight was learning about the Danza de los Voladores, the Dance of the Flyers. I viewed the artwork indoors and then was thrilled to see the actual Dance of the Flyers during my visit to the museum.

When I visited Palenque many years ago, I was able to go inside the pyramid where the tomb of the ruler, Pakal, was found. It was here that I viewed the replica massive stone cover for the sarcophagus. At the time, I was told the original stone cover was at the national museum in Mexico City. Sure enough, it was on display within a replica of Pakal’s tomb chamber, and I was able to view the original tomb cover. It was wonderful to have visited both places.

I continued on to visit the Zocalo and the Templo Mayor, the main temple of the Mexican people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. According to tradition, the Templo Mayor is located on the exact spot where the god Huitzilopochtli gave the Mexican people his sign that they had reached the promised land: an eagle on a nopal cactus with a snake in its mouth. The Zocalo, or main plaza of Mexico City today, was developed to the southwest of this archaeological site.

Since Day of the Dead festivities were ongoing, several streets leading to the Zocalo were closed to motorized traffic. My taxi driver drove as close to the Zocalo as he could, and I walked the remaining distance. The Zocalo was crowded and there were street performances at different locations. I walked across one end of the Zocalo en route to Templo Mayor.

Aztec temples are typically expanded by building over the earlier temple. The first temple was begun by the Aztecs the year after they founded the city, and the temple was rebuilt six times. Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325. The seventh and last temple is what Hernan Cortes and his men saw when they arrived at Tenochtitlan in 1519. Very little of this layer remains due to the destruction by the Spaniards when they invaded the city.

Today, in addition to the excavated portion of the site, there is a wonderful museum adjacent to the site with eight floors of permanent exhibits. I was impressed by the site and the extensive artifacts on display. This museum, combined with the anthropological museum, provided a brain overload of artifacts from earlier Mexican cultures. I finally found a taxi to return to my hotel.

The traffic to my hotel was once again terrible due to the Catrinas Mega Procession that was taking place from the Angel of Independence down Paseo de la Reforma, onto Avenida Juarez, and then to the Zocalo. The parade is open to the public and costumes are mandatory. Make-up artists occupied Paseo de la Reforma between the Estela de Luz monument and the Angel of Independence for those who wanted the full experience of the parade.

On Monday, 24 October, I was picked up at my hotel at 5:30 AM to go for a hot air balloon trip over Teotihuacan. This was a wonderful experience. My balloon pilot was able to fly over the Pyramid of the Sun at a low altitude before increasing altitude to more than 9,000 feet above sea level for wonderful panoramic views over Teotihuacan and the surrounding areas. The weather was clear and sunny, but a haze over Teotihuacan prevented crystal clear photos.

Following the balloon flight, a buffet breakfast was served and people were given a choice to visit Teotihuacan or return to Mexico City. Since I had visited Teotihuacan several days earlier, I opted to return to Mexico City. After returning to my hotel, I took a hotel taxi to return to Tlatelolco, the sister city to Tenochtitlan, where I had only seen a brief overview from the southwest corner of the site. The site had a small museum adjacent to the entrance. The site was very interesting with more than sixteen archaeological structures and sites identified on a map. This turned out to be one of the best archaeological sites of my visit to Mexico City and should not be missed. The site contains the current Iglesia de Santiago, Church of Santiago, constructed in 1610. This church is adjacent to Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, the oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas.

After visiting Tlatelolco, I took a taxi back to my hotel. I walked along Paseo de la Reforma to photograph some of the large decorated Day of the Dead skulls placed along the street between my hotel and the Angel of Independence. There were also tent-like structures where street vendors were selling Day of the Dead food, flowers, and souvenirs.

On Tuesday, 25 October, I took a hotel car to the airport and flew back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Mexico City

September 2022
Alaska

Travel Notes

Jan and I booked a 14-day Alaska Voyage from Vancouver, BC, Canada, onboard the Holland America cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam. After submitting the documentation required by the Canadian government, we flew to Vancouver on 9 September. Prior to boarding the ship at the Vancouver Cruise Port, Holland America required us to obtain a COVID-19 negative test result.

We boarded the ship on Sunday, 11 September, and sailed through The Inside Passage on Monday, 12 September. After a full day at sea on Tuesday, we arrived at Kodiak Island, Alaska, on Wednesday morning 14 September. Since this was our second time visiting Kodiak, we hiked into Kodiak and visited the picturesque Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral, the Alutiig Ancestors’ Memorial Park, and the Kodiak History Museum. After returning to the ship, we talked to a passenger who hired a taxi at Kodiak and requested a ride to find a Kodiak Brown Bear. Her ride was successful, and she obtained several wonderful photos of a Kodiak bear in the wild. We will try a taxi when we next visit Kodiak Island.

We arrived at Anchorage on Thursday, 15 September, and took a photo excursion from the ship. The excursion included a professional photographer who gave instructional tips for better photos. We stopped at a viewpoint of Anchorage with mountains in the background, the Lake Hood Seaplane Base, Turnagain Arm, McHugh Creek, and an Anchorage Overlook Trail. The weather was overcast but the excursion was worthwhile.

After another day at sea, we arrived at Valdez on Saturday morning, 17 September. We took a cruise excursion to the Columbia Glacier. En route we saw Steller Sea Lions on Glacier Island and Mountain Goats on the shoreline of Columbia Bay. The Columbia Glacier has receded to the point that it is now two separate glaciers calving into Columbia Bay. We visited the smaller glacier to the west due to excessive ice on the route to the larger glacier to the east. The sun briefly came out, and the glacier provided very good photo opportunities.

After another day at sea, we arrived at Sitka on Monday, 19 September. We visited Sitka in 2019 and walked around the downtown area. This time we went inside St. Michael’s Cathedral and continued on to re-visit Sitka National Historical Park. The weather was bright sun, and I was able to purchase a reindeer polish sausage hot dog from a street vendor.

We arrived at Skagway on Tuesday, 20 September. Skagway was a very picturesque town and was one of the two towns from which the miners embarked to the Klondike Gold Fields. I walked around Skagway during the morning and later we took another photographic excursion. The weather had deteriorated to the point that the photo excursion was not able to travel up the mountain along the route of the Klondike miners. Instead, we visited the Skagway Gold Rush Cemetery, a waterfall upstream from the cemetery, and along the Tiaya River to the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. Along the river, we were able to photograph a Bald Eagle sitting at the top of a pine tree. This was the highlight of this excursion.

We cruised on Glacier Bay during Wednesday, 21 September. The weather was mostly overcast, and we were able to visit the Margerie, Lamplugh, Gillman, Johns Hopkins, Hoonah, Topeks, and Reid Glaciers. We also saw sea otters and interesting ice bergs.

We arrived at Ketchikan on Thursday, 22 September. Since we had visited Ketchikan previously, we walked around historic Creek Street and the downtown area. The weather was overcast and we didn’t spend much time ashore.

When we arrived at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, the following day, the weather was cloudy and raining. After looking at the activities on shore, we decided to remain on the ship during this port of call.

After another day at sea, we arrived back at Vancouver, BC, Canada, early Sunday morning, 25 September. After disembarking we took a taxi to the Vancouver International Airport and flew back to Los Angeles later that afternoon.

See pictures from Alaska

July 2022
Colorado

Travel Notes

I booked a return trip to Colorado for July 2022. I planned to revisit Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Cripple Creek, and Victor to begin altitude acclimation. I would then continue on to hike trails and explore sights around Leadville, Colorado, the highest elevation incorporated municipality in the United States at 10,200 feet above sea level. Prior to departing for Colorado, I noticed that the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad reopened in 2021 after being closed for several years for renovation. It was closed during my previous two trips to this area and this trip gave me a chance to book a round trip ride from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet elevation. I also booked a Pikes Peak Bicycle Expedition for my last full day in Colorado.

I flew to Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, 13 July, and picked up my Budget rental car before driving to Manitou Springs. Fortunately for me, Budget gave me an all-wheel drive KIA SUV which turned out to be a God-send on several unpaved mountain roads that I encountered while visiting Leadville. I selected the Manitou Springs Villa Hotel because it was centrally located with free parking and is within walking distance to nearly everything in central Manitou Springs. It is also very close to the Garden of the Gods, Broadmoor Seven Falls, and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Since Manitou Springs has very limited parking available, that evening I walked to The Loop Mexican Restaurant which is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Manitou Springs.

On Thursday, 14 July, I revisited the Garden of the Gods from the entrance south of Balanced Rock and drove to the parking area north of the Central Garden Area. I hiked the Central Garden Area before driving to the parking area for the Scotsman Picnic Area. From here, I hiked around the Siamese Twins Loop Trail before returning to Manitou Springs. The Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite areas to hike. I had been here before and numerous photos can be found on my two 2018 visits to Colorado. I spent the remainder of the day walking around Manitou Springs and made a preliminary visit to the Cog Railway Station in advance of my upcoming reservation. Thunderstorms occur during most afternoons and evenings this time of year, and a good rule of thumb is to be off of the mountains by early afternoon.

On Friday,15 July, I drove to the parking area for the Broadmoor Seven Falls and took the shuttle bus to the visitor entrance where I purchased admission. This is another one of my favorite places to hike when I’m in the area, and numerous photos can be found on my two 2018 visits to Colorado. I visited the Eagle’s Nest Viewpoint overlooking the seven waterfalls before climbing the 224 stair steps adjacent to the waterfalls. After arriving at the top of the falls, I hiked both the Inspiration Point Trail and the Midnight Falls Trail.

After returning to Manitou Springs, I decided to put on my raincoat for an afternoon walk before the thunderstorms arrived. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I had packed my wife’s raincoat by mistake and set out to buy a new raincoat for the remainder of my trip. Also to my surprise, I found no stores in Manitou Springs that carried raincoats. I decided to drive to the REI store in Colorado Springs where I found a nice Gore-Tex lightweight raincoat. I bought the only one in the store that was my size. I returned to Manitou Springs with my new raincoat and went to dinner.

On Saturday morning, 16 July, I rode the Pikes Peak Cog Railway from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak. I had not been to the summit since my prior visits in 2018 and was surprised to find major changes. The prior visitor center had been demolished, and a new summit house visitor center had been constructed. In addition, the original footpaths had been replaced by a cantilevered pedestrian walkway erected around a large portion of the summit. Finally, large rocks and boulders had been brought to the summit to reconfigure the original open parking area into paved parking areas. I preferred the previous summit configuration that can be seen in my two 2018 visits to Colorado. After approximately one hour, we boarded the cog railway for the return trip to Manitou Springs.

Upon arriving at Manitou Springs, I walked to Miramont Castle. Miramont Castle is a 14,000 square foot National Historic Landmark built in 1895 as a private residence. The Castle features nine styles of architecture ranging from English Tudor to Byzantine, all crafted from locally quarried greenstone. It is dedicated to preserving the Victorian heritage of Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak region. A special Manitou Springs Fire Department Exhibit was situated in an area of the first floor. The second floor rooms contained other Victorian Era exhibits and highlighted a servant’s stairway behind the dining room wall. A separate tea room was also accessible via a separate outside entrance.

On Sunday, 17 July, I decided to visit the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument en route to Cripple Creek. The Florissant Fossil Beds have yielded over 50,000 museum specimens from fossils of over 1,700 species, including 1,500 insects, 150 plants, and one of the world’s only known fossil records of the tsetse fly, which is now only found in equatorial Africa. In addition, petrified giant sequoia stumps from the ancient ecosystem are also preserved here. The fossils here are from the Eocene Period some 34 million years ago.

After spending time at the visitor center where I watched a wonderful indoctrination video and examined the extensive exhibits, I decided to hike the Petrified Forest Loop Trail to see the massive petrified sequoia Big Stump. It was excavated during the 1890s and was a local public attraction. An unsuccessful attempt was made to cut it into portions to be able to transport it to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Portions of the rusty saw blades are still embedded in the Big Stump. The petrified stump is over 12 feet in diameter and the original tree is estimated to have been over 230 feet tall and 500-1,000 years old when the lahar layer buried its base. Other massive petrified stumps can be seen along the trail as well as other massive petrified stumps protected by shelters near the visitor center. After hiking the Petrified Forest Loop trail, I hiked along the Ponderosa Loop and around the Boulder Creek Trail before returning to the visitor center.

I continued on to Cripple Creek and checked into the Wildwood Casino and Hotel. This is a relatively new hotel on the outskirts of Cripple Creek but is still within walking distance of the downtown area. Later that afternoon, I walked through the downtown area. Much had changed since I was last there during 2018. Bronco Billy’s Casino is currently building a gigantic casino and parking structure in the middle of the downtown area. Many local stores were vacant, and there were precious few pedestrians on the sidewalks. I ate dinner at one of the downtown casinos where the meal was grossly overpriced with average quality food.

Newmont Mining has been surface mining the area and rebuilding the mountain for many years. In the last four years, Newmont has been encroaching on the area called Poverty Gulch and threatens to close the Gold Belt Trail that I hiked in 2018. I drove to the Heritage Center overlooking Cripple Creek and Poverty Gulch, and then to the Gold Belt Trailhead and onto Grassy Valley Overlook to view the Newmont Mining changes since 2018.

Since I had come to Cripple Creek and Victor to hike some of the mining area trails, I began by revisiting the Vindicator Valley Trail on 18 Julyl. This is a wonderful trail and extensive photos from it, Cripple Creek, and Victor are available on my two 2018 Colorado visits. On Tuesday, 19 July, I drove to Victor and hiked both the Independence Mill Site and the Battle Mountain trails. Since I had not hiked these trails before, I have included these photos on this trip’s gallery.

The Independence Mill Site trail is essentially a loop trail around the industrial complex for crushing, processing, and extracting gold from ore transported to this location. Much of the ore processed was hoisted from the Stratton Mine headframe. Most of the remainder came from the Portland Mine dumps via rail cars through the A level tunnel to a building between the headframe and the concrete foundations. The concrete foundations are very impressive and are well worth a visit.

The Battle Mountain Trail transverses the upper portion of Battle Mountain past the Portland and Ajax mines above the Strong and Gold Coin mines below. The current steel headframe at the Ajax mine came from the Pike View Coal Mine of the Golden Circle Corporation and was erected in 1959 to replace the original wooden structure. The Ajax mine ceased operation in 1961. It also provides marvelous views of Victor and the surrounding area. The Cresson Sorting display was relocated near the Stratton Mine by the Newmont Mining Company. The portion of this trail to the Ajax Mine was not open during my visit.

On Wednesday, 20 July, while en route to Leadville, I revisited the Florissant Fossil Beds to hike the Sawmill Trail. When I arrived at Leadville, I immediately checked into the centrally located historic Delaware Hotel on Harrison Avenue. This hotel is undergoing renovation and had mixed reviews, but I decided that I wanted the historic hotel experience. I was given Room 203 and directed to the stairway leading to the second floor. Upon arriving at my room, I was happily surprised to see that, while the room had recently been renovated, it still had the sloping floors, an in suite toilet and shower, a four poster king size bed, and wonderful antique furniture. I knew in an instant that I had made the correct choice in a Leadville hotel.

After I relocated my rental car to the hotel's private parking lot, I decided to walk around and explore the picturesque downtown area. As I walked along Harrison Avenue in both directions, I located the Tourist Information building. Although it was closed, it had a large selection of tourist brochures in a rack on the front porch. I selected brochures that looked appealing and returned to the hotel to review them. I booked a reservation for a table in the lounge car of the Leadville railroad for the following morning. A late afternoon thunderstorm materialized and I ate dinner at a Sichuan Chinese restaurant near the hotel on Harrison Street.

After breakfast on Thursday, 21 July, I walked to the Leadville Railroad Train Station where I picked up my train tickets. The train ride was along one of the railroad tracks from the peak of the mining operations in the Leadville area. It was an interesting ride along the mountain above the Arkansas River Valley. At the midpoint of the ride, the train stopped along a railroad water tower, some mining equipment artifacts, and a bright red caboose car. After walking around this area, I returned to the train for the return ride back to Leadville.

Upon disembarking from the train, I walked back toward downtown Leadville and came upon the outdoor exhibit of the Leadville Heritage Museum. I admired several of the exhibits and continued walking along Harrison Avenue where I ate lunch at the Golden Burro Café. That evening, I ate dinner at the Casa Sanchez 2 Mexican restaurant.

The following day, I started walking eastbound along East 7th Street to visit Matchless Mine and Baby Doe Cabin. I somehow ended up eastbound on East 5th Street which becomes Lake County Road (LCR) 1. I hiked along LCR 1 until I came to the Robert Emmet Mine site which is adjacent to the Mineral Belt Trail. The Mineral Belt Trail is an 11.6 mile paved trail that integrates portions of the grades of the three major rail lines that served the Leadville Mining District around the turn of the century. Its alignment parallels California Gulch, site of Leadville's first gold strike and earliest settlement, and cuts through the heart of the mineral belt that earned Leadville the moniker of “Colorado's Silver City.”

After exploring the Robert Emmet site, I walked southbound along the Mineral Belt Trail to the Greenback Crib Wall site before turning around. I continued walking northbound along the Mineral Belt Trail past the Denver Mine site until I crossed LCR 3 and exited to visit the Matchless Mine and Baby Doe Tabor’s cabin. I paid my admission and toured the cabin and mine exhibits. It was interesting to see where a railroad spur line came right up to the mine. After a lengthy conversation with the caretaker of the Matchless Mine, I became increasingly interested in the Leadville Mining District. I changed into my rain pants and raincoat just before the afternoon rain began while walking back along LCR 3 toward Leadville that afternoon,.

Later, after the rain subsided, I walked to the Temple Israel Synagogue. Although I arrived just before closing time, William Korn of Temple Israel Foundation let me enter. During my visit, I struck up a conversation with Mr. Korn who gave me wonderful information about the Leadville Mining District and places to visit along the Route of the Silver Kings. I found the synagogue to be very interesting and well worth visiting when in Leadville.

The Route of the Silver Kings provides a trip through the Leadville Mining District which was one of the richest and best-known mining camps in the United States. Mining began when placer gold was discovered in April 1860. It ended in January 1999 when the American Smelting and Refining’s Black Cloud mine and mill closed. Hundreds of mines and 17 smelters operated during that time. The district was served by three railroads: the Rio Grande arrived in 1881, the Union Pacific in 1884, and the Colorado Midland in 1887. The district produced 3.3 million ounces of gold, 265.4 million ounces of silver, 2.4 billion pounds of lead, 1.9 billion pounds of zinc, 110 million pounds of copper, and significant amounts of manganese and iron.

On Saturday, 23 July, I drove the Route of the Silver Kings eastbound on LCR 3 past the Matchless Mine, the Mineral Belt Trail, and the Silver Spoon Shaft headframe and arrived at the Resurrection Mine. An unmaintained gravel 4-wheel drive (4WD) road branched off the left to go to Mosquito Pass, the highest 4WD mountain pass in the United States. Another gravel road branched off to the right, which I presume was LCR 3C and part of the Route of the Silver Kings. As I turned onto this road, I encountered a mound of gravel across the road. Undeterred, I drove past the mound of gravel and, farther down the road, I found the road to be totally blocked by huge boulders placed across the road. I had no choice but to negotiate a U turn.

After returning westbound on LCR 3 toward Leadville, I took the next left turn which I presume to be the 4WD road between LCR 3 and LCR 38 on the Route of the Silver Kings. My all-wheel drive KIA was able to navigate this road and I eventually came to the New Monarch Mine timber ore house and concrete foundations adjacent to LCR 38. As I continued southbound on LCR 38, I admired the old mining structures of Stumpftown before arriving at the junction with LCR 1. I turned southbound on LCR 1 which eventually became LCR 1a. I followed LCR 1a south until it turned into another 4WD road. This was the location of the town of Ibex at an elevation of 11,500 feet. This location afforded magnificent views overlooking Leadville and across the valley to Mount Massive. The Ibex No. 4 shaft is adjacent to a collapsed shaft house. I backtracked from here to LCR 1 and continued on LCR 1 past the Robert Emmet Mine and into Leadville, completing another leg of the Route of the Silver Kings.

Back in Leadville, I visited both the Leadville Heritage Museum and the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. Although both museums were well worth visiting, I especially enjoyed the well captioned early Leadville photos of the heritage museum.

On Sunday, 24 July, I decided to complete the remaining portion of the Route of the Silver Kings. When I looked at the small map of the route, it did not show that I would encounter both Toledo Avenue and South Toledo Street. Consequently, when I arrived at the intersection of Monroe Street and Toledo I inadvertently turned onto Toledo Avenue and followed it as the road became an increasingly narrow and unimproved mountain road through a forest area. I soon realized that there was no way to turn around. I continued driving forward with pine tree branches scraping both sides of my all-wheel drive SUV until I finally arrived at LCR 2 near the Newmont Water treatment facility. I was finally back on the Route of the Silver Kings and continued eastbound on LCR 2 through California Gulch. In retrospect, looking at maps of the area, the unimproved extension of Toledo Avenue is not defined.

I first came to the Yak Power Plant, a large brick building erected as a coal-fired, steam-powered, electricity-generating plant that operated between 1903 and 1909. Further along LCR 2 are the A.Y. Pump shaft headframe on the south side and cribbing on the north side. These are all that remains of the A.Y. and Minnie Mines which, in 1892, launched Meyer Guggenheim’s fortune.

The Mineral Belt Trail crosses LCR 2 just east of the A.Y. and Minnie Mines. I parked and hiked southbound on the Mineral Belt Trail admiring the views across the California Gulch. Upon returning to my car, I continued driving LCR 2 and looking at relics from the heyday of mining activities here. Although I intended to turn northbound onto LCR 2a, I actually ended up on LCR 2b and continued driving until it ended near Mount Sherman. I backtracked once again until I finally found LCR 2a to continue northbound to the junction with LCR 1. Back in familiar territory, I returned to Leadville and relaxed at the hotel, getting ready to return to Manitou Springs in the morning.

On Monday, 25 July, I returned to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument to hike the Sawmill Trail and the Hans Loop Trail en route to Manitou Springs. After checking into the motel, I made a dry run to the Pikes Peak Bike Tours office in Colorado Springs in advance of my bicycle expedition early the following morning.

On Tuesday, 26 July, I arrived at the Pikes Peak Bicycle Tour office for my bicycle ride down from Pikes Peak summit. Mark and Luke met me as I arrived and confirmed that they would be the tour guides for our bike ride. The first order of business was to outfit me with full helmet, gloves, knee pads, and elbow pads. The second order of business was to match me up with my bicycle and do some practice rides in the street in front of the office. The third order of business was to eat some breakfast that they provided. After meeting the other three women riders for our trip, our bicycles were secured to the top of the van that we rode to Pikes Peak summit at 14.115 feet elevation.

We were given some free time to explore the visitor center and the summit while Mark and Luke set up the bicycles. Once we started our descent, Luke rode the first position and Mark brought up the rear in the van. Mark and Luke maintained voice communications during our descent. The speed limit on Pikes Peak is approximately 20 mph and we rode single file in the middle of the traffic lane. The tight switchbacks were a bit challenging and our average speed on straight downhill was approximately 25 mph. We stopped occasionally at viewpoints for photographs and to prevent vehicular traffic from stacking up behind us. There were a couple of uphill grades that required some effort and gave us some cardiovascular activity. For one very long uphill grade, we put the bikes on the van and rode to the end of the grade. I enjoyed the experience very much and would recommend it for anyone who might be interested.

On Wednesday, 27 July, I stopped at the Garden of the Gods for one last hike before driving to the Denver Airport to return my rental car and board my flight back to Los Angeles. It was a very good trip to revisit Colorado.

See pictures from Colorado

June 2022
Galapagos Islands

Travel Notes

After booking a 5-day Northern Galapagos Islands tour with Metropolitan Touring, Quito, Ecuador, we flew from Los Angeles to Guayaquil, Ecuador, arriving at the Hilton Guayaquil Hotel on Sunday, 5 June. On Monday, 6 June, we took the hotel shuttle to the Guayaquil International Airport where we met representatives from Metropolitan Tours to receive our boarding passes for our flight from Guayaquil to Baltra Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, and begin our Northern Galapagos Islands tour.

According to the literature, Metropolitan Touring was established in 1959 and has been providing tours to the Galapagos Islands for many years. It owns several ships used to tour the Galapagos Islands and is also contracted by other tour companies. We were able to keep in contact with the Metropolitan Touring representatives via WhatsApp phone and chats prior to meeting the representative at the airport.

After arriving at the airport, we obtained our required documentation for entry to the Galapagos Islands, proceeded to have our checked bag inspected and sealed, and met up with the Metropolitan representative. The representative gave us our boarding passes for our Latam Airways flight to Seymour Airport on Baltra Island.

After arriving at Baltra Island, we were processed by Baltra Immigration officials. Once our hand carry luggage was scanned, we found the Metropolitan Touring representatives who assisted us with locating our checked bag and then escorted us to a bus for a transfer to the dock where we boarded an inflatable panga boat to complete our journey to the SANTA CRUZ II. Aboard the SANTA CRUZ II, we received a welcome introductory briefing, a boat drill, and lunch. During the orientation, passengers were assigned to small groups with a permanent guide – Jan and I were assigned to the Frigatebird Group.

When we arrived for lunch, we selected a nice table for two and later found out that it would be our table for all meals on the ship. During our wonderful lunch, we selected our dinner items from a menu. We learned that breakfast would be buffet style every morning and that we would select our lunch and dinner items during breakfast – this proved to be extremely efficient. We also learned that, although the ship has a capacity of 90 passengers, our voyage had only 62 passengers and more than 60 crewmembers.

During lunch, we sailed to the Las Bachas white sand beach on Santa Cruz Island for our first wet landing excursion. All excursions from the SANTA CRUZ II would be carried out using the inflatable panga boats for both wet and dry landings. While at Las Bachas, we saw several Whitetip Reef Sharks swimming in the surf next to the beach, as well as Sally Lightfoot Crabs, Marine Iguanas, a Great Blue Heron, and Brown Pelicans on the beach. We also found gorgeous Galapagos Flamingos in a couple of brackish lagoons near the beach that provided amazing photo opportunities.

After returning to the ship, we were treated to a welcome cocktail and presented with the expedition plan for Tuesday, 7 June. We then went to the dining room where we were served the delicious dinner that we had ordered during lunch. Advance ordering lunch and dinner during breakfast saved an enormous amount of time each day and provided information to the kitchen to precisely prepare the exact amount of food for these meals.

On Tuesday morning we anchored offshore at Buccaneer Cove on Santiago Island. This cove is home to natural formations such as the “Elephant Rock,” “The Bishop,” and a natural cave. It is also home to marine birds, sea lions, and inter-tidal organisms. Our Frigatebird Group boarded a panga and slowly cruised along the coast of Buccaneer Cove where we were able to capture magnificent photos of Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Brown Pelicans, frigatebirds, a Lava Heron, and a sea lion. We also enjoyed the unique natural formations before returning to the ship. After the tour with panga boats, we had the opportunity to snorkel, kayak, paddle board, or ride a glass bottom boat. During lunch, the ship sailed to a location offshore from Puerto Egas on Santiago Island.

On Tuesday afternoon we made a wet landing on the beach at Puerto Egas. Our guide promptly warned us that the solitary beautiful green tree on the beach was a poison apple tree and then we changed into hiking shoes for a wonderful hike. The hike was through the native vegetation to a location on the beach with a landscape of tuff-stone layers and lava flows. During the walk, we observed a Galapagos Hawk, several Lava Lizards, sea lions, fur seals, sea turtles, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, and a Hermit crab. While we went on the hike, others elected to spend time swimming and snorkeling.

The SANTA CRUZ II sailed to Rabida Island and, on Wednesday morning, 8 June, we had a choice between a panga ride along the shores and some snorkeling or going on a hike. Rabida Island’s red-colored beach is caused by unusually high iron content in the volcanic material. I chose the hike and Jan chose the panga tour. After landing, we first walked to a nearby salt pond where we found American Flamingos and noticed a small snake coiled up under two adjacent rocks. From here we continued on a short hike around the interior near the shoreline with stunning scenery. We were able to see a Galapagos Dove and several Marine Iguanas. After returning to the ship, we opted for another glass bottom boat excursion. During lunch the ship sailed to a location offshore from Bartolome Island.

Wednesday afternoon was spent at the famous Bartolome Island which is dominated by the imposing Pinnacle Rock. There were glass bottom boat rides, snorkeling, kayaking, and paddle boarding opportunities in addition to panga shoreline cruises and a hike to the summit that affords spectacular iconic views of the archipelago. Jan did some snorkeling, highlighted by three sea lions frolicking around her, and took a panga volcanic shoreline cruise that took her close to many Galapagos Penguins and several Whitetip Reef Sharks near the shore.

I hiked the modestly steep 372 wooden step climb to the summit with an elevation of 114 meters (374 feet) above sea level. The hike began at a small landing platform with concrete stairs to the elevated coastline plateau. From here, a wooden walkway ran around the base of the volcano and then up one side to the portion with the 372 wooden steps to the summit. During the assent, there were several platforms where our guide described the landscape with the lava tubes and vegetation including a lava cactus. Upon arriving at the summit, the iconic view across the island with Pinnacle Rock appeared. After photos at the summit, we hiked back to the bottom and boarded a panga boat and saw Galapagos Penguins before returning to the ship.

The SANTA CRUZ II sailed across the equatorial line to the sunken crater of Genovesa Island, which is home to thousands of marine birds and is frequently referred to as the bird island. On Thursday morning, 9 June, we took a panga boat to the Prince Phillip Steps, a steep climb 90 feet up rocky stairs to the flat rocky plateau. After reaching the plateau, we began walking along the trail and observed nesting birds everywhere we looked. These birds included Frigatebirds, Nazca Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, Red-footed Boobies, Galapagos Mockingbirds, Galapagos Darwin Finches, and Galapagos Short-eared Owls. We saw many baby birds in nests with adults. We also enjoyed stunning landscape views before returning to the ship. People not wishing to disembark at Prince Phillip Steps had the option of a longer panga ride along the cliffs.

After lunch, the afternoon was spent with a wet landing at Darwin Bay with a choice of snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, glass bottom boat rides, or a hike along the beach. Before dinner that evening, we all met in the bar area for a farewell party and slideshow of photos taken by the ship’s photographer. Unlike many tours, the photos taken by the ship’s photographer were emailed to everyone free of charge in a zip file. After dinner, we finished packing to disembark very early the following morning.

Before breakfast on Friday morning, 10 June, we placed our luggage to be checked for our flight back to Guayaquil outside our cabin, took our hand carry baggage with us, and left our cabin empty. After breakfast, we were transported by panga boat to the passenger’s wharf on Santa Cruz Island. While our luggage was taken to the airport, we had a bus ride to the Tortoise Reserve located on the highlands of the windward side of the island. These highlands have areas with Galapagos daisies, orchids, and bromeliads as well as endemic land birds.

After we arrived at the Rancho Primicias Tortoise Reserve, we were taken to an area where we exchanged our shoes for rubber boots to wear while at the reserve. The first stop at the reserve was at a location with several giant tortoise shells where our guide gave us an extensive background on the Galapagos Giant tortoises and invited several people to climb inside two empty giant tortoise shells. From here we walked along a footpath past a large pool with several giant tortoises relatively motionless in the water and mud. One tortoise was slowly crossing the path while eating a mango. There were many photo opportunities of the tortoises including individual people photographed with a tortoise in the foreground.

Upon conclusion of our visit at the Tortoise Reserve, we were transported directly to the airport on Baltra Island for our flight to Guayaquil. Once we located our bag to be checked and were given our boarding passes, we went to a special counter where the airline checked our bag for the flight. Everyone with Metropolitan Touring was given access to the lounge at the airport while we waited for our flight. The flight to Guayaquil was uneventful and, after retrieving our checked bag, we found the Hilton Guayaquil Hotel shuttle bus waiting for us in front of the terminal.

We checked into the Hilton on the Executive Floor at approximately 3:50 PM on Friday afternoon, 10 June. Since the USA still required a COVID-19 test one day before arrival in the United States and our flight home was scheduled to depart Guayaquil at 3:00 AM on Saturday, 11 June, we needed to get tested immediately. The Hilton Executive Floor Concierge arranged for a hotel taxi to take us to a drive thru testing facility at 4:30 PM. We met the taxi and the driver took us to the drive-thru facility that had just closed for the day. He talked with the gatekeeper at the facility who directed him to take us to a medical laboratory across the street. Upon entering the facility, the driver talked with the receptionist and we were checked in for a rapid antigen test with results to be sent to us within one hour. The cost of the test was 21.00 USD each. We received our tests and returned to the hotel where we paid our driver and waited for the results.

After receiving the required negative results, I submitted both the test results and the declaration documents required by the USA for our return flight home to the airliine. We ate dinner at the hotel, received confirmation from COPA Airlines that all of our required paperwork was complete, and received PDF files with our boarding passes. The hotel printed our boarding passes, test results, and declaration documents for me. We slept for several hours and went to the airport at 1:00 AM on Saturday morning for the first of our flights home. What a great trip this was.

See pictures from Galapagos Islands

March 2022
Argentina & Peru

Travel Notes

On Friday, 11 March, I boarded my United Airlines flights from Los Angeles, California to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The flights were uneventful with full COVID-19 precautions in place throughout the flights. Upon arrival on Saturday morning, 12 March, the Immigration Official required me to show both proof of Vaccination and the required Argentina health form with the code to enter Argentina.

Argentina Government Regulations required everyone to wear masks both indoors and outdoors when near other people. As I exited immigration into the main terminal, I proceeded to the location of the shuttle bus for the Holiday Inn EZE Airport Hotel. After I called the hotel, the hotel bus arrived and took me to the hotel. The hotel had hand sanitizer stations located throughout the hotel public areas. Face masks were required in all public areas of the hotel.

Since I had booked a flight from Buenos Aires to Salta, Argentina, for Monday, 14 March, I had an extra day at this hotel in case there had been a cancellation delay on my flight to Argentina. I spent Sunday, 13 March, resting up at the hotel after walking through the small town to a bank with an ATM to procure some Argentina Pesos.

On Monday, 14 March, I flew to Salta and took a taxi to the Sheraton Salta Hotel. The elevation at Salta is 1,152 meters (3,780 feet) above sea level. I was upgraded to a suite at the Sheraton when I checked in. I had booked a 15 hour tour from Salta to Hornocal before traveling to Argentina. The tour was scheduled to depart early morning on Wednesday, 16 March. It was unclear whether this tour would pick me up at the hotel or if I needed to meet the tour in downtown Salta.

After spending nearly an hour on Tuesday morning trying to reach the organizing tour company, I finally was told that my hotel was too far away for the hotel pick-up option and was given a downtown Salta address of a local tour company to meet the tour at 6:30 AM the following morning. After my phone calls to the tour company, I decided to walk to downtown Salta and visit the address of the local tour company so I would know where to meet the tour the next day.

The local tour company office was near the Salta central plaza, and I went inside to talk with the representative. After I was told that the tour to Hornocal was in a small bus with approximately ten people, I inquired about changing my tour to a private tour and found out that the cost was not a whole lot more than I had already paid. I changed my booking to a private tour that would pick me up at my hotel and return me to my hotel. I continued exploring downtown Salta which had not changed from my prior visit four years earlier.

The driver for my private tour arrived on time Wednesday morning and we embarked on the tour to Hornocal. I had visited this region four years earlier but when I went to Hornocal, I went too early in the day and the sun pattern was totally wrong to bring out the 14 color landscape. I was hoping that this trip would allow me to arrive at Hornocal in the early afternoon and that the weather would be favorable for photographs. The first stop was at Pumamarca at an elevation of 2,324 m (7,625 ft) above sea level. I walked through the town and purchased a caprese empanada as a snack. We continued northbound and briefly stopped at Tilcara en route to Humahuaca.

We ate lunch at Humahuaca which is 3,012 meters (9,882 feet) above sea level. We then continued to the viewpoint at Hornocal, which is 4,340 meters (14.239 feet) above sea level. The weather was partly cloudy at the viewpoint but decent photographs of the 14 color landscape were possible. After spending some time at Hornocal, we began the long drive back to Salta. Since my tour was private and, since I had visited everywhere previously, the tour did not require the advertised 15 hours.

On Thursday, 17 March, I flew from Salta to Lima, Peru, and took a taxi to the JW Marriott Hotel overlooking the ocean in the Miraflores district of Lima. I had stayed here approximately twenty years prior and some of the elite amenities, including the lavish executive floor lounge, had been closed due to COVID-19. Fortunately the buffet breakfast was wonderful. Peruvian Government Regulations required people to wear masks inside privately owned buildings and to wear either a KN-95 mask or double medical masks inside airports, train stations, airplanes, trains, taxis, buses, and all Government buildings.

The following day, I explored portions of the Baranca district of Lima. This district was described as the historical Bohemian district of Lima.

On Saturday morning, 19 March, I took a Daytrip private car trip to Paracas with a scheduled en route stop to visit the pre-Inca archaeological site of Pachacamac. This was the first time that I used the Daytrip point to point travel service. My driver, José Rebaza, picked me up at my hotel right on time and began the drive to Paracas. When we arrived at Pachacamac, the entrance was closed. Today just happened to be the first day of a multi-day closure for some sort of maintenance.

After being unable to visit Pachacamac, we continued southbound on the Pan American Highway toward Paracas. We stopped to photograph La Cruz del Vajero, a monumental cross erected in 1579 by Catholic missionaries. We continued southbound and stopped at Don Roberto Panes Artesanales to sample some artisan brick oven baked bread. Later, we passed E.T. ice cream stands on both sides of the highway. José explained that local fascination with extraterrestrials inspired an ice cream stand that became popular and led to many more stands opening up along this stretch of the highway. We also stopped en route to visit the seaside resort town of Paracas before arriving at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel. This was a very nice hotel with both a swimming pool and a private beach. José Rebaza was wonderful and I wished that he could be my driver for the return trip to Lima.

On Sunday morning, I was picked up at the hotel for a Nazca Lines flight from Paracas. We drove from the hotel to the Pisco Airport where I checked in for my Aerodiana Nazca Lines sightseeing flight. The flight lasted several hours and provided wonderful low altitude views of many Nazca lines and figures, including the hummingbird, condor, spider, monkey, heron, lizard, tree, hands, parrot, royal family, and flower. The copilot narrated the flight while the pilot circled above the figures to make sure everyone on board could see them. I was thrilled that this flight was so wonderful. After the flight, a driver took me back to my hotel.

The following morning, 21 March, I had another Daytrip scheduled to take me back to the Lima JW Marriott Hotel. The driver picked me up and we had an en route stop at Tambo Colorado on the way to Lima. The driver missed a turn to go to Tambo Colorado and had to backtrack several kilometers to San Clemente to continue to Tambo Colorado.

Tambo Colorado is an adobe Inca complex adjacent to Rio Pisco most likely built near the end of the 15th century. Due to the dry climate, some of the original colors are faintly visible on the walls of several adobe structures. The site is divided into four sectors around a large central plaza. We continued northbound from here to the JW Marriott Lima Hotel.

After spending one night in Lima, I flew to Cusco, Peru, on Tuesday, 22 March. I took a local taxi to the JW Marriott Cusco hotel where I enjoyed a suite upgrade. The altitude at Cusco is 3,400 meters (or 11,152 feet) and is the third highest city in Peru. I spent the remainder of the day relaxing and acclimating to the altitude.

On Wednesday, 23 March, I walked around portions of historic central Cusco continuing the process of altitude acclimation. The following day, 24 March, I took another Daytrip to Ollantaytambo with en route stops at Tambomachay and Saqsaywaman – I had visited both of these sites about twenty years ago. Adner, my Daytrip driver, picked me up in his van, and we drove to Tambomachay, our first stop.

En route to Tambomachay we passed the site of Puka Pukara which may have a military base located along a major road in the Cusco area. Tambomachay is a small site, and I took several overview photos before continuing on to visit Saqsaywaman, the large fortified complex site overlooking the city of Cusco. Saqsaywaman is situated at an altitude of 3,701 meters (12,142 feet) above sea level.

The first thing that I noticed upon arrival at Saqsaywaman was the introduction of tourist walking routes that didn’t exist twenty years earlier. This was particularly aggravating when a short path to a viewpoint overlooking Cusco city was blocked to tourists. There was no other viewpoint with the same view of the city. The massive stones fitted together without mortar tends to make this site unique. I walked around the site and continued to be amazed at the gigantic stonework. Estimates for the weight of the largest andesite stone block vary from 128 tons to almost 200 tons.

After visiting Saqsaywaman, Adner drove through the Sacred Valley to the town of Ollantaytambo. On the outskirts of Ollantaytambo, we drove past the Skylodge Adventure Suites clinging to the side of a mountain. I had reservations at the Ollantaytambo El Aubergue Hotel, which is a historic hotel adjacent to the train tracks at the railway station. Since Adner was unable to drive to the entrance of the hotel, he drove as far as he could and dropped me off beside the Inca Rail ticket office. He informed me that he was scheduled to be my Daytrip driver for my return to Cusco and, before he left, we set up a place to meet at noon on 28 March.

I walked down the street and through the railway entrance to go to my hotel. After checking into the El Aubergue Hotel, I walked to the Peru Rail ticket office to pick up my round trip train tickets to Machu Picchu Pueblo and continued walking to the Ollantaytambo archaeological site entrance. The Pinkuylluna archaeological site is situated on the slope of Wiracocha Mountain across the valley and faces the Ollantaytambo archaeological site. I took photos of Pinkuylluna but did not hike to the site. Ollantaytambo town and the archaeological site entrance is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level.

On Friday, 25 March, I visited the Ollantaytambo archaeological site, which reportedly dates from the mid-15th century. I first walked past the pre-Inca section and began climbing to the upper levels to access Diez Hornacinas and the Templo del Sol with the six gigantic stones facing the morning sun. These six stones appeared to have very faint petroglyphs once engraved on the outward facing surfaces. The size and weight of these stones makes people wonder how the Inca people could have possibly transported them from a quarry and elevated them to this very high mountain-top location sometime during the mid-15th century.

I found that the site has also incorporated one way tourist walking routes and restricted access to several locations at the site – these restrictions did not exist when I had visited here previously. I walked around the upper levels where I was not restricted and continued walking along the Cliffside trail marked “Balconpata.” I continued along Balconpata until I reached a barricade to restrict me from continuing on to visit the structure named “Qoloqas.” I then descended down to the valley floor to the Inka Misana. From here I walked along the valley floor to the far end of the site. As I returned to the main entrance area, I stopped to visit the Templo del Agua before exiting the site.

On Saturday, 26 March, I checked part of my luggage at El Aubergue and took the Peru Rail Expedition train to Machu Picchu Pueblo. This is a very scenic train trip and the conductor pointed out the two locations where people can depart the train to access the longer and shorter Inka Trail to Machu Picchu. I was happy to continue on to Machu Picchu Pueblo, which was previously known as Aguas Calientes during my previous visit.

Several weeks prior to embarking on this trip, I had booked reservations to enter Machu Picchu at 9:00 AM on Sunday, 27 March, and booked roundtrip tickets for the bus from Machu Picchu Pueblo to Machu Picchu. The tickets that I purchased for Machu Picchu included not only entrance to Machu Picchu but also access to the Waynapicchu Mountain trail. I wanted to climb the same trail to the summit of Waynapicchu that I had climbed twenty years previously.

Upon arrival at Machu Picchu Pueblo, a representative from the Machu Picchu Inkaterra hotel met me and escorted me to the hotel. This hotel is a wonderful luxury hotel that has been greatly expanded during the twenty years since my prior visit. After checking into the hotel, I was escorted up the mountain side and through the jungle to the building that contained my room for the next two nights. Prior to going down to the restaurant for dinner, light rain began falling and I was happy that my room also had a large umbrella waiting for me.

After breakfast on Sunday, 27 March, a hotel employee escorted me to the location to board the bus to Machu Picchu. I got in line for the group of people with the same departure time as me. This bus route is the famous road with many switchbacks up the side of the mountain to reach Machu Picchu. Upon exiting the bus, I went to the entrance. Since I had arrived about ten minutes before 9:00 AM, I was told to wait beside the entrance until precisely 9:00 AM when I was summoned back to present my passport, tickets, and COVID vaccination documentation before entering the site.

Once inside the site, I quickly learned that Machu Picchu had constructed four different one way tourist routes designated as red, blue, black, and white to visit the site. The red and blue routes were for the trail up Machu Picchu Mountain to enter from above the upper level where the Machu Picchu Trail enters the site. The black and white trails entered the site about half way up terraces of the site. Twenty years ago, there was free access to visit the site but, since I really wanted to climb Waynapicchu Mountain, I chose the black route that would take me there.

As I entered, Machu Picchu was shrouded with clouds and visibility was limited. I first walked across the terraces to the area with the Temple of the Sun and the Ritual Fountain. I continued walking toward the area beneath the 3 Windows Temple. Although I was able to get beside and below the 3 Windows Temple, the stairway to the upper level entrance was blocked. I continued walking alongside the main square opposite the area with the factory houses until I came to the Sacred Rock.

The entrance to the trail to Montana Waynapicchu is near the Sacred Rock. I proceeded to the checkpoint where I presented my ticket and passport to sign in to climb the mountain. The sign near the checkpoint showed the altitude of the checkpoint to be 2,433 meters (7,982 feet) above sea level and the altitude of the Montana Waynapicchu summit to be 2,682 meters (8,799 feet) above sea level. Clouds still shrouded the area and rain remained in the forecast. The trail to the summit was steep with numerous switchbacks and stone steps of various heights. Handrail cables were occasionally installed beside very narrow and steep rock steps. Near the summit the trail branched into two one-way routes that would circle the Inca site at the summit. As I neared the summit, rain began in earnest and I continued on to the top. The view from the top was totally obscured most of the time and partially obscured the remainder of the time that I was on the mountain. It continued to rain for most of the time that I hiked back down the mountain. In retrospect, it was a much easier climb when I was twenty years younger.

Back down at Machu Picchu, I hiked toward the Temple of the Condor. Since access to the Temple of the Condor was blocked when I arrived, I continued walking across the industrial zone to exit Machu Picchu. After riding the bus back to Machu Picchu Pueblo, I returned to the hotel and spent time with the hair dryer trying to dry out my camera which began malfunctioning during my hike down from Waynapicchu. Later I obtained some rice from the hotel kitchen and packed my camera in a plastic bag with the rice. Fortunately I was able to continue taking photos with my iPhone until I returned to Cusco.

On the evening of 27 March, I received a text message from Adner, my Daytrip driver from Ollantaytambo to Cusco, advising me that a transportation strike scheduled for 28 March would result in road closures and other transportation stoppages. He would keep me apprised as to whether he could get to Ollantaytambo to drive me back to Cusco on 28 March.

I took Peru Rail from Machu Picchu Pueblo to Ollantaytambo without incident on Monday morning, 28 March. After retrieving my checked luggage at El Aubergue, I found out that Adner was still in Cusco and had not been able to find a route out of the city. Fortunately the person at the hotel front desk was able to locate a person to drive me to Cusco, and the driver would pick me up within one hour. Such wonderful news!!!!

The driver picked me up and, while driving back roads toward Cusco, was on his mobile phone constantly checking with other people about current road closures. Needless to say, the drive to Cusco was both scenic and an adventure. As we entered Cusco, my driver drove through a barricade of smoldering tires and took me to the JW Marriott El Convento Hotel.

Upon arrival at the hotel, I was greeted by the staff who had decorated my upgraded suite for my birthday which was a couple days earlier. The staff at the hotel was wonderful and cooked a special dinner for me on my final night at the hotel. I cannot say enough good things about the staff at the JW Marriott El Convento Hotel in Cusco.

I spent Tuesday, 29 March, walking around Cusco. My first stop was a visit to the Convent of Santo Domingo Cusco, also known as the Qorikancha Museum. The Spaniards ordered the Qorikancha temple to be torn apart for materials to construct the convent, which was built on the remains of the Inca temple. After touring Qorikancha, I walked to sites in the vicinity of the Cusco Plaza de Armas. These sites included the Cusco Cathedral, Templo de San Cristobal, Church of the Society of Jesus, Basilica of La Merced, Arch of Santa Clara, Church of Santa Clara, St. Peter's Church, Plaza San Francisco, Church of San Francisco de Asis, and the Contemporary Art Museum. That evening, I took a tour of the archaeological remains of the ancient convent beneath the JW Marriott El Convento Hotel.

On Wednesday, 30 March, I flew back to Lima to spend my last two nights in Peru at the JW Marriott Lima Hotel. That evening the hotel arranged for a nurse to visit my room to administer the COVID antigen test required for my return flight to Buenos Aires. The following day, I took a hotel car to visit both the Museo Larco and the Plaza de Armas historical center of Lima. I arrived at the Plaza de Armas in time to witness the Changing of the Guard at the Government Palace. I explored the area around Plaza de Armas and viewed sights that included the Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, Archbishop's Palace, Lima Municipal Palace, Plazuela de Santo Domingo, Cajamarca, and Plaza Peru. After returning to the hotel, I walked along the coast at Miraflores to the Parque del Amor.

On Friday, 1 April, I flew back to Buenos Aires to be in position for my return flight to Los Angeles. On 2 April, I took another COVID antigen test as required for return travel to the USA. After two long flights, I arrived home on Monday, 4 April. This was a gratifying trip after two years of enduring the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

See pictures from Argentina & Peru

January 2022
Costa Rica Revisited

Travel Notes

I booked a return trip to Costa Rica during January 2022. Since this trip to Costa Rica would mostly be a repeat itinerary of my April 2021 visit, I booked the Hilton Liberia Airport Hotel for the duration of my visit. I also contacted Diana with Mardigi Tours to arrange for five Mardigi private tours in advance with Gerardo Scriba as my tour guide. Four of the tours would be repeats of my prior April visit and I would add a new tour.

On Tuesday, 11 January, I boarded my United Airlines flights from Los Angeles, California, to Liberia, Costa Rica. The flights were uneventful with full COVID-19 precautions in place throughout the flight. Upon arrival, the Immigration Official required me to show the health requirement form with the code to enter Costa Rica, my hotel reservation, and a copy of my return flight ticket.

Costa Rica Government Regulations required everyone to wear masks both indoors and outdoors when near other people. As I exited immigration into the main terminal, I proceeded to the location of the shuttle bus for the Hilton Liberia Airport Hotel. Within 15 minutes, the hotel bus arrived and took me to the hotel.

The hotel had hand sanitizer stations located throughout the hotel public areas. Face masks were required in all public areas of the hotel. After checking into my spacious room, I relaxed until it was time to go to the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant operated at 50% capacity and maintained social distancing between tables.

I spent Wednesday, 12 January, resting up at the hotel and working out the final details for my five Mardigi private tours. Since Gerardo had been my private tour guide previously, I wanted confirmation that he would be my guide for all five tours. Once the Mardige tours were finalized and paid for, I spent the remainder of the day relaxing at the hotel.

On Thursday morning, 13 January, Gerardo met me at the hotel and we embarked on the Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour on Rio Tempisque. Rio Tempisque is 144 kilometers long and flows from the Guanacaste Cordillera near the Orosi Volcano to the Gulf of Nicoya. It passes through the Palo Verde National Park and is habitat for various species of crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, and birds.

After arriving in Ortega, we stopped at the Palo Verde Boat Tour Headquarters to check-in for our tour. The boat tour headquarters is also a restaurant where we would eat lunch after the tour. It was nice to be welcomed back as a returning participant of the boat tour.

The section of Rio Tempisque that we would visit on the tour is within the Refugio National de Vida Silvestre Cipanci. As we drove through the refuge to the river we were able to photograph a large group of Wood Storks, a Jabiru Stork, and other birds. We were especially fortunate to see the Jabiru Stork since, according to the Internet, only 95 of these storks continue to be found in Costa Rica.

At the river, Gerardo and I boarded a large tour boat and, since my tour was private, we were the only passengers. This tour was really special with close interaction with Gerardo and the boat driver who happened to also be our boat driver during my April 2021 tour. We were in no hurry and stopped many times to look at and photograph the wildlife. The wildlife that we observed included crocodiles, a Capuchin Monkey, Green Iguanas, a Basilisk Lizard, Howler Monkeys, Fasciated Tiger Heron, Great White Egrets, a Blue Heron, a Green Heron, and Proboscis Bats. During the boat ride, we also saw a pair of Scarlet Macaws flying across an open space above the river. Please see my April 2021 Palo Verde Boat tour for more detailed notes and additional photos for most of the wildlife associated with this tour. The Palo Verde Boat Tours restaurant served a wonderful lunch to us before we returned to the hotel.

On Friday morning, 14 January, Geraldo met me at the hotel for a repeat visit on Las Hornillas Miravalles Volcanic Mud Tour. Please see my notes and photos associated with my April 2021 tour. Our first stop of the tour was the Catarata Lianos del Cortes Trail for a short hike to Catarata Lianos del Cortes, a very beautiful waterfall. We drove from here to Las Hornillas Miravalles in the foothills of Volcán Miravalles where we began hiking the Cataratas Cabro Muco Trails.

We hiked the upper portion of the trails first. After entering the upper trail, we crossed a suspended walkway to hike along numerous Cataratas Cabro Muco waterfalls cascading down the mountainside. These were also spectacular with iron oxide deposits turning the rocks beside the waterfalls and along river a brilliant orange color.

We returned from the upper trail to hike the lower trail to the large Cataratas Cabro Muco waterfall. In order to arrive at the waterfall, we traversed a very long suspended walkway over the river and above the waterfall. When we arrived at the viewpoint for the waterfall, there were metal stairs descending to a platform about half way down the height of the waterfall. This waterfall was stunning with turquoise water at the base of the falls with orange iron oxide deposits coating the rocks in and beside the river. Hiking both portions of these trails through lush dense vegetation was exhilarating after more than a year of observing COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA.

Our next stop was at a nice restaurant for a wonderful lunch. After lunch we continued on to visit the Las Hornillas Volcanic Activity Center. This center is situated at a live volcanic crater with hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles, openings in or near a volcano, through which hot sulfurous gases emerge. Visitors here have options to not only walk around and through the crater but also may elect to bathe in a mud bath and/or hot springs. Public lockers, dressing rooms, and open public showers were available for visitors.

As we drove back to the hotel, we saw a White-nosed Coati beside the road. We stopped to observe it and then noticed that it was heading to a group of White-nosed Coatis a little farther down the road. What a thrill to actually find a whole group of Coatis milling about beside the road. We watched them until they headed into the forest and then we returned to the hotel.

On Saturday, 15 January, Gerardo and his wife, Gaby, who also works for Mardigi Tours, met me at the hotel to take the Hiking Celeste River Tenorio National Park tour. This is the tour that I had not previously taken. I was happy that Gaby was able to join us for the tour. We drove to Liberia and took Highway 1 southeast to the intersection of Highway 6. We continued northeast on Highway 6 to Bijagua where we turned right onto Pers de Heliconias to Volcán Tenorio National Park. We parked in the lot for entrance to the park and the Rio Celeste Trail.

The challenging Rio Celeste in-and-out hiking trail within Tenorio Volcano National Park is approximately five kilometers long. We began our hike and then we came to a fork in the trail with the waterfall in one direction and El Teñidero in the other direction. El Teñidero is formed where the minerals of two rivers meet (Quebrada Agria and Rio Buena Vista) and turn Rio Celeste bright blue. It’s an impressive sight to see as the otherwise normal-looking rivers converge into one electric blue current.

We decided to hike to El Teñidero before visiting the Rio Celeste Waterfall which plunges 98 feet into a pool of turquoise blue water surrounded by dense rain forest. As we continued hiking through the lush rainforest, the first view of Rio Celeste was at Laguna Azul. Gerardo described it as a blue lagoon where the brilliant turquoise water forms a large pool of relatively still water. As we continued upstream, we arrived at Los Borbollones, a spot in the river where sulfuric gasses from the volcano bubble up through the water.

Continuing the hike upstream we crossed two suspension foot bridges before arriving at El Teñidero. This is a spectacular sight where the confluence of the clear Quebrada Agria and Buena Vista rivers form the headwaters for Rio Celeste. Since the Quebrada Agria and Buena Vista rivers are both transparent, when they converge a chemical reaction occurs which forms a white precipitate that coats the rocks on the bottom of Rio Celeste for the next 14 kilometers. The white precipitate on the rocks reflects sunlight and gives the appearance of the turquoise blue color to Rio Celeste.

After viewing and photographing El Teñidero, we backtracked to the turnoff for Catarata Rio Celeste. We descended a series of about 250 steep paved stairs to arrive at the viewing platform for the waterfall. In addition to taking photos at the viewing platform, we took several photos of the waterfall as we descended the stairs. Catarata Rio Celeste is truly a stunning sight, and Rio Celeste continued to have the turquoise color downstream for as far as we could see.

We ascended the steep stairs and hiked back to the trail entrance. When we arrived at the entrance, there was a long line of people waiting to enter the trail. Since the park has a certain quota for the number of people that can hike at any one time, as each person exited the trail one of the people in waiting was granted admission. We were fortunate to have arrived early before the crowd.

Before going to eat lunch, Gerardo continued northeast on Highway 6 for a view of Lago Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua) and to a location marked by a sign beside the road that read “ZONA DE MAGNETISMO.” Highway 6 had an uphill grade at this location and when Gerardo placed the transmission in the Neutral position, the magnetism pulled the car uphill. In the return direction, after we stopped at this location, the magnetism pulled the car backwards uphill. This was a very interesting location indeed.

As we continued back on Highway 6, we turned onto Pera de Heliconias and continued to a dirt road that took us to Finea Verde Lodge where we ate lunch. While here, we saw several Toucans, White Face Monkeys, and several Sloths in the trees. It was nice to see these birds and animals in the wild. We also stopped for a very short visit at the Las Pumas Rescue Center on our way back to the hotel. On Sunday morning, 16 January, Gerardo and I departed the hotel to go to Rincón de la Vieja National Park to hike in the foothills of Volcán Rincón de la Vieja. Since I had previously taken this tour with Gerardo in April 2021, I did not take many duplicate photos of the April visit. A more detailed description of this trail can be found in the notes for my April 2021 visit.

After arriving at the park, Gerardo checked us in and we began hiking the 3.2 kilometer Sendaro Pailas Loop portion of the Rincón de la Vieja Trail. During the hike, we revisited several fumaroles, the fumarilic lagoon, bubbling mud pots, and bubbling water pots. Near the beginning of our hike, a snake approximately one meter long crossed the path in front of us and then vanished in the vegetation adjacent to the trail. The weather was beautiful and we once again had a marvelous view of Volcán Rincón de la Vieja. We saw several Spider Monkeys, Black Iguanas, a crested Guan, and two Agoutis.

Before going to lunch at the Hacienda Guachipelin restaurant, we hiked the one kilometer Posa Roja trail. We stopped and took photos at Poza Turqueza before continuing to Poza Roja. Much to our disappointment, many tourists were swimming in Poza Roja and had left their personal belongings scattered about the gorgeous red boulders adjacent to the water. I decided to rely on photos from my April visit and we returned to have lunch before returning to the hotel.

On Monday morning, 17 January, Gerardo and I took the Waterfall Lovers tour. Since I had previously taken this tour with Gerardo in April 2021, I did not take many duplicate photos of the April visit. A more detailed description and photos of this tour can be found in the notes for my April 2021 visit.

We went back to Hacienda Guachipelin where we checked-in for access to the sites and hiked the Catarata Chorreras Trail to Catarata Chorreras. The entire hike is on the private property of Hacienda Guachipelin. Catarata Chorreras is very beautiful and consists of a river forming double waterfalls that combine with a second smaller river forming a confluence of the two rivers at the base of the waterfalls. The larger river produces turquoise color near the base of the falls, and the smaller river produces darker colored water at the base of the falls. During the hike, we passed a number of very interesting different large trees and we observed several beautiful Lineated Woodpeckers.

From here we drove to the entrance of the Catarata Oropendola Trail. This trail and waterfalls is also on the private property of Hacienda Guachipelin. The trail was downhill most of the way to the waterfalls and we had to hike down a long suspended stairway that had a weight restriction of Max 2 persons/300 Kg. This time, as I descended the suspended stairs, I counted sixty-four steps. I descended the steps first, and Gerardo followed once I reached the bottom. Catarata Oropendola was a very impressive waterfall with turquoise water at the base of the falls and crystal clear water flowing downstream from the falls.

Our next stop was at the entrance of the Cataratas Rio Negro Trail where we hiked upstream along Rio Negro to see the Catarata #1, Catarata #2, Catarata #3, and Catarata #4 waterfalls. The trail was through another forested area and the caretakers had added a layer of crushed rock on the trail since my April 2021 visit. Please see my April 2021 visit for more complete photo coverage of these waterfalls. We returned to the Hacienda Guachipelin restaurant for the buffet lunch before going back to the hotel where Gerardo and I parted ways. Gerardo was an exceptional tour guide during my two visits in Costa Rica, and we continue to be good friends and keep in touch.

With the surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in December 2021, the Biden administration changed the requirements for entry into the United States from testing within 72 hours of departure to the USA to within one calendar day. Technically speaking, one calendar day should be anytime the day before traveling but many people and entities interpret that to mean within 24 hours of departure to the USA.

My first flight leaving Costa Rica to Houston, Texas, had a scheduled departure time of 2:20 PM on January 19, 2022, on United Airlines. The United Airlines Travel Ready website referred to the testing period to be 24 hours prior to departure with a NEGATIVE test result. The USA’s new shorter time frame and the ambiguity of the 24-hour language required me to stay close to the hotel the entire day before departing Costa Rica. I was able to have the hotel arrange for a nurse to come to my room at the hotel at 3:00 PM on 18 January to administer the required rapid antigen test.

The nurse arrived on time and administered the test. I received an email a couple of hours later with a PDF attachment showing my NEGATIVE test result. After uploading the PDF file to the United Airlines Travel Ready Center, I received approval and printed out my boarding passes before having one last dinner at the hotel.

Wednesday, 19 January, was my final partial day in Costa Rica and, after securing a late checkout, I spent time editing my travel notes and sequencing my photos for my website. The hotel shuttle bus took me to the airport and I boarded my return flights back to Los Angeles. This trip turned out to be wonderful.

See pictures from Costa Rica

October 2021
Italy

Travel Notes

I originally booked a 12 day tour of Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia through a travel agency located in Boston, Massachusetts. That tour began in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and ended in Ljubljana, Slovenia. After booking the tour, I booked a roundtrip flight on Air Canada to Rome and additional flights from Rome to Dubrovnik and from Lubjiana to Rome with dates that matched up with the tour. While I was in Iceland, I received information from the Boston travel agency that my Croatia to Slovenia tour had been canceled and would I like to book a similar tour on different dates. Since my Air Canada business class flight was not refundable, I canceled the tour and received a cash refund. I also ended up canceling the flights from Rome to Croatia and from Slovenia to Rome that matched up with the tour.

Upon rethinking the trip to Italy, I decided to spend a couple of days in Rome and then fly to Dubrovnik for several days and then return to Italy to finish up the trip. I booked roundtrip air from Rome to Dubrovnik. In the meantime, since the dates for the European flights and hotels changed, completing and submitting the documentation required from the Italian and Croatia governments turned out to be a time-consuming nightmare.

I flew from Los Angeles, California to Rome, Italy arriving at the Rome International Airport (FCO) on Tuesday morning, 5 October 2021. Since I usually try to avoid spending time in Rome, I decided to stay at the Hilton Rome Airport which is very convenient for both the airport and the Leonardo Express train into Rome and everywhere in Italy. It was raining when I arrived at FCO and after clearing immigration, I walked to the Rome Airport Hilton hotel where I received an early check in. The long term weather forecast for Rome was for a lot of rain.

On Wednesday, 6 October, there was a break in the forecasted rain and the hotel called a taxi to take me to Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica, the site of the Rome’s ancient port city at the entrance to the Tiber River. The city of Ostia was situated on the River Tiber about 25 kilometers southwest of Rome. Due to silting over the years, it now lies about 3 Kilometers (2 miles) from the sea. Although an inscription seems to confirm the establishment of the old centrum of Ostia in the 7th century BC, the most ancient buildings currently visible are from the 3rd century BC. Ostia fell slowly into decay after the end of the Western Roman Empire and was abandoned in the 9th century AD after repeated sackings by Arab pirates.

The entrance to the site appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, adjacent to a parking lot about 100 meters from the ticket office. Several tour buses had also unloaded tourists at this location. The driver gave me a telephone number to call when I was ready to return to my hotel. He said that after I called for a car, it would take about 20 minutes for a car to arrive.

I purchased my ticket at the ticket office and began exploring the site. I was immediately impressed by the sheer size of the site with an area of 50 hectares (173 acres). The remaining structures which included the Castrum, the theater and the Capitolium (temples of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) were very impressive. The city walls and roads were also impressive. I spent most of the afternoon walking through much of the site.

Once I returned to the place where my driver originally dropped me off, I called for a car to come to pick me up. I was told by a dispatcher that due to high demand, a driver would arrive within an hour to pick me up. As I kept reminding myself that this is Italy, the driver showed up about 90 minutes later. Back at my hotel, I continued to marvel at how nice this site actually was. Anyone with some extra time should consider visiting here.

I had been to Italy many times before but had not been into Rome for more than twenty-five years. On Thursday, 7 October, I took the Leonardo Express train into Rome. After arriving at the Central Train Station, I took a local taxi to re-visit the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. I was immediately surprised that free access to those areas had been eliminated with the perimeters fenced off. Special admission is now required with ticket purchases only available on the Internet and which must be purchased one to two days in advance. Consequently, I just viewed from a distance and am happy that I have many photos from earlier and much more interesting visits.

After getting tested for COVID-19 at the Rome airport, I flew from Rome to Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday, 8 October. Notes and photos from Croatia are available separately. On Wednesday, 13 October, I flew from Dubrovnik to Rome FCO airport and returned to the Hilton Rome Airport hotel for the evening. Later that afternoon, I went to the train station and purchased my train tickets to go to Naples the following day.

On Thursday, 14 October, I took the express train from Rome to Naples and then a taxi to the Renaissance hotel. After checking into the hotel, I booked a ticket to go to the Naples Archaeological Museum on Sunday, 17 October. My next stop was to meet with the hotel concierge to book both a small historical walking tour of Naples and a small group tour from Naples along the Amalfi Coast with stops in Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi before returning to Naples.

Since I had part of the afternoon open, I walked to the Castel Nuovo (New Castle) and signed up for a castle tour. I had seen this castle on prior visits to Naples but never had an opportunity to visit. It is a medieval castle located in front of the Piazza Municipo and the city hall. It was first erected in 1279 and further reconstructed between 1453 and 1479. It was the royal seat for Kings of Naples, Aragon, and Spain until 1815. The single-sided white marble triumphal arch commemorating the arrival of Alfonso of Aragon’s entry into Naples stands between two western towers of the castle above the main entrance. The castle currently houses the civic museum which has both a permanent collection and temporary cultural exhibitions. Several locations within the castle were inaccessible during my visit.

On Friday, 15 October, I met my guide, Marco, for the Naples historical walking tour at the Neptune Fountain in the Piazza del Municipio which is one of the largest squares in Europe. The square is in front of San Giacomo palace, the town hall. We had a small group of people for the tour and Marco conducted the tour in Italian, Spanish, and English. After the initial introductions, we walked to the entrance of the Castle Nuovo and then visited the archaeological site of the ancient port of the Greco-Roman Neapolis adjacent to the castle.

We walked to the Galleria Umberto I, a public shopping gallery which was built between 1887 and 1890. It is a magnificent cross-shaped building with glass dome and glass-vaulted wings and is part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Center of Naples as a World Heritage Site. After exiting the galleria, we walked past the Real Teatro di San Carlo. It is commonly referred to as Teatro San Carlo. It opened in 1737 and is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world. It was not open when we walked past.

We continued walking to the Piazza del Plebiscito, a large square constructed between 1809 and 1846 which is bounded by the Royal Palace of Naples to the east and the church of San Francesco di Paola to the west. As we entered the square, Marco pointed out Caffè Gambrinus which is a coffeehouse founded in 1860. The café is one of the oldest in Europe and was also known for being a meeting place of intellectuals and artists. In addition, Marco pointed to the location of Pizzeria Brandi where legend says the pizza Margherita was invented. We were given free time here to explore on our own.

I visited the Royal Palace of Naples which was constructed between 1616 and 1644. In 1888, King Umberto I of Savoy added niches to the façade to display statues of prominent rulers of Naples since the foundation of the Kingdom of Naples during the 12th century. I walked through the main entry to the Royal Gardens behind the palace and returned to the piazza to visit the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola.

The Basilica of San Francesco di Paola was originally conceived as large building with colonnades as a tribute to the emperor Napoleon. After the Bourbons were restored to the throne of Naples, Ferdinand I continued the construction but converted the building into the church that was completed in 1816. I briefly visited the interior of the church before walking past Caffè Gambrinus and exploring Via Gennaro Serra and the alley where Pizzeria Brandi is located. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to purchase a cappuccino at Caffè Gambrinus before rejoining Marco and the tour.

The tour continued along Via Toledo to the Piazza del Gesù Nuovo which was constructed during an expansion of Naples to the west beginning in the 16th century. It contains three prominent landmarks: the Church of Gesù Nuovo, the Church of Santa Chiara, and the Spire of the Immaculate Virgin. The Spire of the Immaculate Virgin stands in front of the church of Gesù Nuovo. It is a monument built to invoke the Virgin Mary’s protection from the plague. We were given free time to explore the Gesù Nuovo area.

Construction of the Church of Gesù Nuovo began during 1584 by the Jesuits and was completed in 1750. When the Jesuits were expelled from Naples in 1767, the church passed to the Franciscan order. The Jesuits returned in 1821, only to be expelled again in 1848. The façade of this church is unique and I briefly visited the interior of the church.

Santa Chiara is a religious complex that includes the Church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs, and an archaeological museum. The church complex was built from 1313 to 1340 and was partially destroyed by a fire after Allied bombings during World War II. It was brought back to the alleged original state by a disputed restoration completed in 1953. The Basilica of the church faces Via Benedetto Croce, the easternmost leg of Via Spaccanapoli. The bell tower is immediately adjacent to the street.

After I visited the interior of the Church of Santa Chiara, I paid for admission to the famous Majolica Cloister transformed in 1742 by the addition of majolica tiles in Rococo style. The cloister arcades are also decorated by frescoes which have become degraded. Both the church history museum and the archaeological site are accessed via the cloister.

After rejoining the tour, we walked along Via Spaccanapoli and turned left on Via S Sabastiano, right on Vicoletto S Pietro a Maiella and veered right along Piazza Luigi Miraglia to Dia del Tribunali. We stopped at the intersection of Via del Fico Al Purgatory to view the Bust di Pulcinella. We continued walking along Via del Tribunali until we arrived at Piazza S Gaetano. Piazza S Gaetano is at the intersection of Via San Gregorio and also where San Lorenzo Maggiore is situated. San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church and monastery located at the precise geographic center of the historic district of the ancient Greek-Roman city. The archaeological area of San Lorenzo Maggiore that lies beneath the church is often referred to as the Macellum of Naples and also as Underground Naples.

About half of the Macellum of Naples, an original Roman market, has been excavated. It dates from the 4th century BC when the area was the location of the agora during the Greek period. When Neapolis became a Roman possession, it was eventually transformed into a macellum. It was covered by a mudslide in the 5th century AD.

After Marco purchased tickets for us to tour these underground ruins, we descended into Underground Naples. The macellum had a rectangular porticoed area with workshops and an internal open space with mosaic floors. In the middle was a tholos, a circular building for selling food. We also saw a small laundry and a treasury during our tour. The tour ended as we exited the San Lorenzo Maggiore.

After the tour, I walked along Via San Gregorio Armeno, the famous street known as the street of nativity workshops. I walked under the bell tower of the Church of San Gregorio Armeno, which spans the street, and turned right on Via Spaccanapoli. Continuing along Via Spaccanapoli, I passed Piazza San Domenico Maggiore and photographed the Oblisco di San Domenico en route to Via Toledo. From here I pretty much retraced the route of the tour as I walked back to my hotel.

On Saturday, 16 October, I was picked up at the hotel in a nearly empty small bus for the small group tour from Naples along the Amalfi Coast with stops in Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi. I met Kamal from Trinidad as we left the hotel to enter the bus. Kamal and I became good friends during the tour and will probably continue to keep in touch with each other.

The bus made several other stops in Naples to pick up additional people before continuing along the scenic route along the Italian coastline en route to our first stop, the town of Sorrento. Sorrento is situated above cliffs that overlook the sea and the harbor below. After the tour group visited Limonoro Fabbrica Liquori, a shop famous for lemon-flavored liquor, chocolates, gelato, and other items, we were given one hour of free time to explore the town. Kamal and I walked along the small picturesque streets to a park area overlooking the harbor with a panoramic view of the coastline, Capri and Mount Vesuvius. We also visited the Piazza della Vittoria, the Piazza Tasso and several churches including Chiesa di San Paolo, the Church del Carmine, and the Sorrento Cathedral.

We continued driving along the beautiful scenic coast to the town of Positano. Positano was especially interesting in that it hugged the steep hillsides down to the ocean. The access road into Positano was a narrow one way road into the upper area of the town where the bus parked. During our free time, Kamal and I hiked down the steep narrow pedestrian walkway into the town and down to the beach. After exploring the beach area, we visited La Chiesa di S. Maria Assunta and Chiesa Santa Maria del Rosario before tackling the steep hike back uphill to the parking area to rejoin the tour.

Positano lies at the western end of the Amalfi Coast which continues east through Amalfi and ends at Vietri sul Mare. It is celebrated worldwide for its Mediterranean landscape and natural diversity. The Coast is named after the town of Amalfi. The Amalfi Coast was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The challenging Amalfi Drive consists of a single road with one lane in each direction that snakes around colossal 500-foot-tall cliffs and is outfitted with hairpin turns both left and right. The scenery from the road is stunning.

We stopped at La Conca Azzurra, a restaurant situated high above the ocean with panoramic views, where we ate a nice lunch provided by the tour. After lunch, we continued our drive along the Amalfi Coast to the town of Amalfi. Amalfi lies at the mouth of a wide ravine at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 meters, 4,314 feet) and is surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. It is the main town on the Amalfi Coast and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The patron saint of Amalfi is Saint Andrew, the Apostle, whose relics are kept in the Amalfi Cathedral (Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea/Duomo di Amalfi).

The bus let us off at the harbor in front of the town center. Unlike the nice beach at Positano, the beach at Amalfi near the harbor was tiny and relatively uninviting. During our free time at Amalfi, the tour offered an optional scenic boat ride along the coast. Kamal and I signed up for the boat ride and then visited the Amalfi Cathedral. The cathedral faces the Piazza Duomo and dates from the 9th and 10th centuries and has been added to and redecorated several times. The bell tower was constructed between the 12th and 13th centuries.

The scenery from the boat ride was gorgeous and provided many beautiful photo opportunities. I would definitely recommend a scenic boat tour when visiting Amalfi. After boarding the tour bus, we drove across the coastal mountains to the main highway back to Naples and were dropped off at the hotel.

On Sunday, 17 October, I revisited the Naples Archaeological Museum. I had purchased advance tickets on the Internet and was granted admission when the museum opened. This was my second visit to the museum and I was somewhat disappointed that the temporary exhibition relating to gladiators could not compare with the special Pompeii exhibition when I was there previously. I walked through the museum until I satisfied myself that I had seen all that there was currently available to see.

On Monday, 18 October, I took the train back to the Rome FCO airport and returned for one last night at the Hilton Rome Airport hotel. I flew from Rome to Toronto on Air Canada on Tuesday, 19 October, and, after boarding my connecting flight to Los Angeles, the flight was canceled. Air Canada transferred me to the same flight the following day and put me up at the Sheraton Toronto Airport hotel for the night. The following day, I returned home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Italy

October 2021
Croatia

Travel Notes

After getting tested for COVID-19 at the Rome airport, I flew from Rome to Dubrovnik, Croatia on Friday, 8 October. I took a taxi to the Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera hotel which is a short distance from Old Town Dubrovnik. After checking into the hotel, I booked a “Game of Thrones” Tour and arranged for a taxi into Dubrovnik for the following day. On Saturday, 9 October, I met up with a small group of people and my tour guide, Mihaela, at the Amerling Fountain to begin the “Game of Thrones” Tour. Although Malta was the site for “Kings Landing” for Season 1 of “Game of Thrones,” Dubrovnik was selected as “Kings Landing” for Season 2 and subsequent seasons. Two Dubrovnik website links providing additional information about “Game of Thrones” are https://travelwithsheemelle.com/dubrovnik-game-of-thrones/ and https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1CMu8ACaHRf9yQSMBu2I_mq1d9LIaBe-Z&ll=42.644653748097575,18.134199038183628&z=13.

Mihaela was a wonderful tour guide who was very knowledgeable. She had a large group of photos of different scenes from the “Game of Thrones” series that corresponded to the different places that we visited. She would hold up a photo of the scene at each of the different places where we stopped on the tour and give us background information on the scene.

Mihaela began the tour outside of the Old Town Dubrovnik at the West Dubrovnik Harbor which was Blackwater Bay in the “Game of Thrones.” From here we went to Fort Lovrijenac which was the Red Keep in “Game of Thrones.” Gradec Park which was the location for the Purple Wedding episode of “Game of Thrones” was visible from Fort Lovrijenac.

The tour continued through the Pila Gate into the remains of the Pila Fortress where additional scenes from the series were filmed. We entered Old Dubrovnik and arrived at the plaza with Large Onofrio's Fountain in the center. Mihaela pointed out the stairway up to the Old City Walls, the Crkva sv. Spas, the Stradum main street of Old Dubrovnik, and the Franciscan Church and Monastery. There is a museum within the Franciscan Church and Monastery that contains a pharmacy that dates from 1317. It is the oldest still-functioning pharmacy in Europe and third oldest in the world. A canal once ran the length of the Stradum but was paved over at some point in the distant past.

Our tour continued on past the Tržište - Market Sq Plaza Del Mercado and up the street to the Jesuit Stairway where the “Game of Thrones” Walk of Shame scene was filmed. In addition to walking through old town Dubrovnik to different scene locations, the tour included a boat trip to Lokrum Island where additional scenes were filmed. HBO donated a replica of the Iron Throne to Dubrovnik after the series ended. The replica throne is on display in a room at a building used for a scene in the series. People are invited to sit on the replica throne for photos. The throne is actually made of a plastic material.

The “Game of Thrones” tour ended at Lokrum Island with free time. Before leaving Lokrum Island, I hiked to the ruins of Fort Royal which is situated at the highest point on the island. The island is also a large botanical garden which makes hiking there very interesting.

While we were at Lokrum Island, Mihaela told me that she also conducted a historical walking tour of Dubrovnik. After returning to my hotel, I met with the concierge and booked two additional private tours. I was able to book a private Dubrovnik Historical tour with Mihaela for the next day and a private tour to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzgovina for the day after that.

I met up with Mihaela early on Sunday,10 October, for the private half-day historical walking tour of Dubrovnik.

The old town portion of Dubrovnik was heavily bombed by Serbia during the 1991 war but has been nicely restored. The 1991 Croatian War of Independence began when Dubrovnik was bombed by the Yugoslav People’s Army for seven months. The Yugoslav People’s Army was made up mostly of Serbs in an effort to secure a greater Serbia. This tour was excellent and, since it was a private tour, very comprehensive and informative. During the tour, we stopped at different churches, a mosque, and the Old Synagogue. The Old Synagogue is the oldest Sefardic synagogue still in use today in the world and is the second oldest synagogue in Europe. We also visited the Croatian War of Independence memorial which is housed in the Sponza Palace. I would definitely recommend the historical walking tour for anyone who has enough time to take it.

On Monday, 11 October, my driver, Christian, picked me up at the hotel in a nearly new BMW for our road trip to Mostar. The drive along the costal Adriatic Highway 8 northbound from Dubrovnik to the turnoff to Route E73 toward Mostar is breathtakingly beautiful. While I rode in the front passenger seat, the BMW hugged the road as Christian drove along the mountainous coastline. We went through several border checkpoints along the highway as Bosnia and Herzegovina have territory to the sea that separates portions of Croatia. After we turned off of the Adriatic Highway to go to Mostar, highway E73 essentially follows the Neretva River toward Mostar. Highway M6.1 joined E73 and we continued on M6.1 into Mostar.

Mostar is situated on the Neretva River and is the fifth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who, in medieval times, guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. In 1468, the region came under Ottoman rule. The Old Bridge was erected in 1566 on the orders of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The single-arch stone bridge spans 28.7 meters (94 feet) of the Neretva River, 21 meters (69 feet) above the summer level of the river and quickly became a wonder in its own time. The arch is a perfect semicircle 8.8 meters (28.1 feet) wide and 4.15 meters (13.6 feet) high. The Halebija and Tara Watch Towers have always housed the guardians of the bridge and, in Ottoman times, were also used as storehouses for ammunition. The bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War and the reconstruction of the Old Bridge and restoration of the surrounding buildings was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by spring of 2004. The current “Old Bridge” is an exact replica of the original Old Bridge. In July 2005, UNESCO inscribed the reconstructed Old Bridge and its surrounding vicinity into the World Heritage List.

Upon my arrival in Mostar, I walked along Onescukova Street into Old Town Mostar and noticed a single arch stone bridge spanning the Radobolja River. After making my way along a pedestrian walkway to this bridge, I walked across it to Jusovina Street. I later discovered that this is the oldest single arch stone bridge in Mostar, the Kriva Cuprija (“Sloping Bridge”) which is also called the Crooked Bridge. It was built in 1558 by the Ottoman architect Cejvan Kethoda and is said to be a test before the major construction of the Old Bridge began.

As I explored Jusovina Street in the vicinity of the Crooked Bridge, I photographed the Black Dog Pub, Hotel Kriva Cuprija, and the Nezir-agina Mosque. Other prominent sights that I was able to see while in Mostar included the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the Tabacica Mosque, and the Church of St. Peter and Paul.

I continued walking along Jusovina Street parallel to the Radobolja River until I arrived at the confluence with the Neretva River. Standing on the shore adjacent to the confluence of the Radobolja and Nerevta Rivers, I was able to see for the first time the magnificent Old Bridge. After photographing the Old Bridge, I hiked back up Jusovina Street, across the Crooked Bridge, and back to Onescukova Street. I continued along Onescukova Street, lined with shops, until I arrived at the Tara Tower end of the Old Bridge. I walked across the Old Bridge and followed Kujundziuk Street upstream along the river. I walked down steps leading to Restaurant Labirint which is situated above the shore of the river. The view of the Old Bridge from the restaurant was excellent and, after photographing the Old Bridge, I ate a traditional Bosnian lunch there.

After exploring more of Old Town Mostar, I returned to where Christian had dropped me off. Christian met me and we drove to visit the Waterfall Kravica on the Trebizat River before returning to Dubrovnik. I had to hike down to the falls and, although the sun pattern was wrong for good photographs, I managed to get some average photos of the waterfalls. The waterfall height varies from 26 to 28 meters and houses a water amphitheater under the waterfall with a diameter of 120 meters. Morning would be the best time to visit here. The drive back to Dubrovnik along the Adriatic Highway was once again spectacular.

On Tuesday, 12 October, after taking the COVID rapid antigen test required for my return flight to Italy, I returned to Old Town Dubrovnik. This would be my last day in Old Town Dubrovnik, and I spent most of my time there walking around the perimeter on top of the Old City Walls. The weather was beautiful and offered wonderful photo opportunities. I attempted to locate the copy of a medieval bible that was said to reside in the Cathedral, but I was unsuccessful. While visiting Old Town Dubrovnik, I managed to identify more than thirty-four different historical buildings and monuments.

On Wednesday, 13 October, I flew from Dubrovnik to Rome FCO airport and returned to the Hilton Rome Airport hotel for the evening. Later that afternoon, I went to the train station and purchased my train tickets to go to Naples the following day.

See pictures from Croatia

July/August 2021
Iceland

Travel Notes

After Iceland opened for fully vaccinated travelers from the USA, Jan and I booked a self-driving tour of Iceland for late July/early August 2021. Since the USA continued to require a negative COVID-19 test within three days of the return flight from Iceland, I purchased the Abbott Labs BinaxNOW kits which I had been told were approved for the return flights. The day before we departed for Iceland, I learned from Abbott technical support that Abbott manufactures two different versions of BinaxNOW – one approved for airplane travel and one for home testing only. Unfortunately the version that I purchased was unapproved for airplane travel. The approved version was available only by Internet purchase and I did not have time to purchase it via the Internet. I decided that we would take the required return travel test at a hotel en route in Iceland prior to our return flight home.

We were also required to produce a negative test result prior to flying to Iceland. After testing negative and uploading the test result to United Airlines, on Tuesday, 27 July 2021, we were allowed to board our flight to Iceland departing Los Angeles (LAX) with a connecting flight at Chicago (ORD). We departed Chicago at 6:55 PM on 27 July and about 45 minutes after taking off from ORD on the flight to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF), a passenger became seriously ill and the flight was turned back to ORD where all passengers were deplaned. After returning to ORD, we were informed that our pilots had “timed out” and United needed to locate three qualified replacement pilots for the flight to continue on to KEF. Several hours later, while being held at the gate in ORD, we were informed that United was unable to locate the third required pilot and the flight would be delayed until 11:30 AM on 28 July.

Sometime after midnight, United Airlines provided vouchers for a hotel stay, a taxi to a hotel, and food vouchers. We were given a taxi voucher for a 303 Taxi to take us to the Comfort Inn O’Hare Hotel. When we exited the terminal and determined where we were located, we called the 303 Taxi Company and were told that there was a shortage of available drivers, that we were added to the waiting passenger list, and a driver would call us when he was approaching our location. While we were waiting, other people were also waiting for a 303 Taxi. When a large 303 Taxi van came by, we all climbed in and were taken to our hotel. We never received a call from a 303 Taxi driver who was supposed to pick us up.

We arrived at the hotel after 2:00 AM. During check in, we were informed that the hotel shuttle bus for the following morning was fully booked for departures from 8:00 AM through 10:00 AM to ORD (up to a forty-five minute drive in rush hour traffic). We reserved a 7:30 AM shuttle bus departure. The hotel was barely okay and we passed on the self-serve breakfast the following morning. After arriving at ORD, getting checked back into our flight, and going through security, we went to the United Club where we ate some breakfast.

With a new crew, our flight to KEF departed at 11:30 AM and arrived at KEF at 10:45 PM (15 hours and 45 minutes later than our original 7:00 AM scheduled arrival). After clearing Iceland Immigration, we were fortunate to be able to walk to the Blue Car rental car agency and pick up a rental car using the voucher provided by the tour company with which we booked our self-drive trip. We navigated to our hotel using our iPhones with the hot spot Internet provided by the rental car company.

During the drive to Reykjavik, we were treated to a magnificent nighttime display of the current volcano erupting east of Reykjavik. It was lighting up the sky like a bright red geyser and would be the only time that it was visible to us. We checked into our hotel sometime after midnight and finally slept well.

On Thursday morning, 29 July, we began following the pre-arranged driving schedule that the tour company, Guide to Iceland, provided for our self-drive tour. We drove the “Golden Circle” route to visit the Pingvellir National Park, the geysers at Haukadalur, and the Gullfoss Waterfall. We had taken the “Golden Circle” tour during our prior visit to Iceland as part of our Polar Ice Voyage in July 2018 and additional 2018 photos can be viewed there.

During our visit to Pingvellir National Park (often anglicized to Thingvellir), we were reminded that this is a very historically significant site. The Icelandic Parliament was founded by the Vikings in 930 AD and remained here until 1799 when it moved to Reykjavik. Iceland is the world’s longest running democracy. Pingvellir was made a national park in 1928 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Pingvellir is situated in a valley known as the North Atlantic Dorsal Rift, a region between the Eurasian and North American Tectonic Plates. The edges of the tectonic plates are clearly visible and we hiked through a portion of the fissure while we were there.

We continued driving to Geysir where “The Great Geysir” is located in the famous hot spring Haukadalur valley. This area features geysers that erupt every so often. Since we had visited this site previously, we slowly drove past it en route to the Gullfoss waterfall.

Our next stop was at the Gullfoss waterfalls situated on the Hvita River. This mighty waterfall cascades 32 meters (104 feet) in total, in two separate falls, into a dramatic gorge formed in the last ice age. Platforms near the river, open during good weather, allow people to stand close enough to feel the water spray on their face. While we were there, we viewed the falls from the upper platforms and then drove to the lower parking area to view the falls from the lower platforms. The wind was very strong and was blowing so much mist from the falls across the parking area that I decided not to become totally soaked hiking to the lower viewing platforms. After taking a couple of photos from the lower parking lot, we decided to rely on our 2018 photos from the lower viewing areas.

We drove from Gullfoss down the east side of Lake Thingvellir to the town of Fluidir where we didn’t see anything especially interesting. With no restaurants open for lunch, we continued driving to the Ion Luxury Hotel at Nesjavellir by Lake Thingvellir. This hotel is out in the middle of nowhere and is advertised as a popular hotel for people visiting Iceland to watch the Northern Lights.

On Friday, 30 July, we drove along Route 1 east of Selfoss to visit the Seljalandsfoss and the Gljufrabui waterfalls. Seljalandsfoss was a beautiful 63 meters (207 feet) tall waterfall. It has a large cavern behind it and people can hike around the cavern behind the falls. We hiked the trail behind the falls and it was very wet, slippery, and difficult in places. The much smaller Gljufrabui waterfall, which is 40 meters (131 feet) high and partially obscured by a cliff, is nearby.

We continued along Route 1 to the Skogafoss waterfall which is located on the Skoga river. According to the literature, it is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland with a width of 25 meters (82 feet) and a drop of 60 meters (200 feet). We decided to view this waterfall from a distance and opted not to climb up the staircase beside the falls.

Further along Route 1, we came to Reynisfjara which is a black pebble beach near the town of Vik. This beach was chosen in 1991 by Islands Magazine as one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world. Halsanef, a magnificent cliff face of basalt columns, resembles a step pyramid. Many species of birds nest on this cliff including puffins, fulmars, and Arctic terns. I was able to take a couple of photos of puffins high up on the cliff face. The hexagonal basalt columns that form part of the cliff are very impressive. In addition, Reynisdranger are basalt sea stacks situated out in the ocean from the black pebble beach. These sea stacks jut up from the ocean 66 meters (217 feet) at their peak. There are signs on the beach warning people not to enter the water because sneaker waves can quickly pull people out to sea. As we departed Reynisfjara, we stopped to photograph an interesting small church.

As we drove into the town of Vik, we stopped to photograph the picturesque Vic Church that stands on a hill overlooking the town. Since I was beginning to develop head-cold symptoms, we stopped at a store in Vik to purchase some Listerine Cool Mint mouthwash. We continued on Route 1 toward Kirkjubaejarklush through the Katla Geopark. The landscape here was created by lava flows from the huge Laki Volcano eruption on June 8, 1783. Most notable was the Wooly Fringe Moss that had formed on the surface of most of the lava in the area. The Katla geopark region extended for many kilometers along Route 1. After we drove through the village of Kirkjubaejarklush to see remains of an ancient convent, the road was closed and we attempted a short hike up a mountain that provided a nice view of the surrounding area. We passed the beautiful Skaftafellsjokull glacier with a lake in the foreground and large glacier in a distant landscape as we continued on to Hnappavellir where we checked into the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon.

On Saturday morning, 31 July, we drove along Route 1 through the Skaftafell National Park toward Svartifoss. Unfortunately the road to Svartifoss was closed so we continued on toward the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon where icebergs calve year round. Before arriving at the main entrance to the glacier lagoon, we stopped at a turnout and hiked to an area overlooking the lagoon to view the glacier and the icebergs. We then arrived at the main entrance and walked along the shoreline of the lagoon and along a river-like channel that passed under the bridge on Route 1 to where water from the lagoon empties into the ocean. Icebergs continually flow from the lagoon through this channel and into the ocean. Once in the ocean, portions of some of the icebergs are carried by the surf back onto the beach where they resemble diamond-like ice sculptures. Hence the beach is named Diamond Beach. This stop was one of the highlights of our road trip.

We continued driving along Route 1 to the fishing town of Hofn. The harbor area of Hofn was charming, but none of the small restaurants at the harbor were open. We continued on to the Stokksnes peninsula via a gravel road. After driving for several kilometers, we arrived at the Viking Café where we ate lunch. The soup of the day was lamb soup which was very good. Although Vestrahorn, one of Iceland’s most impressive mountains, was further down a private gravel road, we opted not to go there due to the poor visibility in the area.

At this point in our itinerary, we realized that the tour operator had booked us at the Hali Country Hotel at Hornafjordur which was more than 70 kilometers back westbound on Route 1. This meant that we would be required to drive an extra 140 kilometers to get back to the Stokksnes peninsula the following day to continue on with our road trip. The Hali Country Hotel was situated next to the shore and was within an Arctic tern nesting area. Arctic terns are very protective of their nesting area and tormented us when we walked approximately 200 meters from the building with our room to the building with the hotel restaurant. Since Arctic terns are one of my favorite birds, it was a joy to be so near to so many terns.

We departed Hornafjordur early on the morning of 1 August for a very long drive along the Eastfjords to Egilsstadir. The weather was foggy and the visibility was impaired for much of the day. Consequently, we were unable to enjoy the dramatic coast region as we drove through cloudlike foggy weather. In addition, since the drive was extremely long, we were forced to eliminate several of the recommended side trips along the visiway. We visited the villages of Djupivogur and Eskifjardur en route to our hotel in Egilsstadir. It was a long tedious drive with much of the scenery obscured due to poor visibility and the extra distance from our hotel at Hornafjordur. Photo opportunities were limited; I took a total of 7 photos during the day.

On Monday, 2 August, we continued driving along Route 1 to Lake Myvatn in North Iceland. The Lake Myvatn area is a geological wonder containing hot mud springs, volcanos, and amazing lava formations. The drive was pleasant and we arrived at Lake Myvatn late morning and were able to have an early check in at the Fosshotel Lake Myvatn overlooking the lake. Lake Myvatn is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is 36.5 cubic kilometers and is the fourth largest natural body of water in Iceland. It is a very shallow lake rarely getting deeper than 3.5 meters (11 feet). It also has magnificent lava pillars rising above its surface.

After checking into the hotel, we drove to Grjotagja, a lava cave with hot clear blue water. The cave was small and picturesque with signs warning visitors not to try to swim in the water. While at Grjotagja, I took a photo of nearby volcanos with steam rising into the atmosphere.

Our next stop was the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall. It was situated in the upper Baroardalur valley, in the glacial river Skalfandafjot more than 20 kilometers upstream of the Godafoss waterfalls. This is one of Iceland’s most photogenic waterfalls with the waterfalls flowing over a layer of intriguing basalt columns. Access to Aldeyjarfoss is by a gravel road beside the river to an unmarked turnoff and through a gate preventing access to the road. A local person told us to return to the closed gate that we had driven past and to continue on to the waterfalls. Further down the road, we encountered a second gate with a sign “Please Close the Gate.” After passing through both gates we finally arrived at a parking area to hike to the waterfalls. These waterfalls were spectacular and may well be the most impressive waterfalls of our trip. We returned to the hotel where we would spend two nights.

We decided to drive the “Diamond Circle” on Tuesday, 3 August. We began by driving to Jokulsargljufur Canyon to visit the Dettifoss and the Selfoss waterfalls in the Vatnajokull glacier river. Dettifoss has the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe with 500 cubic meters of water per second plunging over its edge. It is 45 meters (148 feet) high and 100 meters (328 feet) wide. We hiked from the public parking to Dettifoss and around the viewpoints overlooking the waterfalls. From here, I hiked upstream to view the Selfoss waterfalls. Although the literature describes Selfoss as less impressive than Dettifoss, I found Selfoss to also be very impressive.

We continued driving northbound through Jokulsargljufur Canyon to Asbyrgi within Vatnajokull National Park. Asbyrgi is a 3.5 km long and 1 km wide canyon within the national park. We drove through the canyon and stopped to photograph Eylan, a vast island formation that rises dramatically within the center of the canyon.

We continued northwest along the coast to the town of Husaik situated on the shores of the Skjalfandi bay. This town draws many whale watchers to view minke, humpback whales, white-beaked dolphins, and harbor porpoises as well as other more elusive species of whales. We walked around the town and purchased fish and chips for lunch at a local restaurant at the harbor. To complete our Diamond Circle, we took Route 87 from Husaik back to our hotel.

During the day, Jan developed a persistent cough and, out of an abundance of caution after returning to the hotel, we scheduled a COVID-19 test for Jan at Akureyri for the morning of 5 August. In the meantime, I called the hotel in Stykkisholmur where we were scheduled to arrive on 9 August to arrange for an appointment for the COVID-19 test required to travel back to the USA. The hotel referred me to the hospital in Stykkisholmur to make an appointment. The hospital informed me that there were only two locations in Iceland that could give the travel COVID-19 test to travelers – Reykjavik and Akureyri. This meant that we would be unable to get tested before returning to Reykjavik for our flights home.

At this point, I made a judgment call for us to cancel continuing on the Westfjords and to instead return back to the Reykjavik area. We could then do local day trips and be in position to take the required antigen test on 8 August for our return flights home on 11 August. I booked a 4-night stay at the Marriott Courtyard Airport hotel starting 5 August and planned to keep our existing 9 August hotel reservation in Stykkisholmur and 10 August hotel reservation in Reykjavik.

On the morning of Wednesday, 4 August, we visited the Godafoss waterfalls en route to Akureyri. Godafoss literally translates to “the waterfall of Old Gods.” It is in the glacial river Skalfandafjot, measuring 12 meters (39 feet) high and 30 meters (98 feet) wide, and is easily accessed on Route 1. Godafoss is very picturesque from the viewpoints and should not be missed when traveling in North Iceland.

We enjoyed the drive to Akureyri and checked into the Icelandair Hotel Akureyri. Jan called the COVID testing facility in Akureyri and was told that she could receive the test that afternoon instead of the following morning. After taking the test, we drove along the Troll Peninsula to the town of Siglufjordur where we took some photos prior to returning to Akrueyri. Since Jan received a negative test result while we were driving to Siglufjordur, we decided to explore downtown Akureyri after dinner.

We departed Akureyri on Thursday morning, 5 August, westbound on Route 1 en route to Reykjavik. Our first planned stop was to visit the Kolugljufur waterfalls situated in the Vioidalur valley. The river Vioidalasa flows by the farm Kolugil down into the magnificent gorge, Koluglijufur. The powerful waterfalls this gorge creates are named after the Troll-woman Kola. The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped at a roadside viewpoint overlooking the Island of Hrutey for a landscape photo.

Continuing on Route 1, we finally arrived at the junction of Route 715, a gravel road leading to Kolugljufur. As we slowly drove along this road, we came upon farmers herding Iceland horses along the road. We were forced to follow the horses down the road for several kilometers until they turned off of Route 715. We eventually arrived at a narrow bridge crossing the Kolugljufur gorge and stopped at a small off-road parking to view the waterfalls and the gorge. The site was very picturesque, and we are glad that we chose to visit it.

Continuing on toward Reykjavik, we arrived at the three Grabrokargigum Craters which are part of the Ljosulfjod volcanic system. The Ljosulfjod volcanic system belongs to the Snafellsnses volcanic system. The Grabok is the largest crater, and I hiked up to the rim of the crater. The views from the rim were spectacular.

A little further down Route 1, we stopped to visit the Ginguleidir waterfalls. These waterfalls were a short hike from the parking area and were very beautiful. This waterfall should not be missed when visiting this area.

We continued on Route 1 through Reykjavik en route to the Marriott Courtyard Reykjavik Airport hotel. As we approached the hotel, we could see the building next door where the COVID-19 rapid antigen testing for travel was being conducted. By the time that we arrived at Reykjavik, we had completed driving the Route 1 “Ring Road” around Iceland even though we skipped the Westfjords portion of the country. The scenery was truly spectacular whenever visibility permitted.

Friday, 6 August, was a relaxing day spent at the Courtyard hotel and we were able to book our COVID-19 rapid antigen tests for 12:30 PM on Sunday, 8 August. We planned to explore local sites on the Supurnes peninsula where the Reykjavik International Airport and the Reykjanes Geo Park are located. We would get our required rapid antigen tests on Sunday and then visit a couple of museums in Reykjavik. On Monday, 9 August, we planned to drive westbound to the Snaefellsnes peninsula to continue the last portion of our self-drive tour. We also booked an evening visit to the Blue Lagoon for 10 August, our last night in Iceland.

On Saturday, 7 August, we drove to Gardur and visited the old lighthouse at Gardskagi. The old lighthouse was impressive and a nearby church was picturesque. The beach also served as a nesting area for Arctic terns. We continued around the peninsula to Sandderoi, where we found a cute black church, and continued on to visit the Stafnesviti lighthouse. Further along the coast, we visited the small church at Hvalsnes before continuing on to the Reykjanes Geo Park.

On Sunday, 8 August, we went to the testing center and took our rapid antigen test on schedule at 12:30 PM. After taking the test, we drove to the Saga Museum in Reykjavik. When we arrived at the museum parking lot, we received emails that we had tested positive for COVID-19. We were instructed to go immediately to another facility to be given the PCR Molecular Test. After taking the PCR Molecular Test, we were told to go back to our hotel and wait for the results. We drove back to the hotel and packed our luggage. We then ordered and ate room service dinner at the hotel.

A little later that evening, we received a call that the PCR test was also positive. We were instructed to stay in our hotel room and that a medical transport was being sent to the hotel to take us to an Iceland government Isolation Hotel in Reykjavik. Within the next hour, the transport arrived. We were escorted out of the hotel with our luggage, instructed to leave the keys to the rental car with the hotel, and the hotel checked us out remotely.

We were driven to the Fosshotel Lind, one of the Government Isolation Hotels, where we were confined to Room 317. It was a nice small en-suite hotel room with broadcast TV and WiFi. We had no idea how long our isolation confinement would be but fourteen days was the most popular number. We were told that the Government of Iceland was providing the isolation hotel room for the duration of our confinement and that we would be given three boxed meals a day delivered to our door by the Iceland Red Cross. Fortunately, we were not experiencing serious COVID-19 symptoms and were fever-free.

The following day, 9 August, a doctor contacted us to discuss our symptoms and arranged for Jan’s prescription medication refills to be delivered to the hotel by a local pharmacy. We received daily phone calls from the doctor. On 12 August, the fourth day of our confinement, we were contacted by a Government COVID Coordinator who informed us that since we were both fully vaccinated and fever-free, our required confinement period would be ten days. Our potential confinement had just been shortened by four days. We were informed that 9 August was day one, that we could be released on 18 August, and we could book a flight back to the USA for the following day. I called United Airlines and booked our return flight for Thursday, 19 August.

On Friday, 13 August, a nurse visited us and drew a blood sample from Jan to check on her level of antibodies. If the test showed low antibodies, they would give her additional medication while in isolation and if she didn’t hear back from them, the test results would have been normal. We never heard back from the blood work results.

On Tuesday, 17 August, we received a phone call from one of the doctors who confirmed that we would complete our required isolation confinement on 18 August. He stated that he would send a letter confirming our positive PCR Test, documenting our isolation and clearing us for travel. We received the PDF letters the morning of 18 August and uploaded them to United Airlines. After United replied that the letter was insufficient, I called United and entered into an SMS text discussion with a United agent. I finally determined that we needed to submit the official positive PCR Test documentation to United in addition to the letters.

Since we had never received copies of the positive PCR Test results, I contacted the Iceland COVID Coordinator, who sent me PDF copies of the positive test results. After uploading the letter and PCR Test documentation to United several times, United finally accepted the documentation and cleared us to fly back on our scheduled 19 August flights. Out of an abundance of caution, I sent the PDF files to the Isolation Hotel and the receptionist printed out and delivered hard copies of the letter and positive test results to me. The hotel receptionist also ordered a taxi for 8:18 AM on 19 August to take us to the Reykjavik International Airport (KEF). Jan and I had finally completed our ten day conjugal visit in the COVID Jail at Reykjavik.

The hotel called us when the taxi arrived and we departed the Isolation hotel to go to the airport. At the airport, our letters and PCR test documents were inspected by United Airlines personnel three different times when we checked in for the flight from KEF to Newark, New Jersey (EWR).

The flight to Newark was uneventful and, when I handed my Global Entry printout to the Immigration Agent, I was so happy to finally be back in the USA. After a couple of hours at EWR, we boarded our connecting flight to LAX for another uneventful flight. After waiting for nearly one hour for a taxi at LAX, we finally made it home. Borrowing words from the Grateful Dead – “what a long strange trip this has been.”

See pictures from Iceland

April 2021
Costa Rica

Travel Notes

After receiving my new expedited USA Passport, I completed the Costa Rica health requirement form. This form requires travelers to purchase COVID-19 Medical Travel Insurance and generates a coded image permitting travelers to check in for flights to Costa Rica. This same code would also need to be scanned by Costa Rica Immigration upon arrival.

On Saturday, 24 April, I boarded my United Airlines non-stop flight from Los Angeles, California, to Liberia, Costa Rica. The flight was uneventful with full COVID-19 precautions in place throughout the flight. During the flight, I filled out the Immigration Arrival Form which contained such small print that it was a challenge to read even with my reading glasses. Upon arrival, the Immigration Official didn’t want to look at the arrival form but asked me to show the health requirement form with the code to enter the country and a copy of my return flight ticket. I surmised that some other immigration person would collect the arrival form but nobody ever requested the form.

Costa Rica Government Regulations required everyone to wear masks both indoors and outdoors when near other people. As I exited immigration into the main terminal, I looked for information on where to find the location of the shuttle bus for the Hilton Liberia Airport Hotel. Not seeing any signs for the shuttle bus, I asked for directions and everyone was very friendly and helpful. One person actually took me outside to an area near the arrivals entrance and told me to wait there for the hotel shuttle bus. Sure enough, after about 15 minutes, the hotel bus arrived and took me to the hotel.

The hotel had hand sanitizer stations located throughout the hotel public areas. Face masks were also required in all public areas of the hotel. During check-in, my temperature was taken before my registration was completed. After settling into my spacious room, I briefly explored the hotel facilities. Since the restaurant areas had social distancing between tables, I decided that I would eat all of my breakfasts and evening meals at the hotel.

I decided to spend Sunday, 25 April, resting up and checking out possible options for day trips from the hotel. Mardigi Tours had a tour desk in the hotel lobby and I consulted Diana, their representative, about tour options from the hotel. After discussing the various tours and options, because of the potential COVID-19 risks, I decided to book three Mardigi private day trip tours beginning the following day.

On Monday morning, 26 April 26, I met Gerardo Scriba, my private tour guide, for my Las Hornillas Miravalles Volcanic Mud Tour. Gerardo drove a small multi-person vehicle and provided a constant supply of hand sanitizer and water for the tour. We both wore face masks whenever we were in the car and/or public buildings with other people present. Gerardo had an extensive knowledge of the area, vegetation, and wildlife. He not only took special care to search out interesting vegetation and wildlife, but he was also interested in taking photos as well. This proved to be so beneficial that I contacted Diana and requested Gerardo to be my private guide for all of the subsequent day trips I had booked.

Our first stop of the tour was beside a standard cashew tree where he pointed out the red cashew flower and the dark cashew fruit (the cashew nut). We drove on and took the Catarata Lianos del Cortes Trail for a short hike to Catarata Lianos del Cortes, a very beautiful waterfall. We drove from here to Las Hornillas Miravalles in the foothills of Volcán Miravalles where we began hiking the Cataratas Cabro Muco Trails. We hiked the lower portion of the trails first to the Cataratas Cabro Muco waterfall. In order to arrive at the waterfall, we traversed a long suspended walkway over the river and above the waterfall. When we arrived at the viewpoint for the waterfall, there were metal stairs descending to a platform about half way down the height of the waterfall. This waterfall was stunning with turquoise water at the base of the falls and orange iron oxide deposits coating the rocks in and beside the river.

We returned from the lower trail to hike the upper trail. After entering the upper trail, we crossed another suspended walkway to hike along numerous other upstream waterfalls cascading down the mountainside. These were also spectacular with iron oxide deposits turning the rocks beside the waterfalls and along the river a brilliant orange color. Near the end point of this trail, I spotted and photographed some gorgeous grasshoppers. Hiking both of these trails through lush dense vegetation was exhilarating after more than a year of observing COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA.

Our next stop was at a nice restaurant for a wonderful lunch. After lunch, we continued on to visit the Las Hornillas Volcanic Activity Center. This center is situated at a live volcanic crater with hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles, openings in or near a volcano through which hot sulfurous gases emerge. Visitors here have options to not only walk around and through the crater but also may elect to bathe in a mud bath and/or hot spring. I elected to just walk through the crater where I was fascinated with sulphur crystals that had formed near some small fumaroles. Although nobody was in the mud baths while I was there, some people were bathing in the hot springs. Public lockers, dressing rooms, and open public showers were available for visitors. When we returned to the hotel, Diana confirmed that Gerardo would continue as my private tour guide for the duration of my day trips.

On Tuesday morning, 27 April, Gerardo and I departed the hotel in a twelve-person van to travel to Rincón de la Vieja National Park and hike the foothills of Volcán Rincón de la Vieja. En route to the park, we drove past a large geothermal power plant, one of many that provide a large portion of the electricity consumed by Costa Rica. After arriving at the park, Gerardo checked us in and we began hiking the 3.2 kilometer Sendaro Pailas Loop portion of the Rincón de la Vieja Trail. As we were about to begin the trail loop, Gerardo received information from another guide that spider monkeys were just seen near the other end of the loop. Gerardo told me we would hike the loop trail in reverse order to possibly see the spider monkeys. Sure enough, we soon came upon spider monkeys traveling high up through the enormous trees. We were able to take a few photos of them before they disappeared in the forest.

As we continued hiking through the forest, Gerardo pointed out many different species of vegetation before we arrived at the fumarolas where there was a slight change in the vegetation nearby. Since the hot bubbling mud was difficult to photograph, I took a short video clip at the fumarolas. We continued hiking and left the forest of tall trees and hiked to an area where there were bubbling mud pots. From there we had a spectacular view of Volcán Rincón de la Vieja. Continuing on, we passed an area with a fumarolic lagoon and another area of volcanic activity with “Do Not Enter” warning signs before ending the loop portion of the trail. This was a very interesting area that I would be happy to revisit on a future trip.

We ate a wonderful buffet lunch at the Hacienda Guachipelin restaurant before visiting Poza Roja (Red Pond). After lunch we hiked the one kilometer Poza Roja trail past the archaeological site of an ancient cemetery with large signs describing the site. Poza Roja, which is situated on the private property of Hacienda Guachipelin, was absolutely beautiful and well worth the hike.

On Wednesday morning, 28 April, Gerardo and I took the Waterfall Lovers tour. We returned to Hacienda Guachipelin where we hiked the Catarata Chorreras Trail to Catarata Chorreras. The entire hike is on the private property of Hacienda Guachipelin. During the hike, I took a video clip of large numbers of leaf-cutter ants that we passed along the trail. Gerardo told me that the ants carry the leaf portions back to the nest where a guard ant at the entrance passes judgment on whether to accept or reject the individual leaf portion. I took a photo of the entrance of the nest of some of the leaf-cutter ants.

Catarata Chorreras was very beautiful and consisted of two small rivers coming together near the top of the waterfalls and then forming a confluence of the two rivers where the rivers combine at the base of the waterfalls. The larger river produces turquoise colored water at the base of the falls while the smaller river produces dark colored water. During the hike, we passed a number of very interesting large trees.

From here we drove to the entrance of the Catarata Oropendola Trail. This trail and waterfall is also on the private property of Hacienda Guachipelin. This trail took us past some very large trees including a tree with a termite nest high above the ground. The trail to the waterfall was downhill most of the way, and we had to hike down a long set of suspended stairways that had a weight restriction of Max 2 persons/300 Kg. Gerardo descended the steps first and I followed after he reached the bottom. This was the first time that I had ever seen a suspended stairway. Catarata Oropendola was a very impressive waterfall with turquoise water at the base of the falls and crystal clear water flowing downstream. As we returned to the beginning of the trail, we spied and photographed several white tail deer in the forest.

Our next stop was at the entrance of the Cataratas Rio Negro Trail where we would hike upstream along Rio Negro to see the four Cataratas waterfalls. The trail wound through another forested area, and the views of the black river were beautiful. Each waterfall was unique, and this hike was delightful. We returned to the Hacienda Guachipelin restaurant for a buffet lunch before returning to the hotel.

After I returned to the hotel, the person at the front desk scheduled an appointment for a nurse to visit me at the hotel the following day to administer the COVID-19 test required for my return flight to the USA. Later the following night, I received an email with my antigen negative test result which the hotel printed out for me. I uploaded the test result to United Airlines which approved the test results and instructed me to take the copy of my test results to the airport for checking into my flight home.

On Thursday morning, 29 April, Gerardo and I drove to the Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour on Rio Tempisque. The 144-kilometer Río Tempisque flows from the Guanacaste Cordillera near the Orosí Volcano and empties into the Gulf of Nicoya. It passes through the Palo Verde National Park and is a habitat for various species of crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, and birds. This river is highly silted and the Costa Rica Government only permits the manual extraction of sand from the river bottom by means of bucket, boat, shovel, cart, and oxen. The oxen take the loaded cart to an area where it is allowed to dry. This same sand has been used in the material to build many of the main roads in Guanacaste Province.

We drove past the area where people were in the process of manually extracting sand with the carts and oxen. The people wade into the river and load sand into a small boat to take it to be offloaded into the oxen carts. They only extract the sand from the river during the early morning while the crocodiles are inactive. This process was very interesting and I am grateful that Gerardo took me here on the way to the boat tour. After I returned home, I found this link to a video clip of the sand extraction process. .

As we continued on the road to Ortega, we stopped near a bridge over a small stream where I photographed a basilisk lizard and some howler monkeys. After arriving in Ortega, we stopped at the Palo Verde Boat Tours headquarters to check-in for the tour. The boat tour headquarters is also a restaurant where we would eat lunch after the tour. Before continuing to the river, two employees demonstrated the process of making corn tortillas from scratch and cooking them on a wood fired stove. I was served the hand-made tortilla and a glass of yellow mango juice.

The section of Rio Tempisque that we visited on the tour is within the Refugio National de Vida Silvestre Cipanci. As we drove through the refuge to the river, we were able to photograph howler monkeys, a white-nosed coati, and a yellow hawk. We also saw two scarlet macaws flying across an open space.

At the river, Gerardo and I boarded a large tour boat and, since my tour was private, we were the only passengers. This tour was really special with close interaction with Gerardo and the boat driver. We were in no hurry and stopped many times to look at and photograph the wildlife. We saw crocodiles, a white ibis, capuchin monkeys, green iguanas, a basilisk lizard, howler monkeys, bare-throated tiger heron, great white egrets, a green heron, an Amazon kingfisher, proboscis bats, a water termite, and a small blue butterfly. When a tour boat stops, the capuchin monkeys frequently come down from the trees to the river to drink water because the tour boats provide a measure of safety from the crocodiles. The boat driver said that proboscis bats nest in a line along tree trunks because they may appear to be more like a snake. During the boat ride, I was able to take several wonderful photos of the wildlife. The Palo Verde Boat Tours restaurant served a wonderful lunch to us before we returned to the hotel.

Since Friday, 30 April, was my last full day in Costa Rica, I decided to book a private custom day trip with Gerardo. Before visiting several local Guanacaste beaches, we first took a short tour of the rather small town of Liberia including the Museo de Guanacaste, the central plaza, the cathedral, the Palicio Municipal, an old small church, and a small house where the Padre lived. The Museo de Guanacaste, which was originally a prison, is a magnificent structure from the outside, but the old prison portion on the inside was very rundown and disappointing. This museum should be skipped during any visit to Liberia. Our tour of the town convinced me that I had made the correct decision to stay at the Hilton Liberia Airport Hotel.

We drove from Liberia to visit Playa Penca, Playa Potero, Playa Flamingo, Playa Brasilito, Playa Conchal, and Playa Tamarindo. Gerardo told me that all beaches in Costa Rica are public beaches and that all private land holdings end a certain distance from the beach. I photographed some pelicans at both Playa Penca and Playa Potero. In addition, I photographed a frigate bird and some black vultures at Playa Potero. Playa Conchal was unique because the beach consisted of small sea shells instead of sand. Playa Conchal is surrounded by the Westin Conchal Golf Resort and Hotel. Since the Westin Hotel property encompasses the shoreline of Playa Conchal, the hotel provides direct access to the beach for paying guests. Public access to Playa Conchal is along the coastline where we hiked from Playa Brasilito.

We drove to the town of Tamarindo and visited Playa Tamarindo. I took close-up photos of black vultures beside the road. Tamarindo has many beach-front hotels. It is definitely a tourist beach town with extensive shopping and many restaurants. The beach was crowded with tourists, but the quality of the beach was not world class. Of all the beaches that I visited, only Playa Conchal appealed to me, but that would require a stay at the Westin Conchal Hotel.

Since lunch was not included in this tour, we headed back to the hotel where Gerardo and I parted ways. Gerardo was an exceptional tour guide and we became good friends during my time in Costa Rica. I would definitely contact Gerardo to be my private guide for any future visits to northern Costa Rica.

Saturday, 1 May, was my final partial day in Costa Rica. After securing a late checkout, I spent time beginning the process of editing and sequencing my photos for my website. The hotel shuttle bus took me to the airport where I boarded my return flight back to Los Angeles. This trip turned out to be wonderful. For a return trip to Liberia, Costa Rica, I would continue to take private volcanic mountain and rainforest hikes and the river boat tour. I would avoid the beaches and would return to the Hilton Liberia Airport Hotel.

See pictures from Costa Rica

February 2020
Bolivia

Travel Notes

I became intrigued by Puma Punku after watching the television series Ancient Aliens: Season 4 Episode 6 “The Mystery of Puma Punku.” I spent some time researching ancient archaeological sites in this area of Bolivia with an emphasis on Puma Punku and Tiwanaku. Puma Punku has massive precision-cut monolithic stonework fabricated with precise details that would require very specialized tools and techniques to replicate them today. The intricate shapes with such precision make Puma Punku one of the most unique sites on planet Earth. The origin of Puma Punku remains a mystery with some conjecture dating the site as far back as 14,000 years. Puma Punku was destroyed by some cataclysmic event which deposited a deep layer of mud and sea shells among the scattered and fragmented remains of Puma Punku. During 2000, an Italian team of divers discovered evidence of pre-Columbian constructions consisting of a huge temple, traces of a paved road, an 800 meter retaining wall, and terrace for crops and ceramic artifacts beneath Lake Titicaca. This discovery fueled speculation that this might be the lost underwater city of Wanaku and that it became submerged during a cataclysmic event that flooded the area forming Lake Titicaca and destroying Puma Punku.

The large archaeological site of Tiwanaku (also referred to as Tiahuanaco) is situated about one half mile from Puma Punku and is believed to have been constructed much later than Puma Punku by the ancient Tiwanaku culture. The Tiwanaku Archaeological Zone has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site administered by the Bolivian government.

The following two links provide additional insight for anyone interested in Puma Punku: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJMZyl6zbKU and www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-4/episode-6.

I finally decided to travel to Bolivia to visit the archaeological sites at Tiwanaku and Puma Punku. Since I would need a visa for Bolivia, I completed the necessary tourist visa application documentation on-line and delivered it with my passport to the Bolivia Consulate at Los Angeles, California. The consulate processed my visa and within two weeks I returned to retrieve my passport containing my Bolivia tourist visa. To my surprise, the visa was valid for multiple-entries for the next ten years.

I then prepared a tentative travel itinerary for Bolivia, and booked my airline flights and hotel reservations on-line. I would fly from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, Argentina, before flying on to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. I would spend three nights at Santa Cruz before taking an overnight bus to La Paz and a local bus to Tiwanaku, Bolivia. After visiting Tiwanaku, I would continue on to visit Copacabana on Lake Titicaca and then La Paz.

I arrived at Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on the evening of 2 February 2020 and, after clearing immigration, I found the driver with my name on a sign to take me to the Marriott Santa Cruz de la Sierra Hotel. The hotel was wonderful and, with my elite status upgrades, made me feel special. Santa Cruz is situated on the Pirai River in the eastern Tropical Lowlands of Bolivia. It is Bolivia’s most populous city and produces nearly 35 per cent of Bolivia’s gross national product.

The following day, the hotel arranged for a private day tour of Santa Cruz with an English speaking driver. The driver took me to the old downtown area of the city, to an area alongside the Pirai River where local entertainment was available in the evenings, and to the new country club development that is currently being constructed. We drove past a demonstration in front of a Government taxation building en route to the downtown area. After arriving downtown, I visited the Unacruz Mercado before continuing on to the Plaza 24 de September. The buildings in the vicinity of the plaza were very picturesque. The Cathedral Basilica of San Lorenzo was situated across from one corner of the plaza.

On Tuesday, 4 February, I took a taxi back to the downtown area where I walked around the plaza, visited the cathedral, visited the Marzana (Grand Plaza) Uno Espacio de Arte, and explored the downtown area admiring the architecture. After returning to my hotel, I walked to a large shopping mall with high end shopping stores.

I had advance-purchased a reserved ticket on an overnight bus from Santa Cruz to La Paz. On Wednesday, 5 February, I took a taxi to the bus station where I located my bus and settled in for a long 18 hour bus ride to La Paz before transferring to a local bus to Tiwanaku. Tiwanaku has an elevation of 3,870 meters (12,700 feet) above sea level. Although I was hoping to be able to get some altitude acclimation at Santa Cruz, I was disappointed to find out that the elevation at Santa Cruz is only about 400 meters (1,300 feet) above sea level. Since the elevation of La Paz varies from 3,640 meters (11,942 feet) to 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) above sea level, my bus trip would do little to help with altitude acclimation.

After several hours, the bus stopped at a large roadside establishment where people could use toilet facilities and purchase hot meals and snacks. I opted for a hot meal before continuing on the bus to La Paz. It rained throughout the night and the highway was marginal, which made the bus ride an experience. The rain stopped and the sun appeared early morning as we drove through El Alto, the high city above La Paz. El Alto is adjacent to La Paz and has an average elevation of 4,150 meters. El Alto is the second largest metropolitan city in Bolivia.

La Paz is situated on a bowl-like canyon below El Alto, and the bus snaked its way down the canyon through La Paz to arrive at the bus station near the city center at approximately 8:00 AM on Thursday, 6 February. I ate breakfast at the bus station and took a taxi to the Cemetery where people gathered to take local buses to Tiwanaku. The local buses continue to wait for paying passengers until the bus is full before departing for their destination. While waiting for additional passengers, I offered to buy several empty seats in order to eliminate an unknown waiting time. The bus driver accepted my offer, and we departed for Tiwanaku.

We arrived at Tiwanaku village, and I checked into Hotel Akapana in the early afternoon. I could see the Tiwanaku Archaeological Site from my hotel window. Since the village of Tiwanaku is quite small, I opted for the hotel to cook dinner for me for the three nights that I would be staying there. After settling into my room, I decided to take a very slow walk around the village to visit the main plaza and see the church. The air was very thin at nearly 3,900 meters, and I wanted to take extra precautions not to become a victim of altitude sickness. Since I would have two more days here, I decided to visit Puma Punku one day and Tiwanaku the following day.

It rained during the night and was overcast when I left the hotel to walk to Puma Punku on the morning of 7 February. I stopped at the ticket office in the Tiwanaku train station and purchased my ticket to visit Puma Punku, Tiwanaku, and the Tiwanaku museum. My first stop was at the small museum that contained interesting artifacts and exhibits, including the original Bennett Monolith. Unfortunately, the museum did not allow any photographs to be taken.

I continued walking along the road that led to the site of Puma Punku. I was stopped at the entrance where the attendant punched the Puma Punku portion of my ticket. Since I had previously visited the ancient site of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, I was excited to actually be among the massive stonework which could possibly date back more than 14,000 years. I marveled at the smooth surfaces with sharp 90 degree edges, the round holes in the corners of some pieces, and the intricate recessed areas with sharp edges and corners. In addition, the “H-blocks” were uniform and some recessed cutout portions were dovetailed. These were massive andesite and granite stones that had been quarried many miles away and transported by some means to this location. The site included several gateway-like structures more than 26 feet high and quite wide that were fabricated from one massive solid. While archaeologists are at a loss to explain how the civilization back then could have fabricated Puma Punku, many people believe that extraterrestrial aliens fabricated the site. In any event, I agree with the people that say that Puma Punku is one of the most unique places on the planet.

After I returned to the hotel, the rain and thunderstorms arrived and lasted most of the night. The morning of 8 February, remained overcast and I walked from the hotel to the entrance of Tiwanaku. After getting my ticket punched, I began walking within the four square kilometers that comprises Tiwanaku. The literature describes Tiwanaku as the capital of a powerful pre-Inca civilization that dominated the Andean region between 500 and 900 AD. This site includes several temples, a pyramid, symbolic gates, monoliths, and mysterious carvings of alien-like faces. Arriving later, the Incas regarded Tiwanaku as the site of creation by their god, Viracocha, who rose from the depths of Lake Titicaca.

I decided to walk past the western end of the Putuni Temple en route to the Gate of the Moon, Puerta de la Luna. I passed an area of underground ducts that were used to drain water from Putuni Temple. The Gate of the Moon was carved in andesite stone 2.23 meters high and 0.26 meters thick. The upper lintel has a frieze with decorations engraved in high relief. Its original location may have been at Puma Punku. After I photographed the Gate of the Moon, I took a panorama photo looking across Putuni Temple toward the Temple of Kalasasaya and the Pyramid of Akapana.

The Putuni Temple, sometimes referred to as the Sarcophagus Palace, is an enclosure with a rectangular floor that forms rooms around a patio. The outer wall built with andesite ashlars is approximately 68 meters by 52 meters and the patio is 52 meters by 40 meters. Burial chambers with sliding stone doors are contained within the walls. The entrance to the patio faces the western end of the Temple of Kalasasaya.

I walked along the southern edge of the Putuni Temple and through the entrance to the patio at the eastern end. I walked around the perimeter of the patio and was unable to find the monolith that the tourist sign said was located at the center of the patio. There were several large intricately shaped stones within the patio that appeared to have been transported from Puma Punku. After exiting the Putuni Temple, I climbed a metal stairway to enter the southwestern corner of Kalasasaya where I came upon the Estela Fraile. The Estela Fraile is a red sandstone monolith 2.45 meters high carved in high relief. Some people believe that it may represent a female idol dedicated to the lacustrine cult.

The Temple of Kalasasaya is a low platform mound with a large courtyard that is surrounded by high stone walls. Kalasasaya is about 120 meters by 130 meters and aligned in the cardinal directions. It has an opening at the eastern end with a monumental staircase that leads down toward the Subterranean Temple. Since the 1980s, the consensus of researchers state that the construction of Kalasasaya dates to 200 or 300 BC. After photographing the Estela Fraile, I walked across the Kalasasaya and exited it near the northwestern corner to hike over to the Gate of the Sun, Puerto del Sol.

The Gate of the Sun is one of the largest and most enigmatic representations of the Tiwanaku Culture. It measures 2.88 meters high, 3.84 meters long, and 0.50 meters thick, is fabricated from a single andesite stone, and weighs approximately 10 tons. The stone would have been brought from the Kapia volcanic hill in Peru. There are several interpretations of the mysterious carvings of alien-like faces that decorate the gate and are believed to possess astronomical and/or astrological significance. Some people believe the main images to represent Viracocha, the Inca creator god, surrounded by flying figures. Although this is the place where the Gate of the Sun was originally found, some people believe that this may not be the original location of this structure.

I returned to the Kalasasaya where a large group of people were conducting some sort of ceremony at a raised altar-like platform in the center of the large courtyard. As I continued walking toward the opening at the eastern end, I arrived at the Estela Ponce. It is a 3.05 meter high andesite stone monolith carved in high relief and discovered in 1957. It was placed at this location so that it would appear in the center of the opening on the eastern end of Kalasasaya when viewed from the Subterranean Temple.

I walked to the opening at the eastern end of Kalasasaya where the monumental staircase leads down toward the Subterranean Temple. This opening is like a deep gateway at the top of the stone stairs into the Kalasasaya main courtyard. Since both this opening and the stairway were closed to visitors, I took some photos of the subterranean Temple from here before walking back to the opening in the southern wall to go down to the level of the base of the outer wall. I walked along the southern wall and around the eastern end to the edge of the roped off stairway where I took some panorama photos looking at the Subterranean Temple. In order to get down to ground level at the base of the stairway and the top of the Subterranean Temple, I would need to walk back along the southern wall to a place where I could descend to ground level and then walk back westbound until I reached the eastern end of Kalasasaya.

I stopped to view the Estela Descabezado situated south of Kalasasaya en route to the eastern end. Estela Descabezado is a headless monolith with anthropomorphic features which include carvings of snakes, feline ears, and faces on the lower portion of the monolith. It is presumed to have been worshiped between 100 BC and 400 AD. After arriving at the eastern end of Kalasasaya, I took photos of the end of Kalasasaya and looking down into the Subterranean Temple.

The Subterranean Temple, Templete Semisubterraneo, is a semi-underground structure with a 28.5 meter by 26 meter rectangular floor that is 2.2 meters deep. A seven-step staircase carved in stone provided the original access. A metal staircase has been installed adjacent to the original roped-off stone staircase to provide access to visitors. The retaining walls consist of fifty-seven large monolithic, mainly red sandstone pillars arranged at irregular intervals interspersed with coarse ashlar red sandstone brickworks. In addition, 175 carved heads are inserted in the walls. An open canal along the base of the walls provides for drainage. This structure is presumed to have been built during the Early Tiwanaku IV Period.

The original Bennett Monolith was discovered in the central part of the Subterranean Temple during 1933. It was one of the largest anthropomorphic monoliths whose body was carved in high relief. Due to its iconographic richness, it was transferred to different places in the city of La Paz where it suffered deterioration. It was transferred back to the people of Tiwanaku in 2002 where it remains in the Tiwanaku Museum.

The Barbado Monolith, carved in red sandstone, shows an anthropomorphic bearded figure with crossed hands, open fingers, serpents adorning its sides, and a pair of felines on the shirt. It is currently situated in the center of the Subterranean Temple along with two smaller anthropomorphic monoliths standing next to it.

I descended into the Subterranean Temple and proceeded to walk around the perimeter walls admiring each of the 175 carved stone heads inserted into the walls. The heads are all different and, according to people in episodes of the Ancient Aliens series relating to Tiwanaku, they represent cultures from all over the world including extraterrestrial beings. They also assert that both the Bennett and Barbado Monoliths represent Viracocha, the Inca creator god. I had someone take my photo beside the Barbado Monolith while I was in the Subterranean Temple.

I continued on to a location above the eastern end of the Subterranean Temple. I took some panorama photos and the classic photo of the entrance gateway of Kalasasaya with the Estela Ponce in the center before heading north toward the Akapana Pyramid. As I followed the path around the eastern end of the Akapana Pyramid, I found the pathway closed to visitors at the eastern end of the pyramid. Undaunted, I backtracked and walked along the northern wall of Kalasasaya which provided some excellent photo opportunities of both Kalasasaya and the Akapana Pyramid. After reaching the western end of Kalasasaya, I took some additional panorama photos and continued walking along the western end of the Akapana Pyramid.

The Akapana Pyramid, Piramide Akapana, is an approximately cross-shaped structure 257 meters wide, 197 meters long at its maximum and 16.5 meters high. On a clear day, snow capped Illimani and Lake Titicaca, the sacred geographical features of Tiwanaka, can be seen from the summit. The central portion of the pyramid shows massive destruction caused by treasure hunters from Spanish colonial times. In 2009, state-sponsored restoration work on the Akapana Pyramid was halted due to a complaint from UNESCO.

As I arrived at a path adjacent to the stairway on the western end of the Akapana, the path up the end of the pyramid was roped off. Since I had observed visitors going up and down this path during the prior two days, I decided to continue hiking up to the summit. Although the weather had been mostly sunny during the day, by the time that I started ascending to the summit, it was overcast with dark clouds rapidly approaching. At the summit, I was able to take some wonderful panorama photos overlooking Kalasasaya and the adjacent sites. I backtracked to the roped-off entrance and, as I continued hiking back to my hotel, light rain showers began.

Back at the hotel, the staff told me how to take a taxi to El Alto where I would be able to catch a bus to Copacabana. They also told me that I would need to exit the bus at a river, pay 2 Bolivians for a boat ticket, and then rejoin the bus on the other side while the bus was ferried across to the Copacabana peninsula. The rain steadily increased and we had additional heavy rain throughout most of the night. I was fortunate that I had been able to visit both Puma Punku and Tiwanaku without being subjected to rain showers.

On Sunday morning, 9 February, I took a taxi to the bus stop at El Alto where I transferred to a minibus full of local people to continue on to Copacabana. Since I was one of the last passengers, I was seated at the back of the bus with limited outside visibility. After approximately one hour, we arrived at the town of San Pedro de Tiquina on the bank of the Strait of Tiquina on Lake Titicaca. This strait separates the two separate basins of Lake Titicaca and is 850 meters (2,790 feet) across at its narrowest point. This small town is actually on both sides of the strait and is also home to the Bolivian Navy flotilla and 4th Naval Service Area/Naval Military Police Battalion #1.

I exited the minibus and made my way along with other passengers to a small building where I paid the 2 Bolivians for my boat ticket to cross the strait. The vehicles, ranging from motorcycles and cars to trucks and buses, were ferried across the strait on wooden flat-bottom barge-like vessels propelled near the shore by people using long poles and across the lake by a single outboard motor. I was told that the people from the town have been operating these ferries for decades and I watched them bail water from them after each crossing. After I reached the other side of the strait, my next challenge was to remember which ferry my bus had boarded and exactly where to meet the bus containing my luggage. I had tried to keep an eye on my bus during the crossing and recognized it as the ferry approached the docking area. The docking area had several docking spaces and my ferry with my bus had to be poled by hand from one location to an adjacent location whereupon wooden planks were positioned between the ferry and the dock for the bus to drive on as it backed off of the ferry. The bus driver stopped nearby and allowed all of us to re-board and continue on for approximately 45 minutes to Copacabana.

Copacabana is the main Bolivian town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is known for its famous basilica, Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, for trout from the lake, and its quaint atmosphere. It is situated between Mount Calvario and Mount Nino Calvario, has an elevation of 3,841 meters (12,602 feet), and has a population of approximately 6,000 inhabitants. Copacabana’s religious celebrations, cultural patrimony, and festivals are well known throughout Bolivia.

When the minibus arrived at a bus station of sorts adjacent to Plaza Sucre in Copacabana a little before noon, the sky was clear with bright sunshine. After I left the bus, I found a taxi and, although I had a confirmed reservation for Hostel Los Olas, the taxi driver consulted with several people before actually getting me to the hotel. This hotel was situated part way up Mount Calvario and the climb from the shore to the hotel was both long and steep. Fortunately the proprietor of the hotel helped me transfer my luggage to my room, Suite 3. The room was amazing with an expansive spectacular panoramic view of the harbor area and Lake Titicaca. It had a kitchen area, a loft, a hammock, a small wood burning stove, two large beds, and modern en suite toilet facilities. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The hotel was an eco-hotel and every cabin was architecturally different making it look like a fairyland of sorts. The hotel did not have a restaurant but recommended that I could eat next door at the Hostal La Cupula restaurant. Suddenly, I was sorry that I had only booked two nights at Copacabana.

After getting settled into the room, I went for a walk through the hotel gardens down to the street that would take me toward the center of the town. This property was simply fantastic with two hammocks in front of my room that overlooked the beautiful harbor area. I stopped at a small restaurant for several small caprese empanadas and a cappuccino for lunch before walking past Plaza Sucre and then on to Plaza 2 de Febrero where Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana is situated.

Construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana began in 1668, was inaugurated in 1678, and was completed in 1805. When Bolivia gained independence in 1825, it was attributed to the faith of the population through the Virgin of Copacabana, its patron saint of Bolivia. In 1826, Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre, the President of the Republic of Bolivia, expropriated all of the jewels and colonial treasures at the Shrine of the Virgin and used them to create the first coins from Bolivia. The basilica is both very large and picturesque. At first I thought there was a wedding celebration with people decorating vehicles in front of the basilica. I later learned that every day on the street in front of the Basilica, car owners decorate their cars with colorful banners and flowers while the vehicle is blessed by a priest and doused with champagne or Coca Cola. After visiting the basilica, I walked through Plaza 2 de Febrero and then through the town back to my hotel to rest up before going to dinner at Restaurant La Cupula.

It rained during the night and was partly overcast the following morning, 10 February. I decided to hike to the top of Mount Calvario, Cerro El Calvario, and sometimes referred to as Calvary Hill. Mount Calvario is not only the main viewpoint for Copacabana but also a sacred pilgrimage site. Since the weather was deteriorating, I donned protective rain gear and started walking from my hotel. Partway up the hill I came upon a series of monuments that represent the 14 Stations of the Cross. Pilgrims ascending the hill visit the Stations for prayer. The views of Copacabana were splendid and, as I reached the shrine at the summit, the rain began in earnest. I took shelter in a small building that acted as a storeroom for vendors normally selling souvenirs and food, until the rain subsided. The hike down the hill after the rain was slippery and challenging.

I returned to my hotel and spent the remainder of the day looking out my panoramic windows admiring the view. At one point, the intermittent sunshine and rain combined to form a beautiful rainbow that descended into the harbor area amid the boats anchored there. It was the first time in my life that I actually looked down on the end of a rainbow. It continued raining during the night and became intermittent in the morning.

I checked out of Hostel Los Olas that morning, 11 February, and took a taxi to Plaza Sucre where I negotiated for a minibus to take me all the way to my hotel in La Paz. Since I was the only passenger of the bus, I had room to spread out and to enjoy the views of the surroundings. When we came to the Strait of Tiquina, I gave the driver my 2 Bolivians and remained on the bus with the driver as we were ferried across the strait. The remainder of the drive was uneventful as we drove through El Alto. We then snaked our way down the winding steep 400 meter (1,300 feet) slope of La Paz to the Tourist Zone and past Plaza Juariste Eguino to Hotel Rosario, my hotel located near the famous Witches Market.

La Paz is officially known as Nuestra Senora de La Paz. It is the seat of government and the de facto capital of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (the constitutional capital of Bolivia is Sucre). La Paz is located in a canyon on the Choqueyapu River and El Alto is located on the Altiplano plateau. The metropolitan area formed by La Paz, El Alto, and Viacha is the highest metropolitan area in the world with a population of approximately 2.3 million people. Since La Paz is situated on a bowl-like canyon below El Alto, the elevation of La Paz varies from 3,640 meters (11,942 feet) to 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) above sea level. It is also the home of Mi Teleferico, the largest urban cable car network in the world.

Mi Teleferico is an aerial cable car urban transit system that was planned to address chaotic traffic and a precarious public transit system that could not cope with growing user demands. It was authorized in July 2012 and began operation on 30 May 2014 with three lines - Red, Yellow and Green - connecting La Paz with El Alto. An additional eight interconnecting lines were constructed and have become operational. These are the Blue, Orange, White, Sky Blue, Purple, Brown, Silver, and Gold lines. Mi Teleferico is the first system to use aerial cable cars as the backbone of an urban transit network.

After settling into my hotel, I briefly explored the neighborhood and quickly realized that La Paz had a unique charm and that I would thoroughly enjoy my visit. Since La Paz is in a canyon with steep slopes, it seemed like I had to hike up or down steep portions of the streets to go anywhere. At the high elevation of La Paz, I soon realized that I would need to walk slowly while I continued my altitude acclimation. I returned to the hotel and decided that I would walk several blocks to Restaurant 1700 for dinner. Although that relatively short walk consumed much of my available energy, the dinner at Restaurant 1700 was amazing.

The following morning, Wednesday, 12 February, a lady working at the hotel front desk who spoke very good English, gave me a large tourist map and recommended that I ride the Mi Teleferico to circumnavigate the city of La Paz. Following her advice, I had the hotel get a taxi for me to go to the Mi Teleferico Red Line station. It was located behind Central Cultural Museum, the old La Paz railway station with an outdoor museum. The Red Line station is Estacion Central and connects both the red and orange lines. After purchasing my ticket for the Red, Silver, Yellow, Blue, White, and Orange lines to circumnavigate La Paz, I boarded the Red Line to El Alto.

The weather was clear and views from the different cable cars were stunning. We passed over the large Cemeterio and the very colorful Challuma Neighborhood en route to El Alto. I transferred to the Silver Line at Estacion 16 de Julio and passed through Estacion Faro Murillo (Purple Line). I transferred to the Yellow Line at Estacion Mirador where I stopped in the passageway between the Silver Line and the Yellow Line at the viewpoint of La Paz for a photo. As the Yellow Line descended down the steep slope I passed through Estacion Sopocachi and transferred to the Blue Line at Estacion del Libertador.

As I rode the Blue Line, I passed through Estacion del Poeta where I was supposed to transfer to the White Line. After realizing my mistake, I made a U-turn at Estacion El Prada. While on the Blue Line, I saw the exposed portion of the Choqueyapu River. I also saw the Theatro de Aire Libre before I returned to Estacion del Poeta and transferred to the White Line. I passed over the Monumento a German Busch en route to Estscion Busch where I transferred to the Orange Line. I passed over the Cemeterio La Llama as I returned to Estacion Central where my Teleferico journey began. This was a wonderful way to see La Paz, and I recommend anyone who visits La Paz to circumnavigate the city via Mi Teleferico. I ate lunch at a nice restaurant in the Central Cultural Station before hiking back to my hotel.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to visit La Paz was to see the Fuente Magna of Pokotia Bolivia which currently resides at the Museum of Precious Metals, also referred to as the Museum of Gold, Museo del Oro. The Fuente Magna is a large stone vessel that resembles a libation bowl. A farmer working on a private estate owned by the Manjon family near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia discovered it by accident in 1958. It is often referred to as “the Rosetta Stone of the Americas” because it features beautifully engraved anthropomorphic characters, zoological motifs characteristic of the local culture, and, more surprisingly, two types of scripts – a proto-Sumerian ancient alphabet and a local language of the ancient Pukara, forerunner of the Tiahuanaco civilization. It is one of the most controversial artifacts in South America because it raises questions about whether there may have been a connection between the ancient inhabitants of the Andes and the ancient Sumerians located thousands of miles away.

On Thursday morning, 13 February, I decided to visit the Museum of Precious Metals, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the National Archaeological Museum. Once again, the lady at the front desk helped me map out the route and told me where I would need to go to purchase the ticket for entry to the precious metals museum and several museums nearby. After I took a taxi to Calle Apolinar Jaen and purchased the ticket, I visited the Museo del Litoral where I found out that no photos were permitted inside the museum.

I continued on to the Museum of Precious Metals where the security person spoke some English. I bemoaned the fact that I had come all the way to La Paz primarily to see the Fuente Magna and would not be allowed to take photos of it and the other unique artifacts in the museum while all of the museums in Peru allowed photos of exhibits. Since I was the only person in the museum, he must have felt sorry for me because he told me that I could take photos as long as nobody saw me taking photos. With that caveat in mind, I very discreetly took some photos of exhibits that I found to be most interesting, including the Fuente Magna, the elongated skulls, some gold items, and several stone and ceramic exhibits.

The Museo Casa de Murillo, dedicated to the patriot Pedro Domingo Murillo and the revolution of July 1809, was my next stop. It is a building from the beginning of the 19th century which has two floors with the following exhibition rooms: Furniture Room, Presidents Room, Crafts Room, and Baroque birth. The second floor comprises the Colonial Gallery, the Conspiracy Room, Oratory, and Bedroom. This museum had numerous wonderful exhibits that I was not permitted to photograph.

En route to Plaza Murillo and the Metropolitan Cathedral, I walked past Plaza Monroy, the La Paz Municipal Theater, and the Santa Domingo Church. Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the plaza most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Legislative Palace, Government Palace, and the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Metropolitan Cathedral, which is often referred to as the Metropolitan Cathedral.

The Metropolitan Cathedral was the first cathedral of La Paz and was completed in 1692 after 70 years of construction. The first building was made of stone, lime and brick. In 1831, it was demolished due to several cracks that threatened its collapse. The construction of the current cathedral began on March 24, 1835. It was inaugurated in 1925, marking the first centenary of the founding of the Republic of Bolivia. Although it opened that year, its interior ornamentation still continued until 1932.

As I continued walking along picturesque streets toward the National Archaeological Museum, I passed the Self-Government Department building, the Ministry of Cultural Tourism, and the San Juan de Dios Church before arriving at Plaza Camacho where the Mercado Camacho is located. Since it was already lunchtime and the museum was closed until later in the afternoon, I ate lunch at the food court in the Mercado. After lunch, as I was leaving the Mercado, light rain began followed by a very large hailstorm. I waited under a bus stop overhang with many local people until the rain subsided and I could continue walking to the archaeological museum. The walk to the museum was only a few blocks and it had already opened by the time I arrived.

The National Museum of Archaeology of Bolivia is operated by the National Institute of Archaeology, a specialized agency of the Deputy Minister of Culture. Although it is said to be the most prominent museum in Bolivia, the Museum of Precious Metals was more impressive. A member of the museum staff treated me to a virtual reality experience that the museum had recently completed. Although no photos were permitted, the staff member gave me a book and several leaflets describing many of the exhibits in the museum.

The hotel staff member and I had planned the route from Calle Apolinar Jaen to the archaeology museum so that it would be mostly walking downhill. Since the route from here back to my hotel would be a long uphill hike and the rain could begin any minute. I returned to my hotel by taxi.

Since Friday, 14 February, would be my last day in La Paz, I decided to walk from the hotel to the Coca Museum, then to the Plaza Mayor de San Francisco, and finish by visiting the Witches’ Market. My first stop was the Coca Museum which had a small area of cannabis exhibits. Their primary business is selling cannabis type candy, beverages and snacks at an upper level. I was disappointed and would not recommend this museum to tourists.

After leaving the Coca Museum, I walked to the Plaza Mayor de San Francisco. It is a large plaza in front of the San Francisco Cathedral, Iglesia de San Francisco, and is a frequent location for public gatherings and political protests. San Francisco Church (Iglesia de San Francisco), also known as the San Francisco Basilica (Basílica de San Francisco) is one of La Paz’s most important and historical landmarks. Construction of the original San Francisco Church began on this site in 1548, one year before the founding of La Paz. The church collapsed under the weight of snow in 1610 and was reconstructed in 1784. The church’s outer walls, built in the baroque-mestizo style, feature carvings of indigenous symbols, such as snakes, dragons, tropical birds, and masked figures. A contemporary statue of rock columns in the upper section of San Francisco Plaza is intended to honor the Tiwanaku, Inca, and modern cultures of Bolivia.

A celebration was in process when I arrived at the Plaza Mayor de San Francisco. A stage had been set up in front of steps on the uphill portion of the plaza with entertainment in progress. I walked up the steps on the side of the plaza adjacent to the Iglesia de San Francisco to photograph the church. I then crossed over in front of the church for additional photos before purchasing a ticket to enter the Iglesia de San Francisco Museum. Upon entering the museum, I was greeted by an English speaking tour guide who escorted me throughout accessible areas of the church. Photos were generally prohibited in the church but I obtained permission from my guide for the limited photos that I took. This museum is excellent, and I encourage everyone visiting La Paz to tour it.

The last place that I wanted to visit is the famous Witches’ Market of La Paz where vendors line the streets to sell a number of strange and fascinating products and raw ingredients used in rituals to call on the spirits that populate the Aymara world. Among the many items sold at the market are dried llama fetuses that are said to bring both prosperity and good luck, dried frogs used for Aymara rituals, soapstone figurines, aphrodisiac formulas, owl feathers, dried turtles and snakes, herbs, and folk remedies. Witch doctors in dark hats and dresses wander through the market offering fortune-telling services.

The dried llama fetuses are the most prominent produce available at the market. These animals are fairly large and are used throughout the country, buried in the foundations of new buildings as an offering to the goddess Pachamama. It is believed that the buried llama fetuses keep construction workers safe, but these are only used by poor Bolivians. Wealthy Bolivians usually sacrifice a living llama to Pachamama. I purchased a small soapstone monolithic sculpture of Viracocha at the Witches’ Market as a souvenir from Bolivia.

Since this was my last night in La Paz, I returned to Restaurant 1700 for another wonderful dinner. My flight the following morning was scheduled to depart La Paz at 5:40 AM. After I returned to the hotel, I paid my hotel bill and requested a wake-up call for 2:30 AM and scheduled a taxi to take me to the airport. The hotel opened the restaurant so that I could eat a continental breakfast before departing to the airport.

The taxi was right on time, and there was very little traffic on the way to the airport at that early hour. I had connecting flights on Boliviana de Aviacion from La Paz to Santa Cruz and then to Buenos Aires, Argentina. My flight to Santa Cruz was delayed. While waiting, my name was announced, and I was put on another flight to Santa Cruz in order to ensure my connection to Argentina. I made my connection at Santa Cruz and arrived in Buenos Aires mid-afternoon. I overnighted at Buenos Aires and flew back to Los Angeles on Tuesday, 18 February. As I flew back to Los Angeles, I reminisced about how wonderful my trip to Bolivia had been.

See pictures from Bolivia

See pictures from the Panama Canal Voyage

January 2020
Panama Canal Voyage

Travel Notes

Jan and I booked a 17 day Panama Canal Voyage from San Diego, California, aboard the Holland America cruise ship Rotterdam. We took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles to San Diego on 6 January prior to boarding the ship at the Port of San Diego on 7 January.

After we boarded the Rotterdam, we settled into our cabin and explored the ship. We had two sea days before we arrived at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 10 January. We took the Holland America “Marina Vallarta, Old Town, Cathedral and Tequila Distillery” shore excursion. The first stop was at the Hacienda Dona Engracia tequila factory where we toured a typical tequila distillery and were shown how tequila is made from the blue agave cactus plant. The guide described the process used to distill tequila, the difference between 100% tequila and 51% tequila, and the various grades of tequila. After touring the small distillery area, we were taken to a room to taste the four different grades of tequila as well as three flavored tequilas and their special hot sauce. Of course, all seven tequilas and the hot sauce were available for purchase. After the tour, we had an opportunity to purchase tacos for lunch before departing for the next stop on the tour.

We drove through the Marina Vallarta section of Puerto Vallarta en route to the Malecon. The Malecon is a waterfront promenade area of the Old Town section of Puerto Vallarta. The Malecon is charming and offers not only tourist shopping but also many wonderful photo opportunities of sculptures, the beach area, and beautiful architecture. We continued from the Malecon into the Old Town to visit the Cathedral of our Lady of Guadalupe. After walking through a portion of the Old Town, we stopped for a short visit for tourist shopping before returning to the ship.

We had another day at sea before arriving at Huatulco, Mexico, on 12 January. Here we took the Holland America “Copalita Archaeological Exploration” shore excursion. The first stop was at the Huatulco Viewpoint for a photo opportunity. We continued on to visit the Eco-Archaeological Park Copalita which covers more than 200 acres of diverse ecosystems. One area contains the archaeological remains of Copalito, referred to as the Archaeological Zone. This site is believed to be a mixture between a Mayan and an Olmec city more than 2,500 years old. Some archaeologists believe that this pre-Hispanic city was one of the largest on the Oaxacan coast.

Upon arrival at Copalito, we walked through portions of the Archaeological Zone where we saw the Serpent Temple, a ball court, and the Main Pyramid Temple. We continued walking to a large wetland pond where we saw many iguanas in the trees above the pond. The green iguanas were female and the orange iguanas were male. The tour also included a hike up to the Cliff Viewpoint where the Vigil of Copalito is situated and offers a 180-degree view of the coastline and Copalito River delta. We also visited the Zone Museum with many archaeological exhibits prior to returning to Huatulco. After strolling through the village of Huatulco, we walked along the pier to board the ship.

After sailing overnight, we arrived at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, at 9:00 AM on Monday morning, 13 January. Here, we took the Holland America “Tikal, Mayan City of Voices” excursion which was our over-the-top excursion for this voyage. It consisted of a transfer to a nearby airport for a 90-minute flight by chartered aircraft to the airport at Flores in the northern region of Peten. After disembarking from the airplane, we were assigned a local tour guide for our visit to Tikal and boarded a small bus for a one-hour drive to Parque National Tikal. This site was previously known as the Ancient Mayan City of Mutul and is known today as Tikal in the New Mayan Era. According to the literature, Tikal National Park, along with other protected areas forms the largest natural reserve of Mesoamerica known as the Maya Biosphere, measures approximately 21,000 square kilometers. The Tikal forest is approximately 11,000 years old. Our guide informed us that Tikal was established as a National Park in 1955 and was the first site in the world to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Tikal is believed to have been founded around 600 BC and abandoned around the year 900 AD – a period of 1,500 years of continuous occupation.

We were given a wrist band as we passed through the entrance gate to Tikal. This is a rainforest and we encountered periodic rain showers during our visit. With the help of our guide, we were able to drive to a location near Temple 4, the Two-headed Snake Temple. This is the tallest temple at Tikal, standing an impressive 70 meters high and providing a spectacular view of Tikal from the top. This temple, as with all of the main temples at Tikal, has a stepped pyramidal base with a crested enclosure at the top. It was built by the twenty-seventh Ruler of Tikal, Yik’in, around the year 750 AD. Access to the top of this temple is provided by a wooden stairway from which the panoramic view of the tops of Temple 1, Temple 2, Temple 3, and Temple 5 can be seen towering above the forest.

We climbed the stairway to the top. Although entrance to the enclosure is not permitted, we were able to enjoy the panoramic view during intermittent misty rain showers. After descending from Temple 4, we hiked along a pathway past a low enclosure containing a stela and the circular Altar 5 stone carving. As we continued along the pathway, we passed the Palace of the Windows which is also referred to as the Palace of the Bats. A short distance farther along the path afforded a view of the top of the back of Temple 3. Continuing along the pathway, we approached Temple 2 from behind as we entered the Great Plaza. The Great Plaza is bounded by Temple 2 or the Mascarones Temple, the North Acropolis, Temple 1 or Temple of the Great Jaguar, and the Central Acropolis.

Temple 2 measures 57 meters in height and affords a panoramic view of the Great Plaza, the North Acropolis, Temple 1, and the Central Acropolis. Access to the top of Temple 2 is provided by a wooden stairway from behind the temple. Access to the enclosure is not permitted; however, some of the best photos of the Great Plaza area of Tikal Temple 1 can be taken from here. A brief interval of sunshine provided an opportunity for a couple of nice photos of Temple 1 which stands 47 meters high. After descending from Temple 2, I hiked to the North Acropolis to view a very large stone carved figure under a protective shelter and another protected stone carving.

We continued our tour by hiking through the Central Acropolis and passed the Maler Palace to another viewpoint of the Great Plaza area. We then continued through the Central Acropolis where we could view the top of Temple 5 which is the second highest temple at a height of 57 meters. After passing through several more structures in the Central Acropolis, we hiked to meet our bus for the drive to a restaurant where we ate lunch before returning to the airport. The restaurant featured a large model of Tikal and had a wooden musical instrument similar to a marimba.

We returned to the airport where we cleared immigration and airport security prior to boarding our flight from Flores back to the airport at Puerto Quetzal and another bus ride to the ship.

Once again we sailed overnight and arrived at Corinto, Nicaragua, on Tuesday morning, 14 January. We did not have an excursion booked at this port and, on the advice of Galih, our dining room waiter, we walked out of the port and hired a local person for a bicycle rickshaw-like tour of this small village. The village was very clean and colorful. We were able to see many sights including the main town square and the old train station, which now houses a one room museum and a tiny library. Other sights included a small boat harbor with a restaurant, Hollywood Street, the village baseball park, a soccer stadium, the central market, and various monuments.

After sailing overnight, we arrived at Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, on 15 January. We booked the Holland America excursion, “A Walk in the Clouds.” It consisted of a two hour bus ride across the continental divide of Costa Rica to the Canopy San Luis. This is a site situated at approximately 4,000 feet elevation on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Here, we visited a tiny butterfly farm and hiked through the rainforest, both across suspension bridges and along paths through the forest. As we exited the forest, we visited a site that attracts hummingbirds. We were served a traditional Costa Rican buffet lunch prior to re-boarding our bus. En route to the ship, we stopped at an overpriced souvenir shop that had several interesting murals painted on the exterior walls.

Thursday, 16 January, was a sea day prior to arriving at the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal early Friday morning. The Captain anchored the ship outside the entrance of the canal at 10:00 PM to join the queue of ships waiting to enter the canal. Since Holland America had a prearranged reservation for the Rotterdam, we were able to begin our entrance to the canal early in the morning of 17 January. We were able to see the skyline of Panama City off the starboard side of the ship as we entered the channel to the canal prior to passing under the Bridge of the Americas. This bridge is 5,425 feet long, and was completed in 1962, and cost the United States 20 million US dollars. It was a key part of the Pan American highway. It is interesting that the Panama Canal runs from the Southeast on the Pacific side to the Northwest on the Caribbean side, not from west to east.

We continued along the entrance past the new Cocoli Locks off of the port side of the ship. These new locks on the Pacific side were part of the Panama Canal expansion to add a third lane of canal transit and allow larger ships to transit the canal. They include three water-saving basins that reduce the water volume used during lock operation. The Rotterdam would use one side of the original Miraflores Locks, which are 110 feet wide, to begin our canal transit to the Caribbean Sea. Since the Rotterdam is 106 feet wide there isn’t much clearance on either side. Vessels ascend or descend 54 feet (16.5 meters) back to the Caribbean side. Due to the extreme variation of the Pacific tides, the lower chamber gates are the highest of any of the Panama Canal locks. Each lock chamber here, except the lower locks, has intermediate gates to conserve water by reducing the size of the chamber.

We transited the Miraflores Locks in the eastern-most lock chambers after arriving at the locks at approximately 8:22 AM. After transiting both chambers of the Miraflores Locks we entered Miraflores Lake at approximately 9:55 AM. This is a small freshwater body of water between the two sets of Pacific locks, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel. A tectonic fault beneath this fresh water lake led to these chambers being spread apart, unlike the chambers of the Gatun Locks which have remained in the same place.

As we continued sailing across the lake, we passed the enormous crane called “Titan.” This was described as being one of the four huge cranes obtained by Allied Forces from Germany after World War 2. This was the crane that the United States obtained and eventually ended up here at the Panama Canal.

We arrived at the Pedro Miguel locks at approximately 10:04 AM. The Pedro Miguel set of locks raises northbound ships 30.5 feet (9.3 meters) from Miraflores Lake to Gatun Lake. We exited the Pedro Miguel Locks into Gatun Lake at approximately 10:55 AM. and sailed under the Centennial Bridge. This bridge opened in 2004 with a goal to lessen traffic on the Bridge of the America that is located 9 miles (15 kilometers) south. It also replaced the Bridge of the Americas as carrier of the Pan American highway traffic.

Gatun Dam was constructed in 1908 to dam the Chagres River, provide all of the electricity for operation of the canal, and allow for the formation of Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake, encompassing 166 square miles (430 sq. km.), was formed in 1912, and the surface sits at an elevation of between 82 and 87 feet (23 and 27 meters) above sea level.

We sailed across Gatun Lake through the famous Culebra Cut and arrived near the Gatun Locks at approximately 2:00 PM. The Gatun Locks separate Gatun Lake from the Caribbean Sea and provide two transit channels for ships. Three sets of double-lock chambers raise to allow ships to ascend to Gatun Lake or descend back to the Caribbean side of the canal. As we got closer to the Gatun Locks, we could see several very large vessels off of our starboard side entering and utilizing the Auga Clara Locks that opened in 2016 as part of the Panama Canal expansion.

After waiting for a container ship to descend from the first chamber of the locks, we entered the west-most channel of the Gatun Locks at approximately 2:28 PM. Since another ship was coming up the east-most channel, these locks provided some wonderful photo opportunities of ships passing in opposite directions. After transiting all three chambers of the Gatun Locks at approximately 3:40 PM, we arrived in the Caribbean Sea and passed under the Atlantic Bridge which was designed for the passage of huge container ships. This road bridge in Colon, Panama, spans the entrance of the canal and was completed in 2019.

Once in the Caribbean Sea we encountered strong headwinds that produced very large sea swells. Reaching Aruba on schedule after one day at sea would require an average speed of about 19 knots. Due to the large sea swells, our speed during the night and next morning was between 9 and 11 knots. The Captain finally made an announcement that, in the interest of the safety of the passengers and crew, we would skip Aruba as a port of call and Sunday, 19 January, would become an additional day at sea.

We arrived at Willemstad, Curaçao, at 8:00 AM on Monday, 20 January. Since our Holland America “Discover Curaçao” shore excursion didn’t begin until 12:30 PM, we disembarked during the morning and walked around areas of Willemstad, the very colorful capital city of Curaçao. It has two districts, Otrobanda and Punda which are separated by the Sint Anna Bay. This bay is a natural deep harbor with much commercial shipping traffic. The Queen Emma Bridge is the oldest and longest floating bridge in the world and spans the entrance to Sint Anna Bay. It is a pedestrian bridge only, has operated since 1888, rests on 15 pontoons, and swings open 30 times a day to let oil tankers, container ships, and cruise ships in and out of the harbor. A second bridge, the Queen Juliana Bridge, is a very high bridge for highway traffic and also spans the entrance to Sint Anna Bay.

After disembarking from the ship in the picturesque Punda district, we walked to the Queen Emma Bridge to cross over to the Otrobanda district. The Otrobanda district is also very colorful and picturesque. While exploring the Otrobanda district, we photographed a bright yellow building that we later found out to be the Synagogue Mikve Israel Emanuel. It was built in 1632 and is the oldest operating synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.

After exploring the Otrobanda district, we also crossed back over the bridge to explore more of the Punta district. We visited the Rif Fort, originally built to protect the entrance to the port and which now contains a shopping mall, before returning to the ship where we ate a quick lunch prior to meeting up with our shore excursion.

Our excursion took us to the Curaçao Museum which was a former Dutch military hospital. We drove past the new hospital and through many sections of the city. We also drove across the Queen Juliana Bridge in both directions – one of the highest bridges in the Caribbean. Our next stop was at Chobolobo, the Dutch colonial mansion where the famous Curaçao liqueur is distilled. After a short tour of the distillery and a tasting of three of their liqueurs, we continued on to visit the side of the island en route to the Hato Caves.

Upon arrival at the Hato Caves, we were met by a guide for a walking tour of the cave. We climbed in excess of fifty rock steps to reach the entrance of the cave. The tour of the cave consisted of walking along a concrete pathway with some steps to visit two chambers of the cave. Small fruit bats could be seen in some areas within the cave. The written tourist description about this underground grotto over-promises and under-delivers; we never saw any underground waterfalls as described in the literature. After visiting the cave, we continued driving through additional sections of the city. We briefly stopped beside a lake for a photo opportunity of wild flamingos before returning to the ship.

We had two more days at sea en route to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We arrived at Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, 23 January, and disembarked from the ship. After a couple of days in Fort Lauderdale, we flew home to Los Angeles on Saturday, 25 January.

See pictures from the Atlantic Crossing

October/November 2019
Atlantic Crossing Westbound

Travel Notes

Jan and I flew to Rome, Italy to spend several days in Naples and Civitavecchia, Italy, before boarding the 14-Day Holland America Passage to America Voyage. This voyage would travel westbound from Rome, Italy, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, stopping at three ports of call in Spain and one port of call in the Azores, Portugal.

We checked out of our hotel in Civitavecchia, Italy, on Sunday morning, 27 October, and took a taxi to the cruise port to board the Holland America cruise ship, NEIUW STATTENDAM, for our voyage to Ft Lauderdale. This ship is the newest ship owned by Holland America and, for the most part, was a very nice ship. We were disappointed that the ship’s guest Internet for which Holland America charges fees to access, was not fully functional during the days that the ship was sailing at sea. As a result, we could not access our email accounts during the seven days that we were at sea from the Azores to Ft Lauderdale – this is unacceptable for a brand new ship.

Our first port of call was at Cartagena, Spain, on 29 October. Since we had been here on a previous voyage, we decided to hike from the ship to the Castillo de la Atalaya which is situated on top of a high hill overlooking Cartagena and the surrounding area. The person at the tourist information office at the port gave us a tourist map of the city but had no idea how to hike to the fortress. We resorted to Google maps, which directed us to an area near the fortress, and then asked local people for directions before finally finding a trail up to the fortress. The fortress was abandoned but the interior could be accessed by some rock climbing. The views from the fortress were stunning and the hike was well worth the effort. By the time we returned to the ship from the fortress, my pedometer registered more than 19,000 steps.

The following day we arrived at Malaga, Spain, where I took a Holland America excursion to hike the Caminito del Rey trail that crosses the beautiful Gaitanes Ravine and which was once called one of the world’s scariest hiking routes. This hike was about five miles long and, for much of that distance, continued along a pathway hanging on the rock faces of cliffs high above the ravine. The original trail was closed by the government while a new suspended pathway was constructed above the old one. The scenery from the trail was stunning.

On 31 October, we arrived at Cadiz, Spain. Since we had previously visited Cadiz, we took a Holland America small group excursion to Seville, Spain. We boarded a small bus at the port and were driven to Seville accompanied by an English speaking guide who provided entertaining information along the way. After arriving at Seville, we drove past the pavilions of several different countries that were erected for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition and visited the Plaza de Espana where the 1929 Exhibition was held. Painted ceramic benches with murals representing all of the provinces in Spain are arranged around the square. We stopped at several of these beautiful ceramic benches and murals where our guide gave detailed descriptions of the specific province represented. The plaza is semicircular and dominated by two towers – one on each side of the enclosed area – that frame the central building where the main rooms are situated. We returned to our bus and were transported to the Jardines de Murillo (Murillo Gardens).

We exited the bus and walked through portions of the gardens and then through an entrance in the old city wall to the old Jewish Quarter. We admired the architecture as we walked through the old Jewish Quarter to visit the Real Alcazar, the palace built for King Filipe. It is the palace where Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabella to secure funding for his first voyage to the New World. It is also the residence of the current King of Spain when he is in Seville. The architecture of the Alcazar is magnificent.

After touring the Alcazar, we walked to the impressive Cadiz Cathedral. The cathedral stands on the site of what was the Great Mosque during the 12th century. Today the only part of the old mosque that remains is the minaret, also known as the Giralda. The Abluciones courtyard and the Puerta del Perdon door are also parts of the old mosque. The mosque was converted into a Christian church in 1248 when the city was conquered by Ferdinand III of Castile. During our visit inside the cathedral, we saw the tomb that contains the remains of Christopher Columbus.

We continued walking from the church through the old Jewish Quarter and back to the Jardines de Murillo to meet up with our bus to go to a restaurant where we were served a very nice lunch. After lunch, we boarded our tour bus for the journey back to Cadiz. Seville was a very interesting, picturesque city that we would like to visit during a future trip to Spain.

After two days at sea, we arrived at Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores, Portugal, on 3 November. We disembarked from the ship and walked into town where we rented a car for the day to explore the main tourist sites of the island. Our first stop was at a viewpoint overlooking Lagoa do Fogo, a lake in the caldera of an extinct volcano near the center of the island. After taking some photos of the lake, we drove to Furnas where we visited Lagoa das Furnas, another lake in a caldera nearer to the eastern end of the island. From here we visited the Terra Nostra Garden in the town of Furnas. This botanical garden encompasses a large area and includes several hot spring pools where people were swimming, a stream with several cold water ponds, a topiary garden with many topiary animals, a flower garden, and hiking trails. We drove from Terra Nostra Garden up the side of the volcano to the Miradouro Pico do Ferro, a viewpoint overlooking Lagoa das Furnas and the surrounding countryside.

Our last destination was at the north end of the island, which was called Lagoas das Siete Cidades, another crater lake that is famous for two lakes, Lagoa Verde, a green lake, and Lagoa Azul, a blue lake. It was a long drive from Furnas to Sete Cidades, and we found signs for a secondary road which we took to Sete Cidades. The secondary road was a narrow road up the volcano to the Miradouro do Cerrado das Freiras overlooking Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul. From here we drove down into the caldera to the shores of both lakes.

We had a feeling of mission accomplished as we drove back to Ponta Delgada. Upon arriving at Ponta Delgada, we visited the Ponta Delgada Sao Bras Fort, which is now a military museum with a one (1) Euro admission charge. The fort was an interesting place to visit before returning the rental car and walking back to the ship.

We had six more days at sea before arriving at Ft Lauderdale on the morning of 10 November.

See pictures from Naples & Civitavecchia

October 2019
Naples & Civitavecchia

Travel Notes

Jan and I flew to Rome, Italy, to spend several days in Naples and Civitavecchia, Italy, before boarding the 14-Day Passage to America Voyage. This voyage would travel from Rome, Italy, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, stopping at three ports of call in Spain and one port of call in the Azores, Portugal.

We traveled by train from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Naples on 22 October 2019 and checked into the Renaissance Naples Hotel. The following morning, as we ate breakfast at the hotel, we were greeted by a panoramic view overlooking the Naples harbor with the sun rising behind Mount Vesuvius. We were able to enjoy the sunrise over Mount Vesuvius every morning that we were in Naples.

On the morning of 23 October, we were picked up at our hotel for a small group day trip to the island of Capri. This tour was split into two groups: one Italian speaking and the other English speaking. Since there were only four of us who spoke English, we essentially had our own private tour for our visit to Capri. After sailing to Capri from the Port of Naples, we disembarked at the Marina Grande, the main port of Capri, and traveled with our guide to board another smaller boat to go visit the famous Blue Grotto of Capri.

The entrance to the Blue Grotto is through a small cave that requires visitors to transfer to and lie down in small rowboats in order to clear the rocky, low cave entrance to the grotto. A rowboat operator uses a chain to quickly pull the boat through the mouth of the cave. Once inside, the grotto is very large and the vibrant blue color is spectacular. We were told that Tiberius Caesar loved to go swimming in this grotto. After spending some time in the grotto and trying to take a good photo with the boat bobbing in the waves while rowers sang “Volare,” we once again laid down so the rowboat operator could use the chain to quickly pull the boat out of the small cave entrance.

After transferring from the rowboat back to the other boat, we were taken back to Marina Grande. Our guide escorted us onto a bus that drove us to Anacapri, a town higher up in the mountains. We took a chairlift called the Seggiovia Monte Solaro from Anacapri up to the 589 meter summit of Mount Solaro, the highest point on Capri Island. The views from both the chairlift and from Mount Solaro were stunning. They included the Italian coastline and Mount Vesuvius as well as sweeping views of Capri Island.

We returned to Anacapri via the chairlift and walked to a restaurant where we had a very nice lunch. After lunch, we walked along the picturesque pedestrian street that goes beside the Villa San Michele Museum to the top of the Scala Fenecia (Phoenecian Steps). We were able to view the sculpture of the Egyptian Sphinx that is situated high above one corner of the museum overlooking the ocean in the direction of Mount Vesuvius.

After some free time to explore some of the tourist shopping stores, we continued along additional picturesque streets en route to the Piazza Armando Diaz and the Church of San Michele (Saint Michael Church). We paid the entrance fee to visit Saint Michael Church and see the magnificent mosaic floor depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We continued walking different streets back to the Anacapri main bus stop.

After boarding another tour bus, we continued down the winding mountain road from Anacapri to Capri town where we transferred to another bus to go to Piazza Umberto I. The Piazza Umberto I Clock and the San Stefano Church are located here. We continued walking past the famous Hotel La Palma to the other side of Capri where we visited the Garden of Augustus. We were treated to spectacular views of the Marina Picolla, the distinctive Faraglioni islands near Marina Picolla, and the Via Krupp pathway that curves down the mountain from the Garden of Augustus to Marina Picolla. The monastery, Charterhouse of St. James, was clearly visible from the Garden of Augustus. This essentially completed our sightseeing tour of Capri, and we returned to Marina Grande, where we boarded a ship that returned us to the Port of Naples.

We had visited Mount Vesuvius when we were in Naples in April 2019. Since the weather in April was so inclement that the views were totally obscured, we decided to return to Vesuvius. We booked a day trip at the hotel that was to include a trip to Vesuvius and a wine tasting. The tour company picked us up at our hotel on Thursday, 24 October, for our trip to Vesuvius. After leaving our hotel and picking up additional people, the guide introduced a person already on the bus who would be our guide for our visit to Pompeii. After arriving at Pompeii, which we had previously visited, I informed our guide that we had booked a trip to Mount Vesuvius and a wine tasting. When she said that the hotel must have made a mistake, I produced my receipt for the tour from the hotel. She made several phone calls and then asked if we would accept a free tour of Pompeii before going to Mount Vesuvius – we accepted her offer.

Although the guided tour of Pompeii was less than three hours in duration, our guide was very informative. Our first stop was at the Quadriporch where gladiators both lived and trained. We continued on to visit the Theatro Picccolo, a small amphitheater. Our next stop was at the House of Menender, which is one of the best excavated Roman villas at Pompeii. We walked along ancient streets where we observed holes in the rocks in front of buildings where people would tie up horses as well as lead water pipes and some street water fountains. We also visited a lupanare, one of many ancient brothels in Pompeii. The lupanare had a carved phallic symbol above the entrance and murals of the menu of services offered on the walls. There were carved phallic symbols on the walls at some street corners and in the street pavers to help direct prospective patrons to the lupanares. After a stop at the Forum and the Mensa Ponderia, we returned to the tour bus.

We were then transported to a restaurant for lunch where we met a family from France who had also booked a wine tasting. Lunch was very good. Afterward, we, along with the family from France and several other guests, were taken to Mount Vesuvius. The weather at Vesuvius was very good, with spectacular views of both the crater and the surrounding landscape. Despite our unexpected detour to Pompeii, all was well.

On 25 October, we took the train from Naples to Civitavecchia, Italy, the cruise ship port for Rome. We stayed at the hotel Porto di Roma in the old town area of the city. This location was within walking distance of the harbor, the fort, and downtown Civitavecchia. After exploring the neighborhood adjacent to the hotel, we ate at one of the upscale restaurants recommended by the hotel.

After breakfast the following morning, we obtained a tourist map and walked through the central farmers market which was very large and picturesque. We continued from the market to visit the fort that, according to Google was supposed to be open to visitors on the weekend, but which was closed to the public. The guards near the fort entrance had no information regarding visits by the general public. We continued walking southbound along the beach to a pier where some people were fishing. We then walked past an amusement park and some restaurants facing the ocean.

As we returned to the downtown area near the fort, we visited the small Museo Archeologico which offered free admission. The exhibits were small but interesting and well worth the visit. We continued to explore the city and walked past the cathedral and another church in the old area of the city. Later, we searched Google for a seafood restaurant and found the ocean-facing Restaurant di Delphino that had more than 600 reviews and an average score of 4.5 out of 5. We made a dinner reservation using Google and enjoyed one of the best Italian seafood meals that we have ever eaten.

We checked out of the hotel on Sunday morning, 27 October, and took a taxi to the cruise port to board the Holland America cruise ship, NEIUW STATTENDAM, for our Atlantic Crossing westbound voyage to Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

October 2019
Thailand

Travel Notes

I decided to return to Thailand for about a week in October 2019 to revisit Chiang Mai for several short day trips. I flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Saturday, 5 October, and took a taxi to the Holiday Inn Chiang Mai hotel. After checking into my hotel, I went for a walk to explore the nearby neighborhood.

On Sunday, 6 October, I took the hotel complimentary shuttle to downtown Chiang Mai and walked through the old city wall and around part of the downtown area. During my walk, I stopped at a travel office to book a day trip to Doi Inthanon National Park which is also referred to as “The Roof of Siam.” I visited Wat Muen Lan and Wat Phan On where I was able to take several very nice photographs. As I continued walking, I passed many small shops and stopped at one to enjoy a cappuccino before arriving at the plaza in front of the City Art and Culture Museum before returning to the hotel.

The following day, I requested a taxi to take me from the hotel to the Chiang Mai National Museum. The driver dropped me off at the City Art and Culture Museum instead of the National Museum. Admission was free here but the exhibits were very sparse and, after the museum staff explained to me that I was at the wrong museum, they called a taxi that took me to the National Museum.

After arriving at the Chiang Mai National Museum, I took photos of ancient kilns in front of the museum and spent several hours viewing the exhibits and reading the many English descriptions accompanying the exhibits. Of particular interest was the Phra Saenswae, the giant head of a Buddha image, which was originally found at Wat Yangkuang near the Chiang Mai Gate. In 1953, the Buddha image’s head was moved to an exhibit at the Bangkok National Museum. When the Chiang Mai National Museum was constructed in 1973, the Buddha image’s head was brought back to Chiang Mai to be housed and displayed in this museum.

A Buddha’s Footprint, made of teak wood and decorated with mother of pearl and glass, is another one of the very special artifacts on display. The remainder of the museum houses an extensive collection of beautiful exhibits. This museum should not be missed when visiting Chiang Mai.

On Tuesday, 8 October, I was picked up at the hotel to begin my day trip to the Doi Inthanon National Park. The park was a long distance from Chiang Mai and the bus ride was bumpy and somewhat cramped. After we arrived at the park and our tour guide paid the entrance fees, we continued a long uphill drive toward the summit of Doi Thanon, the highest point in Thailand. Our first stop along the way was to view the Sitirhan Waterfall. After a short hike, we came to a viewpoint where we had a nice view of the waterfall. With an abundant amount of water flowing, the view provided for some nice photos.

Our next stop was at the Baan Pa Mou Hilltribe Village to view the way of life of the inhabitants. They were producing both rice and coffee. We continued ascending the mountain to visit the Wachirathan Waterfall. We stopped at a visitor area where we could hike to various vantage points to view the waterfall. It was a very large waterfall with a lot of mist that made taking photos a little difficult. Fortunately, I hiked up to a higher elevation and was able to take some nice photos of the waterfall with a rainbow in the mist. While we were here, we were served lunch at a restaurant beside the river flowing from the waterfall.

Our next stop was near the summit, where we exited the bus to hike the Yod Doi Nature Trail. After a short uphill hike, I arrived at a sign denoting that I had indeed arrived at the highest point in Thailand. A small pedestal marked the spot of the highest point and a small temple-like shrine was situated nearby. Continuing on the trail downhill, past the summit, I returned to the road and then hiked the Angkha Nature Trail that looped through rainforest and ultimately returned to the road. We then reboarded the bus to continue our day trip.

Our final stop was to visit the spectacular Royal Stupas, the Phra Mahathat Naphamethanidon Stupa, and the Phra Mahathat Naphapholphumisiri Stupa, built by the Thai Royal Air Force in commemoration of Their Majesties the King and Queen’s Sixtieth Birthday Anniversaries in 1987 and 1992 respectively. These stupas were magnificent and provided beautiful gardens, sweeping panoramic views over the countryside, and superb carved murals. This stop was the highlight of this day trip for me. It would be another long, cramped bus ride back to Chiang Mai, but the day trip was wonderful.

I took a few more daytime hikes around Chiang Mai before taking my final day trip to visit the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Gardens. The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was an international horticultural exposition in Chiang Mai that drew 3,781,624 visitors between 1 November 2006 to 31 January 2007. It is a wonderful garden area with gorgeous landscaping and many pavilions from different countries. The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek is the national flower of Thailand, and these expansive gardens are truly a must-see when visiting the Chiang Mai area. I took a shuttle bus ride around the gardens when I first arrived and then walked through the gardens to take spectacular photos.

I was scheduled to check out of the hotel and fly to Bangkok on Saturday afternoon, 12 October. After breakfast that morning, however, I received an SMS text message from United Airlines that my flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles on 13 October had been canceled due to the enormous cyclone that was approaching Japan. This was extremely bad news because I was booked on Al Nippon (ANA) from Bangkok to Tokyo and ANA had still showed my flight to Tokyo as being on schedule. I called ANA and was told by the agent that, since my flight was a code-share flight booked through United, that only United could revise or rewrite my ticket. I spent an eternity trying to contact United Airlines by phone but none of the United phone numbers were accessible to me in Chiang Mai. As I frantically searched the United website, I finally stumbled upon a phone number for a United Airlines office in Bangkok that was open on Saturday morning until noon. It was now 11:40 AM, and I called the number on my Thai mobile phone. A wonderful person answered my call and was able to rewrite my ticket for flights from Bangkok to Los Angeles for Tuesday, 15 October. This would mean a 48 hour delay for my return flights home.

I flew to Bangkok and spent an extra two days before finally boarding my ANA flight to Tokyo and connect with my United Airlines flight back to Los Angeles. All’s well that ends well.

August 2019
Alaska

Travel Notes

Jan and I booked a 14-day Holland America Alaska Voyage from Seattle, Washington, onboard the Holland America cruise ship Amsterdam. We flew to Seattle on 22 August and visited with friends in Federal Way, Washington prior to boarding the ship at the Port of Seattle on 26 August. One of our objectives on this cruise was to book enough excursions to achieve 4 star Mariner status for subsequent Holland America cruises.

After we boarded the Amsterdam, we settled into our cabin and explored the ship. That evening we ran into two old friends, Bill and LaVonne, from our South America voyage. We would spend some time with them during this voyage. We had one sea day before we arrived at Ketchikan, Alaska, on 28 August. While at Ketchikan, we took the Eagles, Raptors & Rainforest Shore Excursion which included a nature hike through a rainforest, a visit to a raptor center with a raptor show in an enclosed theater, and a walk past a salmon hatchery to a location with an old sawmill and numerous totem poles. This excursion was very good with a guide who was both knowledgeable and entertaining.

The following day we enjoyed scenic cruising through Tracy Arm and viewed the wonderful mountains and glaciers. We continued on overnight and arrived at Juneau, Alaska, on the morning of 30 August. While at Juneau, we took the Mendenhall Glacier Guide’s Choice Hike Shore Excursion with a hike through another rainforest to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center. After viewing the glacier, we walked along a stream with Sockeye Salmon returning from their time in the open ocean. Some of them were a vibrant pink color before depositing their eggs and ending their life cycle.

We continued overnight to arrive at Icy Strait Point, Alaska, on 31 August. Although there appeared to be little to explore at the port, we took the Whales, Wildlife & Bear Search Shore Excursion. This excursion consisted of a boat ride for whale watching where we saw harbor seals and several humpback whales. After returning to the port, we were met by a guide and transported by bus to a trail near a river. This was the starting point for our hike through the habitat of the area to a couple of viewing platforms to hopefully see local wildlife, including bears and other mammals. We were able to see several bald eagles from one of the platforms but no mammals of any kind – just the luck of the day. I would not take another shore excursion at this port of call.

After another day at sea, we arrived at Anchorage, Alaska, on 2 September. The weather was overcast with some scattered rain showers and fog. We disembarked and took the 26-Glacier Cruise & Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Shore Excursion. This was an all day excursion that included a bus ride to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which we had visited a couple of times before. The tour continued along the Turnagain Arm where we were able to see some beluga whales – a first for us – and then through the shared cruise/rail tunnel to Whittier. We boarded a high speed catamaran to explore Prince Edward Sound. The ride on the catamaran, where lunch was served, was wonderful, but the views of the glaciers were impaired due to the weather. Despite the weather, we still had impressive views of both the Harriman Glacier and the Surprise Glacier. This would be a world class excursion in clear weather with spectacular views of the glaciers.

Again, after sailing overnight, we arrived at Homer. Homer is a quaint location where we would have liked to have spent more time. We disembarked, met up with our guide for the Glacier Lake Interpretive Hike Shore Excursion and were given a box lunch for the hike. We were transported across the bay to the beach at the Kachemak Bay State Park where we began a guided hike from the beach on the Grewingk Glacier Trail to the bank of Grewingk Lake. This was a picturesque hike with an extremely knowledgeable guide who explained the flora in great detail. After we arrived at the very picturesque Grewingk Lake, with icebergs and unobstructed views of Grewingk Glacier, we ate lunch on the shore. After lunch and many photos, we continued hiking on the Saddle Trail to another Kachemak Bay State Park beach. Although this excursion was classified as moderate, the steep descent down to the beach and across many large rocks could better be classified as extreme. Several people had considerable difficulty completing the hike down to the boat that was waiting to take us back to the Port of Homer. This was a very good excursion but should be classified as much more difficult.

Following another night at sea, we arrived at Kodiak Island, Alaska, on the morning of 4 September. Although we had booked a 7:30 AM small group excursion months in advance of this cruise, the person at the Cruise Excursions Desk booked us on the 10:30 AM Kodiak Sightseeing & Wildlife Cruise. The later excursion meant we would not have any time to explore Kodiak after the excursion. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that we had been ticketed on the later excursion, we were unable to get ticketed on the excursion that we had originally pre-booked. The Holland America person from the excursion desk said that he just ticketed people as he came upon the reservations without regard to the pre-booked excursion times. We felt that we had been cheated out of proper shore time at Kodiak. That said, the later excursion was very good with wonderful viewing of harbor seals, puffins, sea otters, and a pod of Orcas feeding in the distance. We would like to return to Kodiak sometime in the future.

We continued sailing overnight and arrived mid-day on 5 September at the Hubbard Glacier. This glacier and the surrounding mountain scenery are magnificent, and the weather was picture perfect. We lingered near the glacier for more than an hour and then continued overnight to Sitka.

We arrived at Sitka, Alaska, on the morning of 6 September. Sitka is one of the most picturesque locations in Alaska. The cruise port of Sitka is situated some distance from the town of Sitka and complimentary shuttle bus service was provided between the port and downtown Sitka. We disembarked, met our tour guide, and took the Tongas Rainforest Nature Hike excursion. After a short bus ride, we hiked a portion of the Mosquito Cove Trail before transitioning to the Estuary Life Trail. We continued on via the Forest and Muskeg Trail and ended up at the beachfront site of Old Sitka where we met our tour bus. The bus took us to downtown Sitka where we opted to explore the town on foot. We headed to the Sitka National Historical Park, the Sheldon Jackson Museum, and the St. Michael’s Cathedral which serves as the seat of the Russian Orthodox Diocese. As we walked to the Sitka National Historical Park, we passed both the picturesque St. Peter’s by the Sea Church and the Russian Bishop’s house.

After we arrived at the Sitka National Historical Park, we hiked through the forest and saw many wonderful totem poles before stopping at the Sitka National Historical Park Visitor Center where I purchased a book on Alaska Totem Poles. On the way back to town, we visited the Sheldon Jackson Museum. This small museum had many wonderful exhibits, but a large tour group entered while we were there and the museum became very crowded. After walking back to town, we stopped for a reindeer hot dog en route to see St. Michael’s Cathedral. With our Sitka visit complete, we took the shuttle bus back to the ship.

We enjoyed two more sea days before arriving at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on 9 September. Although the cruise did not end until returning to the Port of Seattle, we had arranged to disembark at Victoria. After clearing Canadian customs, we took a taxi to our hotel where we met up with our friends, Tom and Leslie, who had taken the ferry from Orcas Island, Washington, to Victoria. We always enjoy any opportunity to connect with Tom and Leslie. This time we took several hikes around Victoria and went to Butchart Gardens for a lunch reservation that I had made several months in advance. The gardens are always spectacular and the lunch in the dining room was exquisite. We will do lunch there again whenever we visit Victoria.

On 10 September, we traveled with Tom and Leslie on the ferry back to Orcas Island where we enjoyed several more days visiting with them. During our stay, we enjoyed Leslie’s world class cooking and attended a wonderful play at a small theater on Orcas. On Friday, 13 September, we took the ferry from Orcas Island to Anacortes, Washington, where we connected to the Bellair Airporter Shuttle Bus. John and Diane met us at the Seattle Airport for another four day visit with them at Federal Way.

During our stay at Federal Way, we took a couple of local sightseeing trips that included Flaming Geyser State Park, Soos Creek Botanical Garden, and the Tacoma History Museum. The Soos Creek Garden was just ok – most of the colorful flowers and vegetation were out of season – but hiking the trails were very nice. Flaming Geyser was a day trip and it also had some good trails to hike, although the flaming geyser was not flaming. We were very surprised at how wonderful the Tacoma History Museum actually was. The exhibits there were world class and the model railroad was beyond belief.

On Wednesday, 18 September, we flew back home to Los Angeles and reflected on what a great trip we had just experienced.

See pictures from Alaska

June 2019
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Travel Notes

On 25 April 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, toppling multi-story buildings in Kathmandu and creating landslides and avalanches in the Himalaya Mountains. According to the literature, nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 suffered injuries. It was the deadliest earthquake in the seismically active region in 81 years.The earthquake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, and only 17 days later, there was another major quake, a magnitude 7.3 temblor. Thirty-nine of the nation’s 75 districts with a population of 8 million people were affected. More than 600,000 homes were destroyed and more than 288,000 were damaged in the 14 worst-hit districts.

Since I had previously visited Nepal in 2011 and 2013, I wanted to return to Nepal to assess the recovery and reconstruction efforts of the damaged temples and structures following the devastating 2015 earthquake.

I contacted my good friend Chiranjibi Kafle who, along with his brother, Ishwar, operates Smile Travel. I requested that he arrange for specific hotel accommodations and a car with an English speaking driver for nine days. I also provided him with a list of places that I wanted to visit so that he could arrange the most efficient travel itinerary. He agreed and said that he would meet me when I arrived at the Kathmandu International Airport.

I arrived at Kathmandu, Nepal, on Saturday, 1 June 2019, at about 12:30 PM. After obtaining my Visa on Arrival and clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and located Chiran from Smile Travel who was waiting for me. He introduced me to Bissal who would be my driver for the next nine days in Nepal. We went to the Fuji Hotel where I stayed during my previous trips to Kathmandu. It survived the earthquake and had been remodeled. It is located in the Thamel district of Kathmandu with wonderful streets for walking to local restaurants and shops. After checking into the hotel and meeting with Chiran to firm up my itinerary for the next eight days, I took the remainder of the day to rest up from my travels.

Chiran met me Sunday morning, 2 June, to make sure that Bissal and I were all set for my first day of sightseeing. Bissal, who had spent time driving in Dubai prior to returning to Nepal, spoke very good English, and we had a wonderful time together for the next eight days. There were many areas within Kathmandu city with buildings still collapsed or with major structural damage from the earthquake.

Our first stop was at Swayambhunath, an ancient complex on top of a hill in the Kathmandu Valley. A large stupa dominates the complex along with a number of shrines and temples. I was relieved that the reconstruction of the complex was either very good or the complex did not suffer extreme damage from the earthquake. I spend a lot of time walking around the complex and taking some very nice photographs.

We continued on to visit Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I was astonished at the damage still remaining from the earthquake. In fact, the damage had been so extensive that I did not recognize it as I entered the square. After paying the fee to tour the area, I took photos of some of the temples which were destroyed and under reconstruction. I walked away convinced that the reconstruction effort there would never be able to match the detail of the original carved portions of the temples that existed before the earthquake.

On Monday morning, Bissal and I went to Patan Durbar Square, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. As I walked around the complex, I was intrigued by the reconstruction efforts underway. The reconstruction efforts were being funded by many different organizations and governments world-wide. Large posters were erected adjacent to many of the temples depicting photos of the temple before and after the earthquake along with renderings of the proposed reconstruction. Unfortunately, the detail in the reconstruction effort simply could not compare to pre-earthquake construction especially with regard to the erotic carvings on the temples.

While at Patan Durbar Square I was able to visit the Patan Museum that is located within a former palace. Since this museum was closed during my prior visits, this was an unexpected welcome opportunity. The museum was very nice with some fantastic exhibits that included a throne of the Patan Kings and a metalsmithing exhibit. While at Patan, I ate lunch at the same restaurant that I had eaten at during my 2013 visit to Patan.

After visiting Patan Durbar Square, we stopped for a short visit at the Sankhamul Ghats on our way back to the hotel. According to Bissal, these ghats are no longer being used for cremations.

On Tuesday, 4 June, Bissal and I set out to go to Dhulikhel where I would overnight for two nights at the Mirabel Resort hotel. It is a hotel situated on a hill with sweeping views on a clear day of the Himalaya Mountains across the valley. Unfortunately, the clear day views mostly occur during October so my sunrise views were obscured. I had stayed at the hotel during my 2013 visit, but the hotel recently had a change of ownership and the service was less than I was expecting.

We stopped at Bhaktapur, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, en route to Dhulikel. It is a very extensive site that was once the capital city of Nepal. Bhaktapur also suffered extensive damage with many buildings being shored up and braced from the outside. In addition, many buildings had collapsed and the reconstruction effort for many structures within the heritage site area was ongoing. Although there are no automobiles or buses allowed within the complex, there was a continuous flow of motorcycle and motorbikes dodging pedestrians on many of the very narrow streets. During my prior visit here, motorbikes and motorcycles were also restricted within the site.

While at the Durbar Square area of Bhaktapur, I noticed a temple that seemed to escape the carnage of the earthquake adjacent to a temple that had collapsed. The temple that survived still had the pre-earthquake erotic carvings on the roof struts which was a refreshing sight. The area around Pottery Square suffered extensive damage. It will take a long time to complete the restoration of Bhaktapur.

We continued on to visit Changu Naryan, another UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most ancient pilgrimage site in the Kathmandu Valley. This site dates back to the 3rd century AD and is considered to be the oldest temple in the history of Nepal. This was my first visit to this temple and I am very glad that I was able to see it. It contains, among other things, a historical stone pillar with a Sanskrit Language inscription engraved in Pre-Licchivi times. This is the oldest script in the Kathmandu Valley and the pillar was established by Licchivi King Mandev during 464 AD. The two story temple is famous for its erotic motifs that are depicted in the struts of the roof. This is a site that should not be missed during a visit to Nepal.

Our next stop was at the Kailashnath Mahadev Statue which sits high up on a hilltop overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. I had seen this statue from the highway during my prior visits to Nepal but this was the first time that I actually visited the statue. Measuring 44 meters (144 feet high), it is the tallest statue of Lord Shiva in the world. We continued on to the Mirabel Resort hotel where I spent the night.

Bissal picked me up at the hotel on Wednesday morning to drive to the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery (also known as Namo Buddha). This is a very beautiful Tibetan Buddhist monastery and is situated on top of a mountain. It was founded by V.V. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche in 1978 and has grown to become home to more than 250 monks. I was relieved that it looked the same as it did during my pre-earthquake visit.

After spending a second night at Dhulikhel, I checked out after breakfast, and Bissal drove me to Old Town Dhulikhel to visit some temples there. I had visited here during 2011 but did not remember much about that visit. After comparing my pre-earthquake photos to my current photos, I realized that Dhulikhel Old Town either did not suffer extensive damage to the temples or the ongoing reconstruction effort was progressing very well.

Our next stop was at the Dhulikhel Kali Temple on top of a mountain overlooking Dhulikhel and the valley toward the Himalaya Mountains. According to the literature, it is a shrine dedicated to the goddess of time, change, power, and creation. It is also a manifestation of Durga. Shiva is her consort and you can see his trident in front of the shrine. Of course, this is another viewpoint for a clear day which might come next October. This temple is also called the Temple of One Thousand Steps because a person can walk up the side of the mountain on concrete steps. Since we were somewhat short on time we drove up an unimproved road to the temple. There were a couple of hotels near the temple complex. I noticed a huge rock in the shape of a giant frog overlooking the valley with many people climbing upon it.

About half way down the mountain, the unimproved road crosses the concrete steps. We stopped here and hiked to visit the Golden Buddha Statue that overlooks the valley. It is an impressive statue and well worth a visit in connection with a visit to the Kali Temple.

We continued on to Panauti which is in the process of being classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is often referred to as Panauti Heritage City because it is like an open-air museum itself. It is situated at the confluence of two rivers and has many wonderful ancient temples. Old Panauti seemed to be very much as I remembered from my pre-earthquake visit. I was excited to find that many of the temples appeared to have suffered very little earthquake damage and required only a relatively small restoration effort. I visited the Panauti Museum and was impressed with the collection of exhibits. After visiting Panauti, we returned to the Fuji hotel.

Bissal picked me up the morning of Friday, 7 June, to drive me to Boudhanath, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Boudhanath Stupa suffered extensive earthquake damage that cracked the spire. The entire structure above the dome and the religious relics it contained were required to be completely removed. The reconstruction began on 3 November 2015, with the ritual placement of a new central pole or “life tree” for the stupa at the top of the dome. The magnificent reconstruction of the stupa appeared to be complete.

After visiting Boudhanath, we continued on to visit the Pashupatinath Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a famous and sacred Hindu temple complex situated on the banks of the Bagmati River. This complex also has cremation ghats that are still in use with several cremations in process. This temple complex, which dates from the 5th century, encompasses 264 hectares of land and includes 518 temples and monuments. It was pretty much as I remembered from my pre-earthquake visit and either suffered minor damage or the reconstruction efforts were very well done. I was delighted to see one of the temples that had the pre-earthquake erotic carvings on the roof struts.

We went from Pashupatinath to the Garden of Dreams where Bissal dropped me off. The Garden of Dreams is like a small serene oasis beautifully landscaped in central Kathmandu. I admired the architecture and took some wonderful photos as I walked around the garden before walking back to the hotel.

Saturday, 8 June, was to be my last full day in Nepal. Bissal picked me up to drive to visit the Chobar Gorge, the Jal Binayak Temple, and Kirtipur. Chobar Gorge is where the Bagmati River cuts through Chobar Hill. Geological studies have shown that the Kathmandu valley was once a large lake that drained southwest through Chobar Gorge. According to the literature, the narrow suspension bridge that spans the gorge was imported from a manufacturer in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1903. The bridge was transported to Nepal in pieces over the mountains and assembled at Chobar Gorge. The bridge is accessible on foot and provides a stunning viewpoint for the gorge. The gorge was exactly as I remembered it from my pre-earthquake visit.

The Jal Binayak Temple is situated on the river bank beside the Bagmati River at the downstream end of Chobar Gorge. When I visited this temple pre-earthquake it was the most colorful and interesting temple that I had seen in Nepal. I was looking forward to seeing it once again. Alas that was not to be as the temple was demolished during the earthquake and the reconstruction effort appears to be painstakingly slow. Most of the original roof struts that had been intricately carved and painted, were nowhere to be found. Most of the lower portion of the temple had been partially reconstructed and some people were there praying and sacrificing chickens at the temple. This temple had some of the best erotic carvings on the roof struts. Although it appears there is an attempt to reconstruct new roof struts, they will never be able to replicate the originals. My visit to this temple was the most disappointing moment of my trip.

We continued on to visit the ancient city of Kirtipur, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, located southwest of Kathmandu city. After visiting the Jal Binayak Temple, I was expecting to see extensive damage at the main temple in Kirtipur. Even though many buildings in Kirtipur were extensively damaged, I was surprised to find that the temple complex appeared to have escaped large damage and was pretty much as it was when I was there during my earlier visit. After visiting Kirtipur, we returned to the hotel and I began packing up to depart Nepal the next morning.

Bissal picked me up one last time on Sunday morning, 10 June, to drive me to the Kathmandu International Airport for my flight to Bangkok. I would overnight at Bangkok before flying back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Nepal

See pictures from the Mediterranean Cruise

April 2019
Mediterranean Cruise

Travel Notes

After Jan and I took a Holland America Voyage from Florida, USA, to Lisbon, Portugal, onboard the Holland America Prinsendam, we were booked to continue on another voyage from Lisbon to Rome, Italy, with our friends, Nancy and John. We arrived in Lisbon on Friday, 12 April 2019. Since we had visited Lisbon two times previously, we walked from the ship along the waterfront to the downtown area to purchase a local cappuccino and do some shopping before re-boarding to continue on to Rome.

The ship departed Lisbon at 11:00 PM and after one day at sea, we arrived at Cadiz, Spain, at 8:00 AM on Monday, 14 April, as the first port of call. Prior to disembarking at Cadiz, we decided that we wanted to visit Castle de San Sabastian, Castillo de Santa Catalina, Museo de Cadiz, and perhaps Parque Genoves. After disembarking, we took the Cadiz Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus through the old city wall, Puerta de Terra, and along the coast past the old Roman Theater ruins and the Cadiz Cathedral. We exited the bus at the Playa de La Caleta stop and walked past the La Palma Spa and through the gateway to Playa de La Caleta en route to Castle de San Sabastian. We walked along an embankment between the entrance gate to the beach and the castle. After walking past some local fishermen on the embankment, we arrived at Castle de San Sabastian which was closed to the public for some renovation. The embankment and the castle provided some excellent photo opportunities.

After visiting the castle, we continued walking to the Castillo de Santa Catalina, which was open and included an art exhibit contained within the castle. We continued walking to Parque Genoves, which is an authentic botanical garden, within the city center. The walk through the park was very interesting. We walked past the Church of Carmen en route to the Museo de Cadiz where photos were discouraged. The narrow streets were very picturesque as we continued to Plaza de Espana and the Constitution Monument. Continuing on, we walked past the San Agustin Church and a wall with signs discussing the Cadiz Meridian and its significance to early nautical navigation. We also visited the Plaza San Juan De Dios before walking back to the port. In retrospect, hiring a taxi to take us to the cathedral via Puerta de Terra would have been better than spending money on the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus.

The ship departed Cadiz at 11:00 PM and sailed overnight through the Strait of Gibraltar to arrive at Ceuta, Spain at 7:00 AM Ceuta is actually on the African Continent opposite the Rock of Gibraltar on the European Continent. A statue of Hercules pushing the continents apart stands at the Ceuta Harbor entrance. A second statue of Hercules is situated alongside the port at Plaza de la Constitution in the Ceuta city center. The Rock of Gibraltar is visible from Ceuta, and Hacho Mountain rises from the eastern end of the harbor with the Hacho Forterss dominating the summit of the mountain. After disembarking at Ceuta, we took a taxi to Castillo de Desnarigado on the northeastern slope of Hacho Mountain. This castle also houses the Desnarigado military museum, which was closed to the public during our brief visit. We continued on around the mountain to the Mirador de San Antonio viewpoint overlooking the Rock of Gibraltar.

The viewpoint provided spectacular panoramic views of Ceuta, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Rock of Gibraltar. We continued on to Playa la Ribera and left the taxi at the Spanish Legion Museum. We walked through the Central Market and continued on to see the Dragon House, Plaza de Los Reyes, and the Church of San Francisco. After returning to Playa la Ribera, we walked past the Santa Maria Cathedral en route to the extensive Complex of Royal Walls which provided passage between the walls for Phoenician ships in ancient times. The Regiment 30 Monument is prominently placed adjacent to the royal walls. The royal walls are extensive, very photogenic, and worth an extended visit. As we were returning to the ship, we walked through the Plaza de Africa and past both the Al-Idrisi and Henry the Navigator statues. Prior to departing Ceuta, the Maritime Park with the lighthouse was clearly visible from the ship.

The ship departed Ceuta at 4:00 PM and sailed overnight to Cartagena, Spain, arriving at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, 16 April. Since we had been to Cartagena previously, we wanted to visit the Underwater Archaeological Museum and walk through the old city to visit a tapas restaurant. I had visited the Underwater Archaeological Museum previously but only had approximately 15 minutes before they closed the museum. This time we had ample time to explore the museum and the marvelous exhibits on display. This is a wonderful museum that should not be missed when visiting Cartagena. We continued walking through the old city and found a tapas restaurant where we enjoyed a light lunch before returning to the ship.

The ship departed Cartagena at 2:00 PM, sailed overnight, and arrived at Barcelona, Spain, at 8:00 AM. We had visited Barcelona previously and took a taxi to the Picasso Museum for which we had booked a reservation in advance on the Internet. The Picasso Museum was amazing and should not be missed if visiting Barcelona. After touring the Picasso museum, we walked through the picturesque streets to the Central Market which was very colorful and provided many photo opportunities. The Barcelona Erotic Museum is situated across the street from the central market and houses one of the most extensive erotic exhibit collections that I have ever seen. After visiting the erotic museum we walked back through the old quarter to the shuttle bus back to the ship.

The ship departed Barcelona at 11:00 PM and, after one day at sea, we arrived at Alghero, Sardinia, Italy, at 8:00 AM on Friday, 19 April. Alghero is a very picturesque city with a castle, city walls, and watch towers overlooking the port. We had booked the Sardinia Sights excursion and our first stop was to visit Palmavera, which is an ancient Nuraghi cultural site with round towers and huts. This site would have been much more interesting if I had seen the “Ancient Aliens” television show about the land of the giants before visiting Sardinia. After realizing that Sardinia is home to many wonderful archaeological sites, I will return to spend more time here with a rental car exploring ancient sights of the island. The tour continued through the National Park of Porto Conte and through the Sede del Parco en route to Capo Caccia where we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking Foradado Island. We were also able to view the lighthouse before driving past the ancient Roman Bridge and Torre del Buru as we drove back to the old Alghero city center. As we walked through the old town, we were able to see the Tower of Sulis, the Tower of San Giovanni, and get a glimpse of the top of the Church of San Michele. After stopping to visit the Church of San Francesco, we continued walking through the old town, past the Tower of Ports Terra and the old city walls, as we made our way back to the port.

The ship departed Alghero at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to arrive at Ajaccio, Corsica, France, at 8:00 AM on Saturday, 20 April. We decided to explore Ajaccio on our own and walked along the large Ajaccio Citadel, which is situated by the ocean between the port and the Plage St. Francis beach. We continued walking through the picturesque narrow streets and through the markets at Place Foch. I continued on to explore Place de Gaulle, a large square with a big statue of Napoleon on a horse, accompanied by his four brothers.

I continued on to Place du Telethon which is situated in front of the Cathedral where Napoleon was baptized. After passing the John the Baptist Church, I visited the Maison Bonaparte House Museum. It is the house where Napoleon was born and both the house and the exhibits on display were very impressive. As I walked back to the port, I walked through a narrow street with several quaint interesting restaurants and stopped to enjoy a wonderful local cappuccino.

The ship departed Ajaccio at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to arrive at Portoferraio, Elba, Italy, at 8:00 AM on Sunday, 21 April. Sailing into the port of Portoferraio is very picturesque. Cosimo I, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, had the Medicean Ramparts constructed to protect Portoferraio from Turkish attacks. These magnificent walls seem to rise up from the sea and include the Bastion Medici and the Torre del Martello. Since I had already booked the “Hiking the Slopes of Mt. Capanne” excursion, I did not have time to explore the ramparts and hope visit them on a future return visit to Elba.

The excursion that I had booked began with a bus trip to the village of Marciana. While en route to Marciana, the tour guide pointed to a valley where the residence of Napoleon was located during the time that he was sent into exile on the island of Elba. We drove along the coast to the beach town of Marciana Marina before driving up the slope of Mount Capanne to the town of Marciana. After hiking through very picturesque Marciana, we continued hiking along the slope of the mountain with stunning landscape and panoramic views. Our guide told us that many wild pigs inhabit the area and pointed out a wild pig trap as we hiked nearby it. We hiked under the Mt. Capanne Cableway which transports people the village of Marciana Marina to the top of Mount Capanne in yellow cages. Each cage will accommodate a maximum of two people who must stand in the cage during the entire twenty minute trip each way. We continued on to the old Church of San Cerbone and then to the village of Poggio.

Poggio is another very picturesque village and we stopped to have lunch at Restorante Publius, a very upscale restaurant where we had a marvelous four course lunch with wine. We walked from the restaurant to rejoin our tour bus for the drive back to the port.

The ship departed Portoferraio at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to arrive at Porto, Isla di Porto, Italy, about 7:00 AM on Monday, 22 April. This was a tender port and, since the sea conditions were too turbulent for us tender to the port, the Captain cancelled the visit to Porto and continued on to Naples, Italy. We were actually happy that Porto port of call visit was cancelled because we would arrive at Naples around noon one day ahead of schedule and give us an extra day at Naples. This would also allow us to visit the Naples Archaeological Museum on Monday afternoon, as this museum is closed on Tuesdays.

We arrived at Naples around noon and after disembarking, John, Nancy, Jan, and I shared a taxi to visit the archaeological museum which would be open until quite late that night. We spent several hours visiting the wonderful exhibits in the museum including the Secret Cabinet collection of erotic exhibits. The artifacts on display from Pompeii were very impressive.

Jan and I went on the small group “Mt. Vesuvius” tour on Tuesday, 23 April. We traveled by bus along the Bay of Naples to Mount Vesuvius where we hiked up to the crater and walked around the rim of the crater. Unfortunately for us, the weather was inclement and we were hiking in the clouds with very limited visibility. While hiking around the rim of the crater with zero visibility both into the crater and down the side of the mountain toward Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the sea, I finally purchased a tour book with photos of the sights that we did not see. Based on the tour book photos, I would like to visit Mount Vesuvius on a clear day sometime in the future. Visibility had improved somewhat by the time we returned to the ship.

We departed Naples at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to arrive at Civitavecchia, Italy, the cruise port for Rome, Italy, at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, 24 April. Since this was the end of our voyage, we disembarked and took a local minibus to our hotel near the Fiumicino Airport where we stayed the night before flying back home to Los Angeles the following day.

See pictures from the Atlantic Crossing

March/April 2019
Atlantic Crossing

Travel Notes

Jan and I flew to Ft Lauderdale, Florida, to board the 18-Day Casablanca & Canary Islands Explorer Holland America Voyage. This voyage would go from Ft. Lauderdale to Madeira, Portugal; three ports of call in the Canary Islands; three ports of call in Morocco; and two ports of call in Portugal ending at Lisbon, Portugal.

We boarded the Holland America Prinsendam on Monday, 25 March 2019, to begin our journey. Later that day we met up with John and Nancy with whom we had sailed on two prior voyages. We were delighted to re-connect on this voyage and shared many meals and activities throughout the voyage.

After eight days at sea, we arrived at Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, on Wednesday morning, 3 April. Madeira is an island situated off the coast of Africa approximately 1,000 kilometers southwest of Lisbon, Portugal. We were scheduled to spend two days here before continuing on to the Canary Islands.

Since we had visited Madeira previously, we walked from the ship along the waterfront to the marina where we saw the galleon ship, Santa Maria de Colombo, a replica of the ship sailed by Christopher Columbus to the New World during 1492. After taking some photos of the ship, we walked past the Palacio de Sao Lourenco and Fort and followed Avenida Zarco toward the center of town. After passing a monument to Zarco, we continued along Rua das Pretas to visit the Natural History Museum. We went from the museum, past a Jesuit university and church, to the Funchal Municipal Plaza. Both the Jesuit church and Funchal City Hall face the plaza.

We visited City Hall where the “Weirdness” art exhibit was in progress. We observed some of the artwork on display and looked at the areas currently open to the public. We then continued walking through the city to the Funchal Cathedral and back to the marina where I noticed that the Santa Maria de Colombo also took passengers on short day trips. Although the ticket office was closed due to poor weather, a person on the ship said that it would sail the next day if the weather was acceptable. I decided to return early the following morning to try to purchase tickets for a voyage for us.

Back on board, John and Nancy said that they would like to join us if we could get tickets the following morning. Early on the morning of 4 April I walked back to the marina and, after waiting for the ticket office to open, I secured tickets for us to sail on the Santa Maria de Colombo. The trip took us several kilometers offshore and then northwest along the coast to a location near Faja dos Padres. Towering above us was Cabo Giro, a lookout area 550 meters high frequented by tourists. Cabo Giro is often referred to as the second-highest sea cliff in the world. We also got a good look at the Faja dos Padres Elevator that was installed in 1998. In addition, we also saw the Faja dos Padres Cable Car that was installed in 2016. Prior to the installation of the elevator and cable car, the only access to Faja dos Padres was by boat. On the way back to the marina, we sailed past the fishing village, Camara de Lobos. Since Jan and I had visited both Cabo Giro and Camara de Lobos on our prior trip to Madeira, we enjoyed viewing them from an offshore vantage point. Before returning to the Prinsendam, we took one last walk through portions of the downtown area.

We departed Funchal at 5:00 PM to sail overnight approximately 650 kilometers south to Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Canary Islands, Spain, arriving at 10:00 AM on 5 April. We decided to spend the day visiting the Santa Cruz Museum of Nature and Man, the Inglesia de La Concepción church, and the UNESCO Old Town Santa Cruz de la Palma. As we walked from the ship, we passed the Plaza de Espana with a beautiful pond that had been constructed above the ruins of Castillo de San Cristobal. As we continued on to the museum we walked past the Theatro Guiomer opera house and the Inglesia de La Concepción which is the only church in the Canary Islands that has five naves.

The Santa Cruz Museum of Nature and Man had superb exhibits. In addition to the history of the volcanic origin of the Canary Islands, models of ancient settlement archaeological sites found on the islands of Fuerteventura, Gran Canary, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote, and La Palma were on display. While visiting the island of La Palma, we drove past the same archaeology site that was on display here. The extensive museum anthropology exhibits included excavated skeletal displays and mummies. The mummies were some of the best preserved that I had ever seen.

After leaving the museum I walked to the nearest Line 1 Tram Stop and purchased a ticket to go to San Cristobal de La Laguna where the historic quarter was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Historical Site in 1999. My first stop was at the La Laguna Cathedral which was originally built in the 16th Century as the Parish of the Remedies. It was established as a Cathedral in 1819 and was rebuilt into its current form in the early 20th Century. I continued walking through the historic quarter and visited the Lercaro Palace which houses the Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife. The mansion architecture, courtyards, and museum exhibits made the visit very worthwhile. According to the legend of Catalina Lercaro, who killed herself, this mansion/museum is the most famous "haunted mansion" of the Canary Islands.

I continued walking among the wonderful old historic quarter and enjoyed a local burrito at the quaint Con Limon Taqueria restaurant. After lunch, with the help of Google Maps, I returned to the tram stop and returned to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. I walked back to Plaza de Espana to take some additional photos before returning to the ship.

We departed Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 11:00 PM and, after sailing overnight to La Palma Island, we arrived at Santa Cruz de La Palma on Saturday, 6 April. Jan and I went on the North Island Nature Walk excursion where the Mirador de San Bartolo de la Galga viewpoint was the first stop. In addition to the spectacular panoramic views, there was a platform with celestial information and the “lover’s jump statue” of a broken-hearted shepherd boy jumping from the mountain. The tour continued to the Los Tilos Forest where we walked along a deep gorge with lush vegetation to a waterfall with only a small amount of water dripping down the face of the cliff. The tour continued on along the San Andreas coast through the town of San Andreas y Sauces to the coast near the natural pools of Charcol Azul. From here, we walked along the San Andreas Coast to the town of San Andreas while admiring spectacular coastline views. After lunch in the Old Quarter of San Andreas, we went back to the port. Before reboarding the ship, we walked through a portion of Old Town Santa Cruz de La Palma and past the Town Hall to the Plaza de Espana. After a brief visit to the beach, we returned to the ship for a 5:00 PM departure to the Lanzarote Island where we arrived at Arrecife at 8:00 AM on Sunday, 7 April.

Lanzarote is sometimes referred to as “Isla de Fuego” since it has 300 volcanic peaks. I went on the Timanfaya Moonscape Trekking excursion to the Timanfaya National Park which encompasses the volcanic landscape surrounding the Fire Mountains. It stretches across 19 square miles of Lanzatote’s northwest coast. The fire Mountains resulted from dramatic volcanic eruptions between 1730 and 1736. After a bus ride to the park, we hiked to and through the volcanic crater of the first 1730 volcano eruption. The volcanic landscape was dramatic, and we hiked to view several lava gorges, volcanic canals, and lava tubes. The guide cut the hike short due to some older people on the hike and added a stop at a winery on the return to the ship.

We departed Arrecife at 5:00 PM and, after sailing overnight, we arrived at Agadir, Morocco, on Monday, 8 April. Agadir seems to be best known as a beach resort city for European visitors. Although Agadir has some interesting sightseeing destinations, since we had a 1:00 PM departure, we decided to walk in the vicinity of the beach area. After taking a shuttle bus from the port to a downtown adjacent popular beach area, we walked to the expansive public beach with several small sections reserved for guests of the hotels that were situated uphill from the beach. The beach was very clean and several people were offering rides on their camels. We walked uphill through the Berber market area before descending a stairway through a mini-souk leading back down to the beach and returned to the port.

After departing Agadir, we sailed overnight and arrived at Casablanca, Morocco, on Tuesday, 9 April. John, Nancy, Jan, and I had booked a private tour for sightseeing at both Casablanca and Rabat with a stop for lunch at Rick’s Café. We located our guide after disembarking and began our tour with the first stop at the Hassan II Mosque from which we could see the El Hank Lighthouse in the distance. The Hassan II Mosque is magnificent both inside and outside. Our next stop was at the Tropicana Beach Club for photos of the surrounding landscape and of a sign with a picture of the Morocco Royal Family. We drove past the Casablanca Cathedral en route to the Mohammed V Square. The cathedral is now open to the public as a museum. The new Casablanca Grand Theater is currently being constructed across the street from the square. The square is a popular tourist destination and features a beautiful fountain and people dressed up in traditional Moroccan attire.

The next stop was in the Jewish Quarter at the Temple Beth-El. We visited the temple where we were able to photograph the interior and the beautiful stained glass windows. We continued to the New Medina for a quick stop at a tourist shop and then to the Old Medina where we walked through a portion of the Central Market. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Rick’s Café before driving to Rabat.

We drove past a Rabat lighthouse near the Kasbah of the Udayas where we walked downhill through the garden inside the Kasbah. Since we were time-limited, we were unable to visit within the main interior portion of the Kasbah. We continued on to the Hassan Tower, which is the minaret of an incomplete mosque. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third Calif of the Almohad Caliphate, in 1195. The tower was intended to be the world’s largest but construction on the mosque stopped when al-Mansur died in 1199. At 44 m (140 ft) high, the tower is approximately half of its intended 86 m (260 ft) height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete with only the beginnings of several walls and 348 columns being constructed. The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is situated on the opposite side of the Hassan Tower.

The next stop was at the Chellah, a fortified medieval Muslim necropolis. The Phoenicians established a trading emporium at the site and it was later the site of an ancient Roman colony. The Berber Almohads used the site as a burial ground and the Marinids, who rebuilt the site during the 13th century, built a complex that included a mosque, minaret, and royal tombs. Many of the remaining ruins are now the home to white storks that nest on top of the ruins.

The last stop at Rabat was at Dar al-Makhzen, the primary and official residence of the king of Morocco. We were able to view the main residence from a distance and take a couple of photos before driving back to Casablanca.

Since it was late in the afternoon, the traffic on the main highway in the vicinity of Casablanca was near gridlock. Our guide and driver decided to take an alternate route through the Old Quarter in hopes of making the travel time shorter. The traffic in the Old Quarter was some of the most congested that I have ever witnessed. When we finally returned to the port, our tour had lasted for more than ten hours.

We departed Casablanca at 9:00 PM and, after sailing overnight, arrived at Tangier, Morocco, on Wednesday, 10 April at 8:00 AM. Jan and I went on the Tangier Highlights excursion which began with a walking tour at the Bab Al Kasba entrance and continued through the Kasbah of Tangier to the Kasbah Museum. After visiting the Kasbah Museum, we exited the Kasbah and continued walking through the Tangier Medina which is also referred to as the Grand Socco. The Grand Socco was reminiscent of walking through portions of Old Jerusalem.

We were served a light snack at the Continental Hotel before exiting the medina to board a bus to continue driving through the diplomatic district and on to Cap Spartel. Cap Spartel is the geographical dividing point with the Atlantic Ocean to the west meeting the Mediterranean Sea to the east. Before departing Cap Spartel to return to the port, we also visited the Grotto of Hercules which has two openings, one to land and the other to the ocean.

We departed Tangier at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to Portimao, Portugal, arriving Portimao at 8:00 AM on Thursday, 11 April. Jan and I went on the Moorish City of Silves excursion with the first stop at a viewpoint overlooking Silves. The panoramic views were spectacular from the viewpoint with the Silves Cathedral and the Moorish Castle dominating the hilltop above the old city. We passed a Roman bridge as we entered Silves. We walked from the bus through the Central Market and continued uphill through the wall into the old city en route to the castle. We walked past the Cathedral just before arriving at the gate to the Moorish castle. The castle was a very impressive structure with many photo opportunities. After visiting the castle, we visited the Silves Archaeological Museum before returning to the port.

We departed Portimao at 5:00 PM and sailed overnight to Lisbon, Portugal, arriving Lisbon on Friday, 12 April at 7:00 AM. Since this was the end of the Atlantic Ocean Crossing portion of a collector voyage to Rome, Italy, we disembarked to walk to downtown Lisbon to drink a cappuccino and did a bit of shopping. It had been a wonderful voyage across the Atlantic Ocean with wonderful ports of call to visit.

November 2018
Chengdu, China

Travel Notes

I wanted to return to Xinjiang Province, China, in November 2018. However, after I booked roundtrip travel from the USA to Chengdu, China, I determined that ten days in China would not allow sufficient time for an adequate return trip to Xinjiang. As a fallback position, I researched possible day trips from Chengdu and decided to stay in Chengdu. I also arranged for an early morning check in at the Chengdu Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza hotel prior to departing for China.

I arrived at Chengdu, China, on Friday, 2 November 2018 at about 6:00 AM. After clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and took a local taxi to my hotel. The hotel front desk was expecting me and my room was ready for my immediate occupancy. I frequently stay at this hotel when I am in Chengdu, and its downtown location is very convenient. The entrance to the Dongmen Bridge Metro Station is less than 50 meters from the front door of the hotel. The popular Chunxi Street district is also only a short walk from the hotel.

I spent the first couple of days walking around the Chunxi Street district and researching possible daytrips and rail transportation to various destinations in and nearby Chengdu that I had not previously visited. I finally decided that I would take three high speed rail trips to three different UNESCO World Heritage Sites and used Ctrip on my computer to make my high speed train ticket reservations. The following day I took the metro to the Chengdu East Railway station and purchased my high speed train tickets. I was now ready to explore several local Chengdu sites as well as the three high speed rail day trips.

I chose the Jinsha Site Museum for my first day trip visit. This major archaeological site in Chengdu’s western suburbs was discovered in 2001 and contains ruins of the 3,000 year old Shu Kingdom. It covers an area of approximately 38,000 square meters (9 acres) and includes a Relics Hall, an Exhibition Hall, and an Ecological Garden. Altogether, 63 sacrificial spots, 6,000 pieces of precious relics, over 70 building sites, and 3 centralized cemeteries have been unearthed here. Compared to other sites of this same time period, it has the most concentrated ancient ivory, the most gold articles and the most jade. This museum is on the list of Important Monuments under Special Preservation by the State Council. The famous gold Jinsha Sunbirds Foil is exhibited here and has become the symbol of China’s cultural legacy.

On Tuesday, 6 November, I took the metro from the hotel to the station closest to the Jinsha Site. I arrived at the site and visited the Relics Hall first. It is an impressive open span structure with an area of 7,000 square meters (2 acres) with column-free space above the excavation site. There are walkways both around and through the site with photos and written descriptions at the locations of the most precious relic excavations. I continued on to the Exhibition Hall which consisted of a basement and three floors above ground. The enormous collection of exhibits is amazing and wonderfully displayed. This is a must-see Chengdu attraction.

The morning of Wednesday, 7 November, I took the high speed railway to Dujiangyan City to visit the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, the oldest and only surviving no-dam irrigation system in the world. This irrigation system was invented around 250 BC during the Warring States period by Li Bing. He gave up on the old ways of dam building, which were mainly directed at flood control, and devised a new method of channeling and dividing the water of the Min River. He accomplished this by separating the project into two main parts: the headwork and the irrigation system. This system has functioned for 2,000 years to prevent floods and to provide substantial irrigation. In 2000, Dujiangyan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After arriving at Dijiangyan City, I first explored two of the ornate bridges over a portion of the Minjiang River before paying for admission and entering the Dijiangyan Irrigation Site. I hiked along the main picturesque path to a temple that was overlooking the river with one segment of the Anlan Suspension Bridge visible at some distance upstream. The literature describes this bridge as the most scenic place of the entire irrigation project. I continued hiking upstream along the artificial island to the Anlan Bridge. It was comprised of two segments that spanned the entire river from the island. Only one segment is open to pedestrians and I walked across that segment to the other side where I had the option of hiking along and over the mountains downstream or returning to the island and hiking back downstream. Since I was marginal on time to return to the train station, I opted to return the way that I had come to the bridge. After a short taxi ride to the railway station, I took the high speed train back to Chengdu.

On Thursday, 8 November, I took the metro to visit the Yongling Museum that is built on the foundations of the Yongling Mausoleum, the only known above ground imperial tomb in China. It is also known as the Tomb of Wang Jian, the founder of the Former Shu Regime during a chaotic period after the Tang Dynasty, who ruled as emperor of the Shu Kingdom.

The Yongling Mausoleum has a circular base 80 meters (262 feet) in diameter and stands 15 meters (48 feet) high with 14 archways made of gray bricks. Wooden doors partition the burial chamber into three sections. The first section serves as an aisle. The coffin platform of Wang Jian occupies the middle section and a platform with a stone statue of Wang Jian occupies the back section. The tomb interior is decorated with carvings of dancers, musicians, and murals. The tomb had been looted prior to its discovery during a 1942 archaeological excavation. The Exhibition Hall is a three story building with exhibits from the life and times of Wang Jiang. It also contains the remaining artifacts, including the jade belt, left behind when the tomb was looted. In addition, the area surrounding the mausoleum is known as Yongling Park which provides a wonderful tranquil environment with pavilions, statues, and enchanting landscapes.

I decided to walk from Yongling Park to the Sichuan Museum. I took a photo of the Diajiang Cottage and ate lunch at a wonderful small Chinese Halal restaurant. As I continued walking, I came upon a beautiful street with sculptures and a center median that divided wonderful ancient-like buildings on both sides. As I arrived at the river, I photographed a bridge and a beautiful pagoda. After I arrived at the Sichuan Museum, I realized that I had visited this museum on a previous trip to Chengdu. The museum has very nice exhibits of bronze, jade, and Buddhist statuary. Since it was already late afternoon, I walked to the closest metro station and returned to my hotel.

On Friday, 9 November, I took the high speed train to the Mount QingCheng UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount QingCheng is also known as Qingchenshan. When I arrived at the Qingchenshan railway station, I found that I needed to take either a bus or taxi for the fourty minute drive to the Qingchengshan entrance. By the time I arrived at the entrance, I realized that I should have allowed at least two days for a visit to this site. After entering the site, I walked through the Tia’an Ancient City, which was very picturesque, and across the Weijiang Rope Bridge. I then rode the Jinli Ropeway up the mountain to the Upper Jinli Ropeway stop which was about midway up the mountain. From here I hiked a trail that went around the mountain to Jade-Green Lake until I had to turn back if I wanted to be able to keep my ticketed seat on the high speed train back to Chengdu. There is another ropeway called the White Cloud Ropeway which goes much higher to a station relatively close to the summit. Even though the weather was overcast, the scenery was spectacular, and I decided I would like to return during a future trip to China.

On Saturday, 10 November, I took the high speed train to the Mount Emei UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount Emei is also known as Emeishan. The entrance to Emeishan is also a long bus ride from the Emeishan railway station. This site is another place that I should have allowed a minimum of two days to visit. I took a bus to the Wuxian Parking Lot entrance to Emeishan and determined that I only had enough time to explore a portion of the Qingyin Pavilion Scenic Area.

Since I had multiple hiking routes available, I decided to hike toward the wild monkey area. I hiked along the river past Qingyin Lake and crossed a stone bridge with monkey head sculptures along the side rails. I continued on to the twin bridges with a pavilion where a sign said that this was the best place to take photos at Emeishan. After taking some photos, I continued on to the Qingyin Pavilion where I made a quick visit before continuing on toward the wild monkey area. I passed an area with exquisite rock carved statuary and continued on the trail until my watch indicated that I needed to return to catch my train back to Chengdu. Since there are multiple places that provide lodging accommodations at various locations on Emeishan, I plan to spend some time here during a return trip to China.

Sunday, 11 November, was my last day at Chengdu, and I decided to take the metro to Tianfu Square to visit the Chengdu Museum. The Chengdu Museum is located adjacent to Tianfu Square in a relatively new building with multiple floors of exhibits. I was most impressed with the huge exhibitions of puppetry that included both shadow puppets and marionette puppets, as well as theatrical costumes. There were also exhibits of Chengdu Sichuan cuisine, early Chengdu street fast food vendors, and early Chengdu lifestyles. In addition to a Chengdu teahouse exhibit, there was a boat coffin from the Warring States Period. There were also many interesting bronze exhibits including a bronze chess set.

This museum concluded my sightseeing, and I departed Chengdu on Monday, 12 November, to fly back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Chengdu

October 2018
Jordan

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at Amman, Jordan on Wednesday, 10 October, and were met at the airport by a representative of Bridge Travel, the agency that we had contracted with for our tour of Jordan. He helped us navigate the immigration process into Jordan and escorted us to an area in front of the terminal where he introduced us to Kamel who would be our driver for the tour. Kamel drove us to our hotel and informed us that two ladies from Canada would also be accompanying us on the tour. After checking into the hotel, Kamel said that he would meet us in the hotel lobby at 8:00 AM the following morning to begin our five day sightseeing tour of Jordan.

We joined Kamel and the two Canadian ladies, Kathy and Sandy, to begin the first full day of our five day Jordan tour in the very comfortable small bus. Our first stop was at Mount Nebo which is located in the Madaba Governorate and has an elevation of 710 meters (2,300 feet) above sea level. This is mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land, and to the north, a more limited view of the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day. Some scholars believe that Moses was buried here.

The remains of a Byzantine church and monastery were discovered on Mount Nebo in 1933. The church had been constructed during the second half of the 4th century AD to commemorate the place of Moses’ death. The church was enlarged in the late 5th century AD and rebuilt in AD 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a pilgrimage made by a lady Aetheria in AD 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor of the church. A modern chapel was built to protect the site and the remnants of the mosaic floors from different periods. This chapel was closed for renovation from 2007 until 2016.

A serpentine cross sculpture (the Brazen Serpent Monument) on the summit was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni in 2005. It is symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

Pope John Paul II visited Mount Nebo in March 2000 and planted an olive tree beside the Byzantine chapel as a symbol of peace. Pope Benedict XVI visited the site in 2009, gave a speech, and looked from the summit in the direction of Jerusalem.

Our next stop was at the town of Madaba, the capital city of the Madaba Governorate and once a Moabite border city. During the rule of the Roman and Byzantine empires from the end of the 2nd to 7th centuries, the city formed part of the Provincia Arabia set up by Roman Emperor Trajan to replace the Nabathaean kingdom of Petra. Here we visited the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George to see the famous 4th century Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor of the church. The map depicted many places including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho, the Nile Delta, Kerak, St. Lot’s Monastery, and Hebron. We had seen a photo of this mosaic map when we visited the Roman agora in Old Jerusalem and it was very exciting to see the original mosaic map in person.

Our next stop was at the town of Al-Karak, the capital city of the Karak Governorate, and home to the Kerak Crusader castle. Al-Karak has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age and was an important city to the Moabites. It has an elevation of 930 meters (3,051 feet) above sea level and is surrounded on three sides by a valley. The town is built of a plateau with the castle at the narrow southern tip. The castle was originally built during 1132 and has been modified many times. The castle was in the hands of the Crusaders for 46 years. After being threatened by Saladin’s armies several times, it finally surrendered in 1188 following a siege that lasted more than a year. The main significance of the castle was its control over the caravan route between Damascus and Egypt.

As we continued en route to Petra, we stopped for a short visit at Shoubak village where we saw what is billed as the “World’s Smallest Hotel,” an old Volkswagen beetle that had been converted into a hotel room in front of a cave dwelling for a man who served tea to us. He gave me three ancient coins and an interesting fossil while we were there.

The Montreal Crusader castle (also referred to as Shoubak castle) was situated on the summit of a mountain overlooking this location. The Montreal castle was originally built during 1115 AD as a Crusader castle. It was strategically important because it also dominated the main passage between Egypt and Syria. After a siege lasting nearly two years, the castle fell to Saladin in 1189. We drove past the Montreal Crusader castle after departing Shoubak as we continued our journey to the town of Petra where we would spend the night.

Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Ma’an Governorate at an elevation of 810 meters (2,657 feet) above sea level. Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9,000 BC, and was possibly established in the 4th century BC as Nabatea, the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra’s proximity to major trade routes. The Nabataeans established Petra as a major trading hub. In 106 AD, Petra fell to the Romans who annexed and renamed Nabatea to Arabia Petra. Petra’s importance declined as sea routes emerged and after a 363 AD earthquake destroyed many structures. By the early Islamic era, Petra became an abandoned place where only a few nomads lived. It remained unknown to the world until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. It is also the place where Moses’ brother, Aaron, is buried at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. A mountaintop shrine to Moses’ sister, Miriam, was still shown to pilgrims at the time of Jerome in the 4th century, but its location has not been identified since.

On Friday morning, 12 October, Kamel introduced us to our guide for the UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site of Petra. We walked from our hotel to the entrance of Pertra Archaeological Park where the guide purchased our admission tickets. We entered through the eastern entrance by walking past the Bab Al Siq monument, known as the the gateway to the Siq, and through the 1.2 kilometer long famous Al Siq, a deep narrow gorge passage in some places only 3 to 4 meters wide, to the main portion of Petra where Petra’s most impressive facade, Al Khazneh (popularly known as “the Treasury”), is hewn into the sandstone cliff. The Treasury is nearly 40 meters high and is believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean King Aretas IV.

Our English speaking guide was wonderful and took great care to describe the various features and areas of Petra that we visited. We walked along the Street of Facades past the Theater which is unique in that it is carved completely into the sandstone rock. The Royal Tombs are located further along and across the Street of Facades from the Theater. We continued on to the Colonnaded Street which was a Roman shopping area and past the Great Temple Complex. Across from the Great Temple, I decided to ride a mule up the Al-Deir (Monastery) Trail with more than 730 ancient steps up a mountain gorge with steep cliffs while Jan, Kathy, and Sandy decided to visit The Church where floor mosaics have been preserved.

The Al-Deir Trail was 2.5 kilometers up to the Al-Dier (popularly known as “the Monastery”). The Monastery is Petra’s largest monument and dates from the 1st century BC. It is carved into a mountaintop and measures 47 meters wide and 48.3 meters high. According to information inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery, it was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the God. After visiting the Monastery, I rode the mule back down the Al-Dier Trail and then walked back to the main entrance where I met up with Jan, Kathy, Sandy, and Kamal.

After visiting Petra, we drove to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wadi Rum (also known as Valley of the Moon). In Arabic, “wadi” means valley and Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan. Wadi Rum is a desert with an elevation of 1,750 meters (5,741 feet) above sea level. It was featured in the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia and is credited with kick-starting Jordan’s tourism industry. This portion of our tour should have been billed as an overnight Bedouin desert experience with a Bedouin dinner and breakfast along with a jeep tour.

After checking into our hotel, Desert Planet Camp, Kathy, Sandy, and I went on the jeep Safari Wadi Rum billed as one of the most impressive desert landscapes in the world with sand dunes and the Nabataen rock inscriptions. I must confess that, although the Nabataen rock petroglyphs were interesting, this tour was nothing special. I have seen better desert landscapes in other places during my worldwide travels.

While our other hotels were rated as four star hotels, this hotel would barely rate as a one star hotel. The Bedouin dinner was good but the morning breakfast was subpar. While other hotel camps at Wadi Rum got very good reviews, this hotel camp got many bad reviews. What could have been a wonderful unique desert experience turned out to be just so-so. My visit to the Tar Desert in western India was by far superior to this Wadi Rum experience.

Early Saturday morning, 13 October, we drove to the Wadi Rum Hejaz Train Station to see the refurbished locomotive complete with vintage rail cars. The Hejaz Railway train originally ran from Istanbul to Medina and Mecca via Damascus and Wadi Rum. It provided the main line of communication and supplies within the Ottoman Turkish Empire. During the Great Arab Revolt, the Arabs fought a guerilla-style war interrupting train passages on the Hejaz Railway. In the first three weeks of May 1918 alone, the Arabs destroyed railway tracks on 25 separate occasions, wreaking havoc on Turkish lines of communication, and were instrumental in defeating the Turks. On certain occasions, visitors may pay to board this train at Wadi Rum and partake in a mock battle during a show put on by the Jordan Heritage Revival Company.

After arriving at Aqaba to visit the Red Sea, we decided to take a glass bottom boat tour on the Red Sea and saw a military tank submerged in the sea and some very nice coral. Jan went snorkeling among the coral while Kathy and Sandy swam near the boat. Jan said that the coral was so good that she would like to include the Red Sea as a destination on any future Middle Eastern trips. After returning to the hotel, we relaxed and went for a walk around the market area of Aqaba.

On Sunday, 14 October, we drove to the Jordan resort hotel zone area at the Dead Sea and checked into our hotel. The Dead Sea is the lowest point in the world at 394 meters (1,269 feet) below sea level and the water is too salty for marine inhabitation. It is naturally endorheic with the Jordan River being its only major source. Jan and I hiked down from the hotel to the beach area where Jan went floating in the sea and Dead Sea mud was available for tourists to cover their bodies for health benefits.

Kamel met us early Monday morning and drove Jan and me north to the town of Jerash, the capital city of Jerash Governorate with an elevation of 600 meters (1,968 feet) above sea level. We visited the ancient Roman city of Gerasa which was later named Jerash. Ancient Greek inscriptions from the city support that the city was founded by Alexander the Great and his General Perdiccas, who allegedly settled aged Macedonian soldiers there during the spring of 331 BC. Other sources point to a founding by King Antioch IV while other sources attribute the founding to Ptolemy II of Egypt. The Romans conquered the city in 63 BC. In AD 106, the Roman Emperor Trajan constructed roads throughout the province bringing more trade to Jerash. The Emperor Hadrian visited Jerash during AD 129-130 and the Arch of Hadrian was built to commemorate his visit. Jerash is considered to be one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy.

Kamel introduced us to our English speaking guide, Mohammed, who led us through the archaeological site with wonderful descriptions of the ruins. Jerash included a hippodrome, two Roman amphitheaters, the oval Forum, a colonnaded street, the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Artemis, a Nymphaeum fed by an aquaduct, and a Hebrew-Aramaic mosaic. The city flourished until 749 AD when the Galilee earthquake destroyed large parts of it. The subsequent 847 Damascus earthquake contributed to additional destruction. Jerash was a marvelous site and should not be missed when visiting Jordan.

We continued to the town of Ajloun, the capital town of the Ajloun Govenornate with an elevation of 719 meters (2,508 feet) above sea level. We visited the Ajloun Castle which is located on the site of an old monastery at the summit of Auf Mountain. The castle was constructed as a fort in 1184 by Izz al-Din Usama, a general in Saladin’s army and was one of the very few Muslim fortresses built by the Ayyubids to protect their realm against Crusader incursions. After Kerak castle fell to the Saladin Ayyrubids in AD 1187, the Ajloun castle lost its military importance. The castle was renovated several times prior to a recent restoration program by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. We hired an English speaking guide who provided us with a very informative tour of the castle.

After visiting the Ajloun Castle, Kamel drove us back to Amman and took us on what was described as a panorama tour of Amman. This tour drove us through the old section of Amman, the new section of Amman, and to the Amman Citadel before taking us to our Amman hotel for our last night in Jordan.

Kamel drove us to the Amman international Airport early on the morning of 16 October to catch our Royal Jordanian flight to Chicago where we connected for a flight home to Los Angeles. Although this was a short trip for us, it provided a wonderful and varied tour of Jordan.

See pictures from Jordan

September 2018
Colorado Revisited

Travel Notes

After hearing about my trip to Colorado in June, Sunny, my friend from Taiwan, came to Los Angeles to go hiking with me near Colorado Springs, Colorado, before continuing on to visit Mexico and Guatemala. While in Colorado for eight days, we revisited places from my prior trip and hiked at elevations from 6,000 to 14,000 feet.

On Monday, 3 September, we flew from Los Angeles to Denver, Colorado, where I rented a car and drove to Colorado Springs. Since Colorado Springs has an elevation of 6,035 feet above sea level, we walked around downtown Colorado Springs during the afternoon to begin the process of altitude acclimation.

After breakfast on Tuesday, 4 September, we drove to the Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center to introduce Sunny to the Garden of the Gods park and get an overview of the Pikes Peak Region. We began our Garden of the Gods visit at the North Main Parking Lot and hiked both the Upper Loop Trail and the south extension loop trail. Once again, the red rock formations were magnificent against the clear blue sky. We then drove to the Scotsman Picnic Area Parking Lot and hiked along the Gateway Trail to the Siamese Twins Trail. After hiking the complete Siamese Twins trail and hiking back to the car, we stopped to visit the famous Balanced Rock. Upon returning to Colorado Springs, we once again walked throughout the downtown area and to show Sunny the Pioneer Museum.

On Wednesday, 5 September, we drove to the parking lot where the complimentary shuttle buses transport visitors to and from the Broadmoor Seven Waterfalls. We took the first bus of the day and, upon arriving at the entrance gate, hiked nearly a mile along South Cheyenne Creek to the base area of the Seven Waterfalls. Seven Waterfalls is where the South Cheyenne Canyon Creek cascades 181 feet down a granite cliff forming seven distinct waterfalls.

Before hiking the 224-step stairway along the falls, Sunny hiked the steep stairway to the Eagle’s Nest viewing platform which afforded wonderful panoramic views of the canyon and waterfalls. I opted to take the elevator up to the viewing platform, and we both took the elevator down from the platform. We continued hiking to the falls and then hiked the 224-step stairway to the top of the falls at an elevation of 6,800 feet.

After arriving at the top of the waterfalls, we decided to first hike the 1.5 mile round-trip trail to Inspiration Point. The trail passes Helen Hunt Jackson’s gravesite, and the views from along this trail were stunning. We also hiked the trail to Midnight Falls before descending the 224 steps to the bottom of the falls. The descent on the stairway alongside the falls was much faster than our initial climb to the top. After hiking back to the free shuttle bus, we drove to Cripple Creek with an elevation of 9,494 feet.

Cripple Creek and nearby Victor are located on the western slopes of Pikes Peak. A major gold strike was made in 1890 and 1891 in Cripple Creek and Victor. In prehistoric times, the area was volcanic which created the riches that made this mining district famous. The six square miles that make up the Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District are located in the caldera of an extinct volcano. The millions of dollars made from 1891 to the present time earned it the title of the World’s Greatest Gold Camp.

The gold rush brought lumber yards, hotels, 100 saloons, over 40 assay offices, an equal number of brokerage firms, 80 doctors, 91 lawyers, and 14 newspapers. Electricity lighted the streets in 1892 and in 1893 the city’s water system was completed. All of the buildings in Cripple Creek were wooden and during 1896 two fires destroyed the business district and many residences. After the fires, the city fathers ordained that the business district must be built in brick. Today many of the 1890’s brick buildings on Bennett Avenue are home to modern-day casinos, shops, and restaurants.

Our first stop on the drive to Cripple Creek was at a viewpoint overlooking the caldera where Cripple Creek is located. The next stop was at the Cripple Creek Heritage and Information Center overlooking the town of Cripple Creek. In addition to tourist information, it has wonderful exhibits of the gold mining era, geology, Colorado dinosaurs, and a wall of windows overlooking the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Across the road from the Heritage Center is an overlook viewpoint for Poverty Gulch.

After arriving in Cripple Creek and checking into the Century Casino Hotel on Bennett Street, we walked slowly, due to the higher altitude, along Bennett Street to the old Midland Terminal. The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad operates from this Railway station. The train has a 15 ton locomotive of the 0-4-0 type typical of the early day steam engines. It belches smoke from a coal fired boiler, with sounds of steam, a piercing whistle, and the sound of working steel on steel during the four mile round-trip. The conductor narrates the journey as it passes many old gold mine sites en route to Echo Valley where it backs up, turns around, and returns to the old Midland Terminal. Since the train had ceased operations for the day, we decided that we might take a ride on it the following day if time permitted.

Thursday, 6 September, was another picture perfect day. We walked back to the old Midland Terminal and hiked the Gold Camp Trail from the station up through Poverty Gulch most of the way to the upper trailhead on Teller County Road (TCR) 82 across the road from the Hoosier Mine. It is nearly one mile long and begins at 9,528 feet altitude. Traveling the entire trail round-trip is 1.9 miles with a total elevation gain of 500 feet. This was a trail that I had not previously hiked and it was wonderful.

Upon returning to Cripple Creek, we drove to the Mollie Kathleen Mine to take the tour of the mine. The mine was started in 1891 on a mining claim staked by Mollie Kathleen Gortner, after whom the mine was named. Except for a suspension of mining during World War II that was ordered by the Government, the mine operated continuously until it was closed in 1961. It is a historic vertical shaft mine that descends 1,000 feet into the mountain, a depth roughly equal to the height of the Empire State Building in New York City. Visitors are crammed into a skip and lowered approximately 1,000 feet down the vertical mine shaft to an area with horizontal shafts for the tour.

Since we just missed a tour about to begin, we purchased our tickets and explored the exhibits above ground. These included an old steam shovel, a steam engine tractor, a belt driven saw mill, and various other mining artifacts. When it was time for our tour, we were instructed to put on hard hats and were crammed into a skip. The skip was lowered by a steel cable from the headframe down a vertical shaft to a depth of 1,000 feet below the surface. Electric lights illuminated the horizontal mining shafts where we were escorted by our tour guide who had spent his entire working career in the vertical hard rock mines. He stopped at several different stations where he demonstrated the evolution of the techniques and equipment through the years of this mine. He actually demonstrated various types of drills used for blasting the hard rock shafts. In addition, he took us for a short ride on an air driven locomotive in one of the horizontal shafts. I had not been here before and it was an exceptionally wonderful tour!

After this tour, the guide directed us to Teller County Road (TCR) 82 where we drove to the Hoosier Mine for some photos and continued on TCR 82 to the Grassy Valley Mining Overlook. This overlook features a CAT 793 Haul Truck Bed that has been converted to an observation deck. The 360-degree view from here takes in the historic Grassy Valley, Pikes Peak, and one of Newmont Mining historic preservation sites known as Hoosier Mine, an open pit mine. We drove to TCR 83 and continued to Victor Pass before returning to Cripple Creek.

Back in Cripple Creek, we returned to the old Midland Terminal where we rode the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad. Sunny sat at the very back of the open sided car so she could take unobstructed photos from the rear of the train.

On Friday morning, 7 September, we stopped en route to Victor, Colorado, and hiked the Little Grouse Mountain Trail. It was another beautiful morning and this trail is another trail that I had not hiked previously. It is approximately one mile long and passes by the relocated American Eagles Mine above the Eagles Historic Overlook. The view from the overlook features the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to the south, the Collegiate Mountain peaks to the west, and Cripple Creek to the north. The view from the overlook was very good in the morning sunlight. The Sangre de Cristo range forms the state border with New Mexico.

We continued on to the town of Victor. After walking around this historic mining town, we drove along Highway 83 to the lower trailhead for the Vindicator Mine Trail, which I had hiked during my trip in June. After hiking the Vindicator Mine Trail, Sunny wanted to return to the Grassy Valley Overlook for a final farewell look at the area before driving to Manitou Springs.

After arriving in Manitou Springs, we walked around the city and sampled some of the water from the seven naturally carbonated mineral springs that once made Manitou Springs famous.

On Saturday, 8 September, we drove the Pikes Peak Highway to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet elevation. It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine, and it was very crowded because of the “Pikes Peak Challenge,” a special hiking event. The Challenge consists of a 13 mile hike from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak along the Barr Trail with a 7,500 feet increase in elevation. Medals are presented to everyone who completes the Challenge. There were remnants of fresh snowfall from a rain two days before which made our photos more interesting. We enjoyed looking at the places that we had visited several days before from the summit.

On Sunday, 9 September, we decided to hike the Manitou Incline. It is classified as an extreme hike with many cautionary signs at the trailhead. This trail was once the railway for the historic Manitou Incline. The rails have been removed from the railroad ties which now become stepping areas to climb the 2,744 steps straight up the side of the mountain. The trail begins at an elevation of 6,600 feet and ascends 2,000 feet to the summit at approximately 8,600 feet elevation.

Sunny had already reached the top well in advance of me. However, after a long slow hike, I finally reached the summit where I ate the snack that I had brought with me. We took a short hike around the summit before descending. The descent back to Manitou Springs was a four mile winding portion of a connector trail and the Barr Trail. After reaching the lower trailhead, my fitbit showed a total of 18,094 steps for the incline hike.

Before driving to the Denver airport on Monday morning, 10 September, we returned for one last visit to the Garden of the Gods. It was another picture perfect day and the colors were magnificent in the early morning sunshine. The flight back to Los Angeles was uneventful, and Sunny departed for Mexico on Tuesday morning, 11 September. It was another wonderful hiking trip to Colorado.

See pictures from Colorado

See pictures from our Polar Ice Voyage

July 2018
Polar Ice Voyage

Travel Notes

Jan and I flew to Amsterdam, Holland, to board the Spitsbergen & Arctic Circle Explorer Holland America Voyage. We arrived at Amsterdam on Saturday, 14 July 2018, and checked into our hotel. That evening we walked around a portion of downtown Amsterdam and ate dinner at the Tibet Sichuan Restaurant where the food was very good. The following morning we visited the National Maritime Museum which is situated in a former naval storehouse built in 1656. The museum has a large collection of artifacts and many exhibits related to sailing and shipping. One such exhibit is the extensive map collection from the works of cartographers Willem Blaen and his son, Joan Blaen. The museum also has a first edition copy of “De Moluccis Insulis,” which is the first book to describe Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage around the world.

We viewed the Royal Barge built for King William I of the Netherlands between 1816 and 1818. It is currently on display in a specially designed boathouse. In addition, we toured the replica Dutch East Indies Company 18th century cargo ship, Amsterdam, which is moored adjacent to the museum.

The original ship, Amsterdam, was built in 1748 for the Dutch East Indies Trading Company. During its third attempt for a maiden voyage to transport cargo from Texel to Batavia, East Indies, it sank in the English Channel during a storm on 8 January 1749. The replica ship, Amsterdam, was built between 1985 and 1990 and towed to the museum.

While waiting in the cruise ship terminal to board the Prinsendam, we saw John and Nancy with whom we had sailed before. We were all surprised and delighted to reconnect on this voyage and shared many meals and activities throughout the voyage.

We boarded the Holland America Prinsendam on Monday, 16 July, to begin our Arctic Circle Explorer Voyage. After one sea day, we arrived at Alesund, Norway, on the morning of 18 July. We had booked the Holland America EXC Excursion “Romsdal & The Troll Path.” We were assigned to tour bus “White 6.” This excursion turned out to be very disappointing because the English Guide hired by EXC Excursions had such bad English that we could only understand every fifth or sixth word during her descriptive narrative which she had to read from a script. After we returned to the ship and complained about the quality of the excursion to Guest Services, they arranged for us to meet with the EXC Excursion manager who essentially just “blew us off.” Needless to say, we will have a much diminished view toward EXC Excursions on any future voyages with Holland America. Unfortunately, other people who paid for a future EXC Excursions tour will likely be subjected to this same incompetent tour guide. That said, the scenery was beautiful although I needed to spend several hours reviewing data on Google after I returned home, in order to properly caption my photos from this tour.

The tour began by following the shoreline of a couple of fjords to the village of Sjoholt. It continued on to drive by the Stordal Old Church en route to the Valldola River. The tour continued along the river for a photo stop at the Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge. The next stop was at the Troll Path Viewpoint which provided spectacular panorama views of the mountains, waterfalls, the large valley below, and a very winding road – the Trollstigen (Troll Path) – descending down to the valley floor. The bus slowly descended the Trollstigen and we stopped at Trollstigen Camping and ate at the Gjestegard restaurant for lunch. The tour continued through the valley to stop at the Troll Wall Visitor Center to view the Trollveggen (Troll Wall), which was completely obscured by clouds. The tour followed the Romsdals Fjord for a portion of the journey back to the ship. Prior to returning to the ship, I took several photos of the picturesque town of Alesund.

We spent the next two days at sea en route to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen. Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The islands of the Svalbard group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognized Norway’s sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago. Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Spitzbergen and is situated on the Isfjorden at 78° degrees north latitude. Both whaling and coal mining were once flourishing industries but currently only Mine 7 remains operational. Remnants of the mining operations remain in and around Longyearbyen including portions of an aerial tramway that once transported coal from the mines to the ships.

The ship docked for several hours at Longyearbyen, and we walked around the settlement. There were signs to warn people of polar bears and not to go beyond certain limits without a rifle. Although the post office claimed to be the northern-most post office in the world, the post office at Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen, is farther north – it is amazing that I will have been to both the highest elevation post office at Everest Base Camp and at the northernmost post office at Spitsbergen within one calendar month. The northern-most ATM in the world is located here. Longyearbyen afforded travelers good photographic opportunities. The World Seed Bank is also located nearby Longyearbyen and was undergoing repairs.

The ship conducted scenic cruising in the Isfjord to allow views of the coastline, the World Seed Bank, Coal Harbor, and the glacier at the southern end of the fjord. The ship continued north along the coast of Spitsbergen arriving at Liefdefjorden to begin scenic cruising of the fjord to view several glaciers along the fjord including Erikbreen, Emmabreen, Seligerbreen, and the spectacular Monacobreen. After leaving Liefdefjorden, the ship continued farther north to Moffen Island where a walrus colony both on the beach and in the water was visible at a distance.

The original itinerary for the voyage called for the ship to continue farther north to the polar ice cap. Since the current satellite images for the ice cap showed the ice to be both much farther north and also to the west of Spitsbergen, the Captain decided to go the polar ice to the west. He also added scenic cruising of the Smeerenburg Fjord at the northwestern end of Spitsbergen en route to see the polar ice. The ship traveled into the Smeerenburg Fjord and continued into the Bjornfjord past Amsterdam Island, where another walrus colony was visible both in the water and on the beach. The ship cruised past numerous glaciers as we went to visit the Smeerenburg Glacier before continuing west to the polar ice.

We arrived at the portion of the polar ice cap to the west of Spitsbergen at a position of Latitude: 80°08.68’ N and Longitude: 007°28.29’ E. After slowing for a photo opportunity, the ship began a southeasterly course toward Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen.

Currently, Ny Alesund is a research station situated on the Kongsfjord where several arctic explorers launched expeditions to try to reach the North Pole. Both Admiral Byrd of the USA and Roald Amundsun of Norway launched their successful North Pole expeditions from Ny Alesund. The ship made a short duration stop at Ny Alesund on Monday, 23 July. Upon arrival, each passenger was given a map of the research station with a path on which tourists were instructed to remain while walking at Ny Alesund. Personnel from the ship were stationed along the tourist path to ensure that nobody strayed from the path. It was a very picturesque settlement with great landscape photo opportunities. Polar bear hazard signs were conspicuous. In addition to a wonderful museum with exhibits and relics from past arctic explorations, there was the post office which also laid claim to being the northernmost post office.

After departing from the Ny Alesund port, the ship continued with scenic cruising along the Kross Fjord and past the King Hook Peninsula into the Lilliehook Fjord to the Lilliehook Glacier which was approximately 7 kilometers wide. This glacier was spectacular and, while the ship navigated relatively close to the glacier, some crewmembers took a tender from the ship and brought a large piece of glacier ice aboard to display on the Lido Deck.

The ship charted a course toward Iceland and sailed past Jan Mayen Island early in the morning on Wednesday, 25 July. The island is volcanic with the last eruption in 1980. The Breerenberg Volcano is 2,277 meters high. Since the weather was very foggy as the ship approached Jan Mayen Island, the main portion of the island was totally obscured during the scheduled scenic cruising. A portion of the small southern tip of the island became recognizable as land after we had cruised past most of the island.

The ship arrived at Akureyri, Iceland, on 26 July. Akureyri is situated on the Eyjafjordur, which is Iceland’s longest fjord. After disembarking, we took a shore excursion from the ship that went along Eyjafjordur, across Vikurskard Pass, to the Fnjoskadalur Valley to the Lake Myvatn Region. The first stop of the tour was at Namafjall Hverir, which was a large region of high-temperature geothermal fumaroles and mud pots. The temperature at a depth of 1,000 meters is above 200° C. The steam contains fumarole gas such as hydrogen sulphide, and the hot springs produce considerable sulphur deposits.

The next stop was at Dimmuborgir, which was an area of lava labyrinths that formed during a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago. There were extensive hiking trails within Dimmuborgir including lava castles, lava arches, and many lava grottoes. We took a short hike along a portion of a couple of the trails.

The tour continued to a viewpoint above Lake Myvatin for a panoramic view of the lake and the Skutusadir Craters. The restaurant where we ate lunch was across the road from this viewpoint. This region is also within the intersection of the North American and Euroasian tectonic plates, which are separating and leaving visible fissures in some of the mountains that we drove past.

After lunch, the tour proceeded to the Godafoss Waterfalls where we hiked along the river to view the falls both from the overview area and from alongside the river below the falls. The Godafoss Waterfalls is fed by the glacier river Skjalfandafjlot and is considerd to be one of the great waterfalls in Iceland. The Skajlfandafljot River is 180 km long and flows from the Vatnajokull Glacier. This was the last stop of the tour, and we returned to the ship via the same route we’d taken from the ship.

The ship conducted scenic cruising of Eyafjordur after departing Akureyri, en route to Isafjordur, Iceland, which is situated on the Isafjardardjup. We arrived at Isafjordur early in the morning on Friday, 27 July. After disembarking, we took a shore excursion to visit Thingeyri, Dynjandi Waterfalls, and Sudureyri Village. The first stop of the tour was at the small village of Thingeyri on the Dyrafjordur en route to the Dynandi Waterfall. A national monument, the Dynjandi Waterfall is situated at one end of the Arnarfjordur and is fed by the Dynjandis River. It is quite impressive as it consists of several waterfalls cascading down the mountain to the fjord. During the stop at Dynjandi, we were able to hike alongside the individual waterfalls as high as we wanted to go. After hiking past several waterfalls, I determined that the best photo opportunities were from the lower elevations. A lunch for the tour was provided here.

The next stop was at Sudureyri, a small fishing village where the guide showed us how fish are dried for future consumption. We were offered samples of the dried fish and fresh cod cakes as a snack and given hot beverages before boarding the bus to return to the ship. I took some photos of Isafjordur from the ship before departure. I also took several photos during scenic cruising of Isafjardardjup as we departed for a sea day en route to Reykjavik, Iceland.

We arrived at Reykjavik, Iceland, on the Sunday morning, 29 July, and were moored some distance from the main cruise ship terminal area. Since we were scheduled to spend two days in Reykjavik, we took a Golden Circle shore excursion on the first day to visit the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir, and Thingvellir National Park. The first stop was at the geothermal power plant, with educational exhibits about Iceland’s geothermal electricity generation. We continued on to visit Gullfoss Waterfall, which is located in the canyon of the Hvita river. It is spectacular and is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland. We hiked along the area above the falls to several viewing locations and then part-way down to a lower viewing area which was being deluged with mist from the falls. The Langjokull Glacier, the second largest glacier in Iceland, was visible in the distance from an upper viewing area.

The next stop was at the Geysir Geothermal Area, which is located in the Haukadalur Valley. It had many hot springs and at least one active geyser which erupted with some regularity. We watched two eruptions and went to have lunch in a new hotel across the road from Geysir. During lunch, additional eruptions could be seen through panoramic windows facing the geyser.

The final stop was at Thingvellir National Park, where we encountered rain. There was a large fissure which people could walk through to get to a valley below. The separation was purportedly caused by the continuing slow separation of the two tectonic plates that bisect Iceland. I took photos from above the separation and hiked in the rain part way down through the separation before returning to the tour bus. The bus drove to a parking lot in the valley below the separation to pick up members of our tour that hiked through the fissure in the rain down to the valley. The tour returned to the ship where we spent the night.

The following morning we planned to take the Hop On Hop Off bus to get an overview of Reykjavik but, since there were two other large cruise ships in port, the line for the bus was much too long. We ended up walking from the port along the water to the city center. Along the way, we passed the Recycled House, home to film director of the legendary feature The Raven Flies. It was very interesting and loaded with photo opportunities. We also passed the Partnership Sculpture, a duplicate of which is located in Miami, Florida, and finally took a street up the hill toward the city center. As we arrived at Laugavegur Street, we noticed the Icelandic Phallological Museum and since it was a Monday, we doubted that it would be open. We walked to the front door and discovered that it was open. What an amazing museum! It describes itself as the only museum in the world to contain a collection of phallic specimens belonging to all the various types of mammal found in a single country. It is definitely not to be missed when visiting Reykjavik.

Since Laugavegur Street is listed as one of Reykjavik’s main shopping streets, we walked along it to the intersection of Skolavordustigur Street. We took Skolavordustigur Street to the iconic Hallgrims Church. There were many wonderful photo opportunities as we walked around Reykjavik before walking back to the ship. Since the ship was moored at a remote location with no signage indicating the way to the ship, we encountered several missed approaches to the ship which added additional distance to our already lengthy hike into Reyjavik.

The Prinsendam departed Reykjavik on an overnight course to Heimay, Iceland, which is part of the Westman islands. Upon arriving at Heimay, the sea conditions were so unfavorable that the Captain opted to skip landing at Heimay and instead charted a course directly to Seydisfjordur, Iceland.

We arrived at Seydisfjordur Village on Wednesday, 1 August. Seydisfjordur Village is situated on Seydisfjordur fjord and was a quaint village with some interesting photo opportunities including the famous Blue Church. During the afternoon, the ship began cruising Seydisfjordur fjord en route to Rosyth, Scotland, which is situated on the Firth of Forth and serves as the port for Edinburgh, Scotland.

After another sea day, the radar mast on the Prinsendam was lowered to allow the ship to sail under the three bridges spanning the Firth of Forth. Sailing under the Forth Rail Bridge, the Forth Car Bridge, and the Queensferry Crossing Bridge provided a wonderful photo opportunity. We arrived at Rosyth, Scotland, on 3 August. After disembarking at Rosyth, we took a train to Waverly Station in downtown Edinburgh. August 3rd was the first day of not only the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo but also the first day of the Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival has performances all over Edinburgh, and a portion of the Royal Mile was closed to vehicular traffic for some Fringe performance stages. Since our granddaughter performed at Fringe during the summer of 2017, we opted to join the masses to see part of the Fringe street performances. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon in Edinburgh.

In order to accommodate the passengers who took shore excursions to the Tattoo performance, the ship departed Edinburgh at approximately 1:00 AM on 4 August on a course back to Amsterdam, Holland. After another sea day, the ship arrived at Amsterdam early in the morning on Sunday, 5 August.

After disembarking from the ship, we took a taxi to a hotel near Schipol Airport to be positioned for flights back to Los Angeles. We flew home to Los Angeles on 6 August after a wonderful excursion above the Arctic Circle.

See pictures from Tibet, China & Mount Everest Base Camp

June 2018
Tibet, China & Mount Everest Base Camp

Travel Notes

Although I have been traveling to mainland China for several years, it is impossible as a foreigner to independently travel in the Tibet Autonomous Region unless traveling as part of a Chinese Government Approved Tour Group. After finally reconciling myself to the fact that I could only travel to Tibet as part of an approved tour group, I began researching tour groups and soliciting word-of-mouth recommendations from people who had traveled to Tibet or had friends who had traveled to Tibet. A good friend in Los Angeles, California, recommended Explore Tibet, an approved travel company in Lhasa, Tibet, that offers small group tours that include traveling to Mt. Everest Base Camp at an elevation of 5,200 meters (17,060 feet) above sea level.

Before I decided to book a trip to Tibet and Everest Base Camp, I took a trip to the Salta and JuJuay Provinces of northwest Argentina in January 2018 to determine if I would be able to physically acclimate to the very high altitudes of Tibet. The trip to Argentina was successful, and I seriously researched several Tibet travel organizations upon my return home. I finally decided that Explore Tibet offered the best small group package for me and booked their 8 Days Everest Base Camp Small Group Tour beginning 14 June 2018 at Lhasa, Tibet.

I would fly to Chengdu, China, and then Explore Tibet would obtain my Chinese Government Tibet Travel Permit, book round-trip Air China flights from Chengdu to Lhasa, and conduct my Tibet tour. After I sent the payment for the tour along with copies of my USA Passport and China Tourist Visa to Explore Tibet, I received full confirmation for my Tibet travel. Later, I received my e-ticket for the Air China Chengdu/Lhasa flights.

Since my home in Los Angeles is at sea level, I decided to travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for some high altitude mountain hiking to acclimate to higher altitudes before flying to Chengdu. While in Colorado for eight days, I hiked at elevations from 6,000 to 14,000 feet.

I arrived at Chengdu on 11 June and picked up my China Government issued Tibet Travel Permit which was waiting for me at my Chengdu hotel. Since all of my Tibet travel details were complete, I took a day trip to re-visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base on 12 June and the Leshan Giant Buddha on 13 June. The Leshan Giant Buddha is the largest stone carved Buddha image in the world.

On Thursday, 14 June, I flew from Chengdu to Lhasa. I was required to show my Tibet Travel Permit when I checked in for my flight, when I went through airport security, when I boarded the flight, and when I exited the baggage claim area at the Lhasa airport. Upon exiting the terminal, I saw a lady holding up a sign with my name on it. Her name was Migmar, and she would be my guide for the duration of my Tibetan travels. The elevation at Lhasa is approximately 3,600 meters (11,995 feet), and I could immediately feel the altitude with the thin dry air. Migmar immediately gave me a bottle of water to help with the altitude, and her driver drove me to Lhasa Tashi Takgye hotel in a ten passenger minibus which would be the vehicle that our small group would use during the entire Tibet tour.

After checking into the hotel, I continued to drink a lot of water and rested for several hours before venturing outside. The hotel was located in the old part of Lhasa within a couple of short blocks from the famous Bakhor Street. After going through a Government security checkpoint, I walked around Bakhor Street on a clear afternoon and marveled at the unique architecture and the local people of Lhasa. There are ubiquitous Government security checkpoints within the old part of Lhasa and at most popular attractions. Later I went out for dinner and had a Nepal set dinner at one of the local restaurants.

After breakfast on the morning of 15 June, I met the remainder of my small group which would total six people for the first two days of local Lhasa sightseeing and then five people for the subsequent travel days from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp and back to Lhasa. Traveling with five people in a ten person minibus was quite comfortable for the long road trips. In addition, our driver kept both the minibus interior and the windows very clean during the entire trip.

Our first sightseeing stop was to visit the Drepung Monastery located about 10 kilometers from Lhasa. It was built in 1416 and more than ten thousand monks resided here prior to the 1951 Liberation making it the largest monastery in Tibet. It has six main temples in addition to three monastic colleges for the study of philosophy and one for the practice of Tantric Buddhism. The monastery covers an area over 200 thousand square meters. This monastery was very impressive and no photographs were allowed within the monastery.

We continued on to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419. It has an assembly hall, three colleges, and thirty-three houses. The monastery covers an area of 114,964 square meters and is the second largest monastery in Tibet. After visiting the monasteries, we had free time to explore Lhasa for the remainder of the day.

On the morning of 16 June, we visited the Potala Palace which is across from the Potala Plaza where, during 2001, the Chinese Government erected the Monument to Tibet's Peaceful Liberation marking the 50th Anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet by Chinese troops in 1951.

Although the Potala Palace was originally built during the time of the Songtsan Gampo in the 7th century, it was reconstructed by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. It was the residence of the successive Dalai Lamas and the center of Tibet local government. The main palace construction is divided into two sections: the White Palace and the Red Palace. It has 13 stories and is 115.7 meters high. It mainly consists of living quarters, chapels, tomb stupa chapels, and monk dormitories. It is listed as a World Heritage Site and was an incredible place to visit.

During the afternoon we went to Bakhor Street in old Lhasa to visit the beautiful Jokhang Temple. Construction of this temple began in 647 AD during the time of the Tibet King Songtsan Gampo. The four-storied temple faces west and, after extensions in later years, occupies an area of 25,100 square meters. An alloy statue of the twelve year old Sakyamini, brought by the Princess WenChang, sits in the central hall on the first floor. It was also a very interesting temple to visit.

After visiting Jokhang Temple, we walked around Bakhor Street and then returned to our hotel to pack up for our upcoming road trip to Everest Base Camp the following morning.

We checked out of our Lhasa hotel on Sunday, 17 June, to begin our two day journey to Everest Base Camp. Our driver would follow the China-Nepal Highway, also known as the Friendship Highway, from Lhasa most of the way to Everest Base Camp. It would cross several high mountain passes before arriving at Tingri where we would take another road to the base camp. We would stop along the way at interesting places to visit.

Our first stop was beside the Brahmaputura River, also known as the Yarlung River in Tibet. This was a scenic area where many tourist groups stop and the photos were wonderful. As we continued on, we arrived near the top of the Gambala Pass where many Tibetans had yaks, Mastiff dogs, and other animals for tourist photos in addition to many tables with Tibetan items for sale. I bought a Tibetan singing bowl here.

We continued along the Gambala Pass to a viewpoint at an elevation of 4,998 meters (16,398 feet) with views of both the Brahmaputura River Scenic Area and the Yamdrok Lake Scenic Area. We descended from here to Yamdrok Lake at an elevation of 4,441 meters (14,570 feet) where we stopped for photos. Tibetans had yaks along the shore for photos with tourists as well as a couple of Mastiff dogs. There were also the ubiquitous tourist souvenirs for sale. I walked down to the shore of the lake to take some photos of a yak standing in the crystal clear water.

We stopped for lunch at Nagarze before continuing on to the Kharola Glacier viewpoint. This glacier was stunning against the clear blue sky and is within 300 meters of the highway. We stopped at the viewpoint parking area across the highway from the glacier. There is a Kharola Glacier Stupa at a viewing area in front of the glacier which provides an interesting backdrop for photos of the glacier. A stone marker indicated the elevation of this mountain location to be 5,020 meters (16,470 feet).

Our next stop was at a colorful viewpoint above the Manak Reservoir. The elevation at the viewpoint was 4,354 meters (14,285 feet) with a wonderful view of the reservoir amid an abundance of so many beautiful Tibetan prayer flags. Prior to departing this viewpoint, I observed several Tibetan goats crossing the road and climbing up the hillside.

We continued on to Gyantse where we saw the Gyantse Dzong, also known as Gyantse Fortress, before visiting the Palcho Monastery where the Kumbum Stupa is located. The original fortress dates back to 840 AD, and the present walls were supposedly built in 1268. The fortress was overrun by a British invasion during 1904. Although the walls were dynamited by the Chinese in 1967 during the Cultural Revolution, it has gradually been restored.

The Palcho Chode Monastery is the main monastery in the Nyangchu River Valley. It was built in 1418. According to the literature, it is a non-sectarian Buddhist center where Gelugpa, Sakyapa, and Butompa co-exist in harmony and peace. In 1427, the Great Stupa Kumbum was erected in the pattern of the Multi-door Stupa (Tashi Gomang), one of the eight prototype stupas of Buddhism. Kumbum is 32.4 meters high and includes 108 altars where a hundred thousand Buddhist images are enshrined as statues and murals.

We stopped at the Mananarovar Gesar hotel in Shigatse to spend the night and rest up for the final leg to Everest Base Camp the following day. The elevation of Shigatse is 3,800 meters (12,467 feet). While in Shigatse, Migmar obtained the Aliens’ Travel Permit that was required for our small group to travel to Everest Base Camp. This was in addition to the Tibet Travel Permit that was issued to me prior to entering Tibet. By this time, we had become accustomed to multiple police checkpoints all along the Friendship Highway.

We departed Shigatse on Monday morning, 18 June, to continue on the Friendship Highway (China-Nepal) toward Shelkar (New Tingri) where we would turn onto another road that is the gateway to Everest Base Camp. Our first stop was at place with a large marker as the location of the 5,000 kilometer point from Shanghai on the Friendship Highway.

Our next stop was at Gyatso La mountain pass, the entrance to the Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve (QNNR). Mount Everest is known as Mount Qomolangma in Tibet, China. The elevation of Gyatso La Pass is 5,260 meters (17,257 feet) – the highest mountain pass on the Friendship Highway. It was another checkpoint along the way and another photo opportunity. We would continue within the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve until we arrived at Everest Base Camp.

We continued on to the Mount Qomolangma North Gate, which was another checkpoint along the way, then from the north gate to the Kya Wu Lha Pass, which has an elevation 5,198 meters (17,054 feet). This pass afforded spectacular views of the Himalayan Mountains from the China side. Four peaks above 8,201 meters were visible from here: Mt. Everest at 8,844.43 meters, the highest mountain on Earth; Mt. Lotse at 8,516 meters, the fourth highest; Mt. Makalho at 8,463 meters, the fifth highest; and Mt. Chopya at 8,201 meters, the tenth highest. The pass also afforded a dramatic view of the road with more switchbacks than I could count leading down the valley toward Everest Base Camp. I purchased two sets of Tibetan prayer flags here.

We descended down the valley and then ascended up to Mount Everest Base Camp, which is known in Tibet as Mount Qomolangma Base Camp and has an elevation of 5,200 meters (17,060 feet). We would spend the night in a traditional Tibetan tent guesthouse. The tent had two sections separated by a tent curtain down the middle. Each side could sleep ten people and had a Tibetan stove for boiling water and heat during the day and evening. The stove, which was bare metal and burned cow dung for fuel, was manned by a Tibetan caretaker who boiled water on it for green tea and oversaw the activities within the tent. The tent had a carpeted floor and hard platforms to sit and to sleep. Although there were heavy quilts for sleeping, we rented sleeping bags when we were at Shigatse for what we perceived would provide better sanitation for sleeping in the tent. The ground outside the tent was small rocks that surrounded the base camp. A group of about ten young Chinese men and women moved into the other side of the tent and wanted a group photo with some of us after they arrived. They invited us to join them later to share some wine with them but we politely declined since alcohol and high altitude are a bad combination.

The toilet facilities consisted of a public pit toilet located some distance from the tents with a concrete floor above the open pit with rectangular slots in the floor. The left side was for men and the right side was for women. Each side had two rectangular slots in the floor, no lighting and no water. The floor of the toilets appeared to have never been washed or cleaned. A Tibetan man was stationed nearby the toilet building to collect 2 Yuan from each person every time someone used the facility.

The air was thin and very dry which required us to consume extra large quantities of water and green tea during our time at base camp. After we settled into the tent and rested for a while, we hiked to the Mt. Qomolangma Base Camp rock marker for a photo opportunity. Since it was warm when we started out, I didn’t wear a jacket. Although it was windy and became colder, the photo opportunity was wonderful. Because I didn’t wear a jacket, I opted not to continue on to the visit the nearby Rongbuk Monastery – a decision that I will probably regret later since it is reportedly the highest monastery in the world. Within the base camp is a post office which is also the highest post office in the world.

As we took photos of Mount Everest as the sun was setting the wind increased and it was becoming much colder. I had a bowl of noodles and cabbage with a fried egg on top and green tea for dinner while our caretaker kept the fire in the stove going. By the time we decided to try to go to sleep, the temperature in the tent was quite hot. The electrical generators are turned off at midnight and the entire complex was plunged into total darkness. When the caretaker went to bed, the fire in the stove died out and the tent began to get cold, colder, and much colder. In addition, the moisture from our breath made the tent damp, then damper, and much damper. Government officials performed a bed check of our tent during the night by shining a flashlight on each of us and checking some paperwork.

The noise from people walking and talking outside the tent en route to the public toilet continued to interrupt my attempts at sleeping. As the night wore on, the minutes turned into hours as I attempted to sleep. The worst parts of the night were the decisions to get up and attempt to find the gross public toilet by the light of my mobile phone. Outside the sky was clear and the stars appeared to be very close. I had never seen the Big Dipper constellation to be so enormous.

We planned to get up and leave by 6:00 AM to go back to Kya Wu Lha Pass to watch the sunrise over Himalayas. I was up and dressed well before 5:00 AM wishing that we could leave early. In retrospect, I might have gotten about one hour of sleep during the night but it was a genuine Tibetan tent experience at a very high elevation that I can talk about for years to come.

Migmar and our driver came at a little before 6:00 AM on Tuesday, 19 June, and we departed to go see the sunrise over the Himalayas. We arrived at Kya Wu Lha Pass a little bit late for the initial sunrise but in time to see most of the beautiful sunrise on Mount Everest and the Himalayas before continuing back to Shigatse to spend the night. Back at the hotel in Shigatse, the hot shower felt so wonderful followed by a very good sleep that night.

Prior to departing Shigatse on Wednesday, 20 June, we visited the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery which was one of the six “Yellow Hat Sects” monasteries. It was founded by Gedun Drupa, the first Dalai Lama, in 1447 and occupies 700,000 square meters. It contains the highest sitting Maltreya Buddha Statue in the world. The statue was made of gold and copper alloy.

After a long drive, we arrived back at Lhasa and had some free time to explore Lhasa after dark. I ate dinner at the Lhasa Burger King restaurant where I enjoyed a flame grilled double whopper. I walked to the Potala Plaza where I took photos of the fountain in front of the Liberation Monument and photos of the reflection of the Potala Palace on the pools of water at the plaza. I also took photos of the palace at night. By chance, all five of our small group tour met at the plaza and we had someone take several group photos of us in front of the palace – those would be the last group photos of us.

The following morning, we were driven to the airport to take flights home. I flew back to Chengdu to overnight and then flew back to Los Angeles on Friday, 21 June.

June 2018
Colorado Springs

Travel Notes

Since my home in Los Angeles is at sea level, I decided to travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for some high altitude mountain hiking to acclimate to higher altitudes before flying to China for my upcoming trip to Tibet, China, and Mount Everest Base Camp. While in Colorado for eight days, I hiked at elevations from 6,000 to 14,000 feet.

On Thursday, 31 May 31, I flew from Los Angeles to Denver, Colorado, where I rented a car and drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado. After checking into my hotel, I walked around downtown Colorado Springs which has an elevation of 6,035 feet above sea level. While walking, I finally arrived at the Colorado Springs Visitor Center where I obtained tourist sightseeing information for Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region. The Pioneer Museum was closed by the time I arrived so I decided to return the following day for a visit.

After breakfast on Friday,1 June, I drove to the Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center where I obtained a map and recommended hikes from a park ranger. Armed with my map, I drove to the North Main Parking Lot and proceeded to hike the Upper Loop Trail and the south extension loop trail. The red rock formations were magnificent against the clear blue sky. I then drove to the Scotsman Picnic Area Parking Lot and hiked along the Gateway Trail to the Siamese Twins Trail. After hiking the complete Siamese Twins Trail, I hiked back to my car. Before leaving the park, I stopped to visit the famous Balanced Rock. According to my pedometer, I had hiked 11,357 steps at the Garden of the Gods.

Upon returning to Colorado Springs, I once again walked throughout the downtown area and returned to the Pioneer Museum located within the historic Colorado Springs Courthouse building. It was a very interesting museum that I was glad to have visited. My pedometer registered 19,000 steps at the end of the day.

After receiving a late checkout from my hotel on Saturday, 2 June, I drove to the Broadmoor Hotel to take a shuttle bus to the entrance to Broadmoor Seven Falls. While waiting for the first shuttle bus of the day, I walked around the historic Broadmoor Hotel and admired the lobby area.

Upon arriving at the entrance gate, I hiked nearly a mile along South Cheyenne Creek to the base area of the Seven Waterfalls. Seven Waterfalls is where the South Cheyenne Canyon Creek cascades 181 feet down a granite cliff forming seven distinct waterfalls. Before climbing the 224-step stairway along the falls, I hiked the steep stairway up to the Eagle’s Nest viewing platform, which afforded wonderful panoramic views of the canyon and waterfalls. I took an elevator down from the viewing platform – I didn’t notice the elevator prior to taking the stairs to the platform. I continued hiking to the falls and then hiked the 224-step stairway to the top of the falls at an elevation of 6,800 feet. After arriving at the top of the waterfalls, I decided to hike the 1.5 mile round-trip trail to Inspiration Point. The trail passes the Helen Hunt Jackson gravesite, and the views from along this trail were stunning. The descent on the stairway alongside the falls was much faster than my initial climb to the top. I took the elevator back to the Eagle’s Nest platform to capture photos of the falls with a better sun pattern than my photos earlier in the morning. After hiking back to the free shuttle bus, I returned to check out of my Colorado Springs hotel and drive to Cripple Creek with an elevation of 9,494 feet.

Cripple Creek and nearby Victor are located on the western slopes of Pikes Peak. A major gold strike was made in 1890 and 1891 in Cripple Creek and Victor. In prehistoric times, the area was volcanic which created the riches that made this mining district famous. The six square miles that make up the Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District are located in the caldera of an extinct volcano. The millions made from 1891 to the present time earned it the title of the World’s Greatest Gold Camp.

The gold rush brought lumber yards, hotels, 100 saloons, over 40 assay offices, an equal number of brokerage firms, 80 doctors, 91 lawyers, and 14 newspapers. Electricity lighted the streets in 1892, and the city’s water system was completed in 1893. Originally, all of the buildings in Cripple Creek were wooden. However, after two fires in 1896 destroyed the business district and many residences, the city fathers ordained that the business district must be built in brick. Today many of the 1890’s brick buildings on Bennett Avenue are home to modern-day casinos, shops, and restaurants.

My first stop on the drive to Cripple Creek was at a viewpoint overlooking the caldera where Cripple Creek is located. The next stop was at the Cripple Creek Heritage and Information Center overlooking the town of Cripple Creek. In addition to tourist information, it has wonderful exhibits of the gold mining era, geology, Colorado dinosaurs, and a wall of windows overlooking the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Across the road from the Heritage Center is an overlook viewpoint of Poverty Gulch.

After arriving in Cripple Creek and checking into the Century Casino Hotel on Bennett Street, I walked slowly due to the high altitude along Bennett Street to the old Midland terminal. The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad operates from this Railway station. Since the train was still operating, I bought a ticket and took a seat at the back end of the train to maximize my photo opportunities. The train has a 15 ton locomotive of the 0-4-0 type typical of the early day steam engines. It belches smoke from a coal fired boiler, with sounds of steam, a piercing whistle, and the sound of working steel on steel during the four mile round-trip. The conductor narrates the journey as it passes many old gold mine sites en route to Echo Valley where it backs up, turns around, and returns to the old Midland Terminal. It was a wonderful way to see the Cripple Creek area while beginning to acclimate to the 9,500 feet elevation.

Although it was overcast with occasional misting rain on Sunday morning, I walked to the Cripple Creek District Museum. The main museum building, with three floors of fascinating exhibits, is the Midland Depot Terminal which was built in 1895. At one time, it had three railroads passing through—the Midland Terminal Railroad, the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District (Short Line), and the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad—with an average of ten passenger trains daily. It was in continual operation from 1895 to 1949 and survived the fires of 1896 making it one of the oldest buildings in Cripple Creek. There are different exhibits in each of the rooms of the museum. The cantilevered staircase is a double spiral staircase supported by the exterior wall and is an example of late Victorian craftsmanship.

The museum also has additional outside exhibits including an assay office, a train waiting station, the Colorado Trading & Transfer Company building, a miner’s cabin, the French Blanche LeCroix’ cabin, and the Pinnacle Mine headframe. This museum is a “must see” destination in Cripple Creek.

I walked from the District Museum to the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery which was a 40-acre cemetery donated on March 21, 1895, to the Mount Pisgah Cemetery Association. The donors retained the mineral rights but noted that any mining would be done “without injury to the surface.” The earliest marked burial is 1892, which indicates the land was in use as a cemetery before 1895. The grave for Pearl DeVere, a famous madam of Cripple Creek, is located here with a large white marble heart tombstone.

As I walked back to town, I stopped at the Outlaws & Lawmen Jail Museum. This was interesting in that men were housed in metal cages on the ground level within the main structure and women were housed in metal cages on the upper level. For more than 90 years, the people incarcerated here had to tolerate some very grim conditions – the jail was in use from 1901 to 1992.

My last stop of the day was at the Old Homestead House museum on Meyers Avenue. It was Cripple Creek’s finest parlor house and was operated by Pearl DeVere. Pearl required a bank account certification for every prospective client. She died at a very young age from a morphine overdose and was buried in the town cemetery with a lavish celebration where nearly everyone in the town attended her funeral procession. The museum remains furnished much as it was in the day of Pearl DeVere. The rooms are furnished with priceless artifacts from all over the world donated to her by wealthy clients. This is another “must see” destination.

After checking out of my hotel on Monday, 4 June, I decided to drive Highway 67 to Victor. Along the way, I stopped at a roadside turnout at the trailhead of the Little Grouse Mountain Trail. The trail looked interesting, and I decided that I would hike it after visiting Victor. I also passed the site of the old Mary McKinney Mine and headframes for numerous other mines. Upon arrival at Victor, with an elevation of 9,708 feet, I observed the headframes of the Ajax Mine (est. 1895), Portland Mine (est. 1892), Independence Mine (est. 1891), and Strong Mine (est. 1891) situated along the mountain above Diamond Avenue and Teller County Road 81. After walking around much of downtown Victor, I passed the relocated Cresson Mine Headframe en route to the old Relocated Alta Vista Railroad Station that is now a small museum. The museum caretaker was very interesting; he gave me a map and suggested that I drive to Goldfield and hike to some of the old mine sites. I decided to forgo the Little Grouse Mountain Trail and embark on hiking around the old gold mines near Goldfield that the caretaker recommended. The drive along SR 81 to Goldfield was short, and I missed the initial turnoff for the trail and ended up at the Victor Pass with an elevation of 10,201 feet. After making a U-turn, I located the lower parking area for the Vindicator Valley Trail. I hiked along the trail to the Teresa Mine and continued on past old powder magazines, the Anna J. Mine, the Christmas Mine, and past a Pikes Peak Viewpoint. Continuing uphill, I passed the Bebee House, the Lillie (G.G.) Gold Mining Company, and the Vindicator Consolidated Mining Company. The Bebee House is adjacent to the upper parking area for the Vindicator Valley Trail. I hiked back down to the parking lot without taking the trail out through the valley. I continued driving to Manitou Springs.

I arrived at Manitou Springs during the late afternoon and, after checking into my hotel, I walked along the main street of Manitou Springs. Manitou Springs is a small laid back tourist town with many restaurants and shops. It is home to the famous Manitou Incline Trail, which is a hike along the right-of-way for the original Manitou Incline after closure of the powered incline and removal of the metal rails. Hikers climb up the mountain to approximately 8,000 feet elevation and then return to Manitou Springs via a lower portion of the Barr Trail between Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak. It was also the starting point for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway which ceased operations during the spring of 2018.

On Tuesday, 5 June, I drove to the summit of Pikes Peak via the Pikes Peak Highway. The elevation at the gateway to the park is 7,800 feet. My first stop along the highway was at Crystal Reservoir, with an elevation of 9,160 feet, where I took some spectacular photos of Pikes Peak. As I continued to drive higher, I photographed some mountain goats on the roadside. In addition, I occasionally stopped for some panoramic photos as well. While I was at the summit, my pedometer showed that I hiked around the summit area for approximately 6,000 steps at 14,000 feet elevation without any ill effects from the high altitude. I now felt confident that I had become somewhat acclimated to the altitude.

After returning to Manitou Springs, I walked around the main street before having dinner. That evening, I decided that for my last full day in Colorado, I would forgo attempting to hike the Manitou Incline Trail, as it would only take me to an elevation of 8,000 feet. Instead, I would return to the gold mines trails near Victor at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet.

On Wednesday morning, 6 June, I returned to Victor and again hiked the complete Vindicator Valley Trail loop from the lower parking area. It was a beautiful day and the photo opportunities were superb. As I returned to Manitou Springs, I stopped at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings on the outskirts of Manitou Springs. The cliff dwellings were interesting but not spectacular.

On Thursday morning, 7 June, I attempted to get a late checkout from my Manitou Springs hotel but my request was denied. Since my flight from Denver to Los Angeles was at night, I decided to return to the Garden of the Gods for several hours of hiking the same routes that I had hiked several days earlier. The early morning light was wonderful for photos at Balanced Rock and several other monuments.

I returned to my hotel, checked out, and drove to the Denver International Airport where I returned my rental car. I was able to get an earlier flight home to Los Angeles and returned home that evening. I now felt that I was acclimated enough to travel to China in a couple of days to continue on to Lhasa, Tibet, China, with an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet before continuing to Mount Everest Base Camp with an elevation of more than 17,000 feet.

See pictures from Colorado Springs

March 2018
Mandalay, Myanmar

Travel Notes

Although I had been traveling to Southeast Asia for more than twenty years, I had never visited Myanmar (Burma) because obtaining a tourist visa for Myanmar was difficult. In December, I found a website that advertised the possibility of obtaining a Myanmar Visa Approval Letter from the Myanmar Government. I decided to try to obtain the e-visa approval letter. I filled out the online application form and attached a photo to the application. The application requested a travel date to Myanmar, the departure airport to Myanmar as well as the arrival airport in Myanmar, and the hotel that I would be staying at upon my arrival into Myanmar. I decided to fly from Bangkok, Thailand, to Mandalay, Myanmar, on a date during February 2018 and specified the Mandalay Hilton hotel. After completing the application and providing my credit card information, I received an email with my Myanmar Visa Approval Letter from the Myanmar Government.

Now that I had my visa approval letter, I needed to decide where in Myanmar I wanted to visit. I prepared an itinerary that consisted of three nights at Mandalay, four nights at Bagan, and an additional two nights at Mandalay. I booked roundtrip flights from Bangkok to Mandalay, and booked online hotel reservations within Myanmar. The final step was to book travel to Bangkok from Los Angeles to be in place for my trip to Mandalay.

I flew from Bangkok to Mandalay on 2 March 2018. After exchanging money into Myanmar Kyats at the Mandalay airport, I booked a taxi to the Mandalay Hilton hotel. Much to my surprise, the preferred currency was USA Dollars but only pristine perfect USA Dollar denominated bills – no creases, no nicks, no small tears, no pencil or ink marks. I had some USA Dollars but none would meet the pristine perfect condition so I used some of my newly acquired Myanmar Kyats for the taxi fare.

While I was checking into the hotel, I asked a lady at the front desk about booking a day trip local tour for the following day. She said that the hotel could arrange for a private car, driver, and English speaking guide for local sightseeing day trip tours of Mandalay. I immediately reserved the car and guide for two day so of local sightseeing. When I asked about traveling to Bagan, she offered several options of local bus, private car, or by boat on the Irrawaddy River which is also referred to as the Ayeyarwaddy River. I told her that I would like to take the bus and she made the bus reservation for me for Monday, 5 March, to Bagan.

In a matter of less than fifteen minutes after I arrived at the hotel, I had firmed up my next three days in Myanmar. The hotel had been completely refurbished by Hilton and had opened only several weeks before my arrival. My room was very nice and overlooked the Mandalay Fort and Royal Palace complex.

After a very nice buffet breakfast on Saturday, 3 March, my guide with car and driver picked me up at the hotel to begin the first sightseeing day in Mandalay. I soon discovered that everyone visiting temples and monasteries in Myanmar is required to remove shoes and socks and to walk barefoot. Myanmar also has very strict dress codes for visiting temples and monasteries.

Our first stop was at the Gold Leaf Buddha Factory where people were making gold leaf. The next stop was at the Mahamuni Buddha Temple which was very large and picturesque with many young children wearing traditional celebration clothing. As I walked around the Mahamuni Image statue, one man gave me some gold leaf to place on the statue which is 12 feet 7 inches high. The surface of the statue was somewhat sticky so that the gold leaf would adhere. Mahamuni was a very large complex and took about one hour to visit.

After visiting a stone carving factory in the Stone Carving Quarter of Mandalay, we visited the Shwe In Pain Monastery. Upon entering the gate to the large monastery complex, visitors are required to remove shoes and socks with a long walk to the old wooden monastery building that we came to see. It was another picturesque setting with some exquisite wood carvings.

We continued on past the Mandalay Clock Tower to see some of the Mandalay markets before continuing on to the Mandalay Fort and Royal Palace. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, and a majority of the monuments—including the palace, city walls, pagodas, and monasteries—were built during 1857 or soon after. The fortified city is in the form of a square with each side being 10 furlongs long. The battlemented wall of brick and mud mortar is 25 feet high and backed by an earthen rampart. There are 12 gates on each side equal distances from one another. The moat that surrounds the city averages 225 feet wide and 11 feet deep. Royal Palace occupied the central part of the fortified city. It was removed from Amarapura and reconstructed at Mandalay. It consisted of numerous wooden buildings on a large platform enclosed by a brick wall. All of these original palace buildings were destroyed by fire during the last war.

There is one entrance to the fort that is open for tourists to visit the area occupied by the original royal palace. There are many structures and several mausoleums including King Mindon’s. 600 inscription stones are contained within these structures. The Mya Nan San Kyaw Golden Palace Cultural Museum is also situated here. I was told that the other buildings throughout the walled fort are occupied by family members of the Myanmar military.

After lunch, we visited the the Kuthodaw pagoda which was built by King Mindon in 1859 AD. In addition to the pagoda, this site is described as the world’s biggest book and houses 729 marble slabs of the Buddhist Cannon. We also visited Shwe Nandaw Kyaung (Golden Palace Monastery) and the Kyuak Taw Gui Pagoda before traveling to the top of Mandalay Hill where we visited the Su Taung Pyai Pagoda. We returned to the Mandalay Fort to view a gorgeous sunset over a portion of the moat and fort.

On Sunday morning, 4 March, we drove to Amarapura which was the capital city before King Mindon moved the capital to Mandalay. We visited the Pahtodawgyi Pagoda which was built in 1820, and then drove past Taungthaman Lake en route to the Mahagandayon Monastery which was founded in 1914. It is one of the largest teaching monasteries in Myanmar, and home to up to 2000 monks at any given time. We came here to watch the resident monks line up silently and systematically for their lunch – their last meal of the day. This monastery is considered to be a must-see tourist attraction and is on most tourism itineraries. As I was leaving the monastery, I noticed a beautiful clock tower which I have called the Amarapura Clock Tower, although it might be part of the Mahagandayon Monastery complex.

Our next destination was the Shwe Sin Tai Silk Weaving showroom and silk weaving factory en route to Sagaing Hill. As we crossed the Irrawaddy River via the Yadanabon Bridge built in 2008, Sagaing Hill became visible. The Yadanabon Bridge is adjacent to the 16 span cantilever Ava Bridge between Ava and Sagaing. Sagaing is one of Myanmar’s most picturesque sites with numerous pagodas crowning the hills. While in Sagaing, we visited the Thidagu Buddha University, the U-min Thonze Pagoda, the Soon Oo Pone Nya Shin Pagoda, and the Kaung Mutaw Pagoda.

We drove from Sagaing to a jetty to board a boat to cross the Dokhtawadi River (also referred to as the Myitnge River) to go to Innwa (also referred to as Ava). Innwa is situated at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Myitnge Rivers and was founded in 1364. It was the capital of a kingdom for nearly 500 years. After nearly being destroyed by an earthquake in 1838, Innwa was abandoned in favor of Amarapura in 1841.

After crossing the river, we hired a horse drawn cart to take us to several different sites at Innwa. We visited the Bagaya Monastery which was constructed of 267 teak wood posts and most of the exterior adornments had been lost due to exposure to the weather. Our next stop was at the Yandana Simme Pagoda en route to the ancient Innwa Watch Tower which was situated near a water pool. Before returning to the boat dock, we visited the Maha Aung Mye Bozan Monastery.

After returning to the car, we drove to the Taungthaman Lake where we parked and walked nearly half way across the U Bein Bridge. It is 1.2 kilometers long and was built from teak planks. It is said to be the longest bridge of its type in the world. In 1857, when the capital moved from nearby Amarapura to Mandalay, the local mayor (named U Bein) salvaged wood from pieces of the dismantled teak palace and reconstructed it into this magnificent bridge. We were there during the dry season when the water level was very low and polluted. During the rainy season, the water level reportedly rises to just below the planks of the bridge. Since I decided not to travel by small boat out on the lake to take a sunset photo of the bridge due to the excessive pollution of the water, we returned to the hotel.

After returning to the hotel, I reserved the same car and driver for one more day of sightseeing on Saturday, 10 March, when I would be back from my excursion to Bagan. I also received my local bus ticket from the front desk clerk for my trip to Bagan.

My visit to Bagan from 5 March to 9 March is documented in my separate Bagan, Myanmar Travel Notes.

On Friday, 9 March, I checked out of the hotel in Bagan at 5:00 AM and picked up my breakfast-to-go from the hotel before being picked up by a taxi to go to the jetty to board the boat to Mandalay. It was still dark when I arrived at the jetty parking area where I was immediately met by several people who checked my ticket and carried my luggage to the boat. The gangplank was a board that I had to walk across from the river bank to the boat – glad that my balance was good enough to not fall off of the board.

I took a seat near the front and waited for the journey to begin. The passengers on the boat were mainly tourists, and there were plenty of empty seats for the non-stop trip upstream on the Irrawaddy River to Mandalay. Sunrise over the Irrawaddy River was spectacular as we approached the Pakokku Bridge with the sun in the background.

The Pakokku Bridge was built between 2009 and 31 December 2011. It is both a rail and highway bridge. It is part of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and is the longest bridge in Myanmar. It opened on 1 January 2012.

Even though the Irrawaddy River level was low and the river had receded from the high water marks on portions with high banks, it was quite wide and would flood wide swaths of the adjacent lowlands during the wet season. The trip upstream was interesting with many photo opportunities of different sizes and types of ships, boats, barges, and gigantic bamboo rafts.

As the boat approached Sagaing, it passed under both the Ava Bridge and the Yadanabon Bridge. Sigaing Hill was illuminated by sunshine and provided very good photo opportunities. Upon departing the river boat, I took a taxi to the Mandalay Hilton and was charged an excessive amount because I was obviously a foreign tourist. It was the only time that I was overcharged during my time in Myanmar.

On Saturday morning, 10 March, I was greeted by my previous guide and driver for my last local tour at Mandalay. We decided to visit Mingun and stopped en route at Sagaing to visit the Ook Kyaung Temple and the small pool adjacent to the temple. We continued along the Irrawaddy River to Mingun where we parked to visit the Mya Thein Dan Pagoda. After removing my shoes and socks, my guide and I climbed to the upper level of the pagoda and enjoyed several marvelous panoramic views. Next we visited the enormous Mingun Bell before going to the ancient Pahto Daw Gyi Pagoda which has sustained earthquake damage and a portion of the stairway to the upper level was closed to the public. Another site called The Lions was situated along the bank of the Irrawaddy River opposite from the bell and pagodas. These “lions” were two huge monuments which I believe resembled two elephants. The head portion had separated from the main portion of one of the two monuments.

We passed the Kyat Daijng Lake while driving to a restaurant for lunch. It was more like a pool constructed with stone stepped sides and worthy of a photo. After lunch, we returned to the hotel where I said goodbye to my guide and driver.

I checked out of the Hilton Mandalay on Sunday, 11 March, to go to the Mandalay International Airport for my flight back to Bangkok. While on the flight, I realized that I had just completed a fantastic trip to Myanmar.

See pictures from Mandalay, Myanmar

March 2018
Bagan, Myanmar

Travel Notes

After visiting Mandalay, Myanmar, from 2 March to 4 March, 2018, I obtained my local bus ticket from the hotel front desk clerk for my trip from Mandalay to Bagan. On Monday morning, 5 March, I was picked up at the hotel in Mandalay by the local bus company and taken to the Hello Express local bus where they had reserved a front row seat for me – I believe that only a limited number of seats were reserved. Throughout the trip to Bagan, the bus driver and his assistant would stop whenever someone wished to board or to disembark from the bus. Although it was a long bus ride, it was also a very interesting and inexpensive way to travel. Of particular interest to me was the use of manual labor for road construction including melting the tar in barrels for the road construction. Upon arrival at Bagan, I was taken directly to my hotel by the bus company.

While on the bus, I called the Areindmar Hotel, where I had made advance reservations, to reconfirm my arrival and request them to arrange for a private car and driver for the following day for local sightseeing. Upon arrival at the hotel, I was able to arrange for a hotel car with an English speaking guide for three days that included a day trip to Mount Popa. I was also able to have the hotel book a reservation on the boat from Bagan to Mandalay for Friday, 9 March. I paid for the boat ticket in USA Dollars as required by the hotel. I picked up my boat ticket from the front desk the following morning before eating a very nice buffet breakfast.

The ruins of Bagan extend over a tract of land measuring about 16 square miles along the east bank of the Irrawaddy River. The monuments, which are in all stages of decay, were erected mostly from the 11th to 13th centuries A.D. when Bagan was the seat of the Myanmar Dynasty. My guide said that currently there are more than 3,200 monuments in Bagan.

On the morning of 6 March, my guide with the car and driver met me at the hotel for a full day of local Bagan sightseeing. During the day we saw and visited many monuments and our day trip culminated in watching the sunset from a temple adjacent to the Dhammayazaka Pagoda. Our first stop was at the Nagayon Temple which contains a large standing Buddha with two smaller Buddhas, niches with statues, and wonderful wall paintings.

Next we visited Manuha Temple which was built in 1059 AD. Manuha contains images of three seated Buddhas and a gigantic recumbent image of Buddha. We walked from Manuha to visit Nanpaya Temple with a magnificent stone relief figure of Brahma. While walking, we also saw remnants of the Old Bagan City Wall, Thatbyinnyu Temple, Ngakywenadaung Pagoda, and Patothamya Temple. Our next stop was at a popular Bagan overlook with panoramic views over parts of Bagan. Since the daytime haze tended to obscure the distant views from the overlook, we drove to another overlook with somewhat better visibility.

We went from the second overlook to the Sulamani Temple which was built in 1188 AD. This temple features a large seated Buddha in a deep recess in a wall on the east side. It also has vaulted corridors with remnants of wonderful ancient wall and ceiling paintings. We continued on to visit the Dhamayangyi Temple which was never completed because the king building the temple was assassinated during the construction. We took photos as we drove past the Thabeikhmauk Temple Complex en route to the Ananda Temple.

Our last stop before lunch was at the Ananda Temple built in 1091 AD. It is one of the finest temples at Bagan and has recently been refurbished. It is beautiful, and I spent a lot of time visiting Ananda. It also contains magnificent stone sculptures. We also stopped to take photos of temples and pagodas near the Min O Chanta Phaya on our way to a restaurant for lunch. While driving around Bagan we saw and photographed many unidentified temples, pagodas, and other structures.

After lunch, we visited the Sarabua Gateway and took photos of the Shwe San Dav Pagoda as we returned to the hotel for an afternoon break. My guide met me late in the afternoon to go to Pwasaw to visit both the Dhammyazika Pagoda, built in 1196 AD and the adjacent Pwasaw Temple Complex to be in position to view the sunset over a portion of Bagan. I viewed the sunset from an upper level of one of the adjacent temples.

The following day, my guide met me at the hotel and we embarked on a road trip to visit the monastery at Taung Kalat commonly referred to as Mount Popa. Mount Popa is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and about 50 km southeast of Bagan. Southwest of Mount Popa is Taung Kalat (pedestal hill), a sheer-sided volcanic plug, which rises 657 metres (2,156 ft) above sea level. Since Mount Popa is the name of the actual volcano that caused the creation of the Tuang Kalat volcanic plug, to avoid confusion, the volcano (with its crater blown open on one side) is generally called Taung Ma-gyi (mother hill). A Buddhist monastery is located at the summit of Taung Kalat. The Taung Kalat pedestal hill is frequently called Mount Popa. I will refer to Taung Kalat in my photos as Mount Popa. At one time, the Buddhist hermit U Khandi maintained the stairway of 777 steps to the summit of Taung Kalat.

Our first stop en route to Taung Kalat was at the Palm Toddy Workshop adjacent to the highway. Here I was shown how people use the toddy palm trees for a livelihood. The sap is used to produce wine and stronger alcohol. While the toddy fruits are used to make jelly and other edible foods, the leaves are used to make craft articles for tourists. It was very interesting watching the processes.

We also visited the Shwe Si Tiaung Village to see how the local villagers live. We walked through the village and the villagers were very friendly. Tamarind, peanuts, and lentils are among the food items harvested here. They also still use oxen carts for transporting goods.

Before arriving at Taung Kalat, we visited the Shwe Bone Taco Win Monastery where I was able to photograph the Taung Kalat and the monastery on top. Since we were not able to drive all the way to the base of Taung Kalat, my driver let me and my guide off in a village on top of an adjacent hill from where we had to walk to Taung Kalat before climbing to the monastery.

The monastery at Taung Kalat is famed for being home to 37 nats (Burmese spirits), which are represented by statues at the base of the volcanic outcrop. From here, we climbed up the 777 steps to the monastery at the top, had a 360 degree panorama view and a labyrinth of shrines to explore. Before climbing the steps to the monastery, we had to remove our shoes and socks. We also had to be careful when passing by numerous monkeys along the stairway. To complicate matters, tourists purchased small cardboard tubes full of dry lentils to feed the monkeys and the monkeys spilled many of the lentils on the steps which were difficult to avoid while barefoot.

The monastery was very interesting and the view was spectacular. The climb down was still complicated by the monkeys and lentils on the steps. After returning to the car, we stopped for lunch and then returned to Bagan. I took photos of several more temples en route to Bagan. The trip was wonderful and I was able to return to the hotel with many very nice photos.

My guide picked me up at my hotel at 5:00 AM on Thursday morning, 8 March, to see the sunrise over an area of Bagan. We parked at a location near the Tamani Pagoda and hiked to a temple where we climbed up a set of narrow stairs to an upper lever to await the sunrise. I took several photos of temples illuminated by electric lights in the darkness and many photos as the sun gradually illuminated the area. We descended from the temple and found several other areas to continue photographing the sunrise and the hot air balloons floating across Bagan with the rising sun in the background.

We returned to the hotel where I ate breakfast and met my guide later in the morning to go to the Bagan Archaeological Museum. The relatively new museum was large and replaced a much smaller adjacent building. Although cameras were not allowed in the museum, visitors were allowed to take photos with mobile phones. The exhibits were well worth the visit.

After the museum, we visited the West Pwa Saw Village in Bagan. The village was also very interesting even though it was somewhat similar to the village that we visited the day before. From the village we continued along the Myat Lay Road to visit the Lemyethna Group and Temple, Thamanpaya Temple, Narathihapatae Temple, Payathonzu Temple, and Thambula Temple. These temples completed my local tours of Bagan, and I said goodbye to my guide and driver upon returning to the hotel.

I checked out of the hotel at 5:00 AM on Friday, 9 March, and picked up my breakfast-to-go from the hotel before being picked up by a taxi to go to the jetty to board the boat to Mandalay. The boat trip to Mandalay is documented in my separate Mandalay, Myanmar Travel Notes.

See pictures from Bagan, Myanmar

See pictures from Northwest Argentina

January 2018
Northwest Argentina

Travel Notes

Prior to booking a trip to Tibet and Everest Base Camp, I wanted to determine if I would be physically able to acclimate to high elevation altitude. Since Lhasa is approximately 12,000 feet above sea level and Everest Base Camp is approximately 18,000 feet above sea level, I decided to go to Salta and Jujuy Provinces of Argentina during the southern hemisphere summer month of January where I could experience elevations up to and over 14,000 feet.

I flew from Buenos Aires to Salta, Argentina, on Thursday, 4 January. Salta is the Provincial Capital of Salta Province and is 3,780 feet above sea level. After checking into my hotel, I decided to explore the neighborhood near the hotel. Although it was the rainy season in Salta and Jujuy provinces, the afternoon was clear and I decided to walk to the San Bernardo Cable Car, Teleferico San Bernardo, by following the overhead cables in the distance. I eventually arrived at Parque San Martin where the downhill station was situated. It was already too late in the day to ride the cable car, I decided that I would return the following day.

I continued walking until I arrived at Plaza 9 de Julio, the main plaza in Salta. It was dark by the time I finished eating dinner near the plaza. I continued walking around the plaza and admired the area as it was illuminated after dark.

Friday morning, 5 January, was beautiful with bright sunshine, which was a perfect time to return to the cable car. The cable car construction began during 1987 and it began operation in 1998. The panoramic views of Salta from the cable car as it ascends 285 meters to the Cerro San Bernardo viewpoint are stunning. In addition, there is an artistic water project at the summit which has many interesting features as people walk around and over it. Since Cerro San Bernardo is the highest point within the city, there are panoramic views in all directions.

I walked to the Plaza 9 de Julio where I visited the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana (MAAM), the high altitude archaeological museum of the north. It features the discovery of the three incas “Liullailaco Children” found frozen at the peak of Mount Liullailaco. They are some of the best preserved mummies in the world. The museum displays one of them at any one time and cycles the mummy on display every several months. No photographs are allowed within the museum.

After booking the Train to the Clouds Tour for Saturday and a tour to Cafayete for Sunday, I continued exploring the Plaza 9 de Julio area of Salta. In addition to the interesting structures within the plaza, the architecture of the surrounding buildings was also very nice. Most noteworthy were the Salta Cathedral, Cathedral Basilica, and the San Francisco Church, Basilica Menor y Convento San Francisco. These two churches were very beautiful both during the day and at night. The Old Town Hall, Cabildo Historica, is another prominent structure adjacent to the plaza. At night the plaza was full of people.

I was picked up at my hotel at 6:15 AM on Saturday morning and driven to the Salta Train station where I received my ticket and seat assignment for the Train to the Clouds, Tren a las Nubes, and the bus that would take me to the train station at San Antonio de los Cobres where I would board the train. The bus trip would include the very scenic Route 51 through the magnificent Quebrada del Toro. This gorge follows the Rio Toro and has constantly changing dramatic scenery and multicolored rocks. The first stop of the bus was at Campo Quijano to see an old steam locomotive that was on display. An additional stop was at the Viaducto El Toro for photos.

The bus continued northwest on Route 51 to El Alfarcito where the tour served coffee and a light breakfast snack. El Alfarcito is at an elevation of 2,800 meters (9,187 feet). In addition to a school, it has the San Cayetano Church, Capilla San Cayetano. The bus continued the assent to the Abra Blanco with an elevation of 4,080 meters (13,385 feet) before descending to a plateau and continuing to San Antonio de los Cobres with an elevation of 3,774 meters (12,382 feet). Spectacular views of Nevado de Acay with an elevation of 5,950 meters (19,521 feet) could be seen from Route 51 on both sides of the Abra Blanca.

We boarded the Tren a las Nubes at San Antonio de los Cobres and rode for 21 kilometers past the old Concordia Mine, Minos Concordia, to the famous bridge, La Polvorilla Viaduct. The bridge is 223.5 meters long with a maximum height of 63 meters above the ground and at an elevation of 4,220 meters (13,845 feet). It was constructed in 1932 and inaugurated on November 5, 1939. After a brief stop at La Polvorilla, the passengers on the train switched sides in the cars so they would have a different view as the train returned to San Antonio de los Cobres.

After disembarking from the train, the bus stopped in San Antonio de los Cobres for us to purchase lunch from any place of our choosing. During lunch, intermittent light rain showers began with snow accumulating on Nevado de Acay. The bus returned to Salta via Route 51 with a short stop at Santa Rosa de Tastil. This stop was to allow the passengers to walk to a viewpoint overlooking the archaeological ruins site at Tastil. Since it was raining and the visibility was very limited, I decided to remain on the bus. I returned to my hotel at approximately 8:30 PM after the long day trip.

On Sunday morning, the tour to Cafayete did not come to pick me up at my hotel at the appointed time. After waiting for more than 30 minutes, the hotel receptionist called the tour company which said that the tour bus was en route to the hotel. After another 30 minutes the tour company told the hotel receptionist that maybe the bus was stuck in traffic. Finally after another long delay, the tour company acknowledged that they had booked the tour for the prior day, the same day as my Tren a las Nubes tour. They refunded the cost of the tour to me after they opened later in the day.

Since I was not able to take the Cafayete tour, I decided to walk to the Salta Anthropological Museum, Museo de Antropologia. The museum was situated behind a small park with the Monumento al Gral. Martin Miguel de Guemes. Although the museum was small and was very much a work-in-progress, it was well worth a visit. After visiting the museum, I walked around several different areas of Salta.

On Monday, 8 January, I boarded a long distance bus to Humahuaca in Jujuy Province where I boarded another bus to Iruya. The bus trip from Salta to Humahuaca was 245 kilometers north on Route 9. The bus stopped at the new bus station at Jujuy city and at several other places including Purmamarca and Tilcara. Route 9 between Purmamarca and Humahuaca ascends through the Quebrada de Humahuaca with gorgeous colorful mountain scenery. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. After arriving at the Humahuaca bus station, I found the ticket sales for the bus to Iruya and purchased my ticket. The elevation at Humahuaca is 2,936 meters (9,633 feet). The road from Humahuacqa to Iruya was a narrow, winding, and mostly unpaved mountain road that is not for the faint of heart.

Iruya is a small town nestled against the mountainside at an elevation of 2,780 meters (9,120 feet) along the Iruya River. Although it is located in Salta Province, there is no road connecting it with the rest of the Salta province. Access to Iruya is through a road to the adjacent Jujuy province. The church in Iruya was built in 1690. The bus stop for Iruya is along the road to the town. The portion of the road and the streets within Iruya are paved with large uneven cobblestones which made rolling my carryon luggage nearly impossible. Fortunately, a local man took pity on me and offered to help me with my luggage to my hotel which ended up being nearly one kilometer away from the bus stop and mostly uphill. I was moving slowly in Iruya due to the high elevation and was happy that I had been acclimating for several days. I rested at my hotel for a couple of hours before looking to find somewhere nearby for dinner.

On Tuesday, 9 January, I went for a hike up the slope to the Iruya Hotel. It is the finest hotel in Iruya and is also the hotel farthest up the mountain. I walked from the hotel to the colorful Iruya Cemetery and then hiked to the viewpoint above the town with panoramic views of the town, the Iruya River and the portion of Iruya across the river accessible via a footbridge. I also booked an afternoon 4x4 tour to several smaller nearby pueblos. The only other attraction in Iruya was the museum located at the church – it was tiny but interesting. Since I was still getting acclimated to the altitude, I continued to walk slowly on the steep rough cobblestone streets.

The afternoon 4x4 tour was very good with a wonderful driver who would stop for photos anytime I asked. We traveled on one lane dirt roads up and down the mountains and visited several small pueblos including Campo Carpipas and Pueblo Viejo. The tour lasted nearly four hours and was a very good way to see the surrounding area.

After breakfast on Wednesday, 10 January, I decided to hike across the footbridge to the part of Iruya situated across the Iruya River. I was told that there was a trail up the mountain above this part of Iruya that led to a viewpoint to watch condors. The trail was a long steep climb up the side of the mountain with continuous switchbacks. In some places it was partly washed away and somewhat dangerous and of course, there were no handrails for support. I had been able to see several condors as I began the trail but the clouds began to obscure the view. I walked slowly with many rest stops due to the high elevation. After hiking nearly 80% of the trail elevation, it began to rain with thunder and lightning off in the distance. Since I did not want to be on the mountain during a potential thunderstorm, I decided to return to Iruya. In spite of stopping my hike, I was delighted that weather permitting, I would have been able to hike the top of the mountain.

On Thursday, 11 January, I hired a man to drive me and my luggage down to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Humahuaca. The bus ride to Humahuaca was a bit tricky as the rivers that we needed to drive across had increased water levels due to an overnight rain. En route to Humahuaca, the bus stopped for a few minutes at the picturesque village of Iturbe. It was misting rain when I arrived at Humahuaca, and I took a taxi to my hotel. Since I would have two days here, I went to find a travel desk to try to book a tour to Serrania de Hornocal and a tour to Tilcara. There were no pre-arranged tours available to Hornocal for Friday but I was able to book a 4x4 tour to Tilcara and Purmamarca for Saturday, 13 January. I was instructed to walk to the bridge on Friday and negotiate a 4x4 tour with one of the many trucks at the bridge.

On Friday morning, I walked to Gomez Plaza where I saw the Cabildo, the Inglesia de la Candelaria, and the small plaza in front of the steps leading up to the Heroes of the Independence Monument. It was a beautiful clear morning, and the views of the colorful mountains from the monument were stunning. The Santa Barbara Tower is situated near the monument, while the Humahuaca Cemetery is situated about 200 meters behind the heroes monument.

After walking to the cemetery, I returned to the monument and walked back down the stairs. To my surprise, what appeared to be a beauty contest was now in progress in the small plaza in front of the monument. I continued to explore portions of Humahuaca and eventually arrived at the bridge where several drivers with trucks were looking for people to go on tours. I found a man with a red truck who would take me to Hornocal as soon as he could find two more people for the trip. After several minutes, I told him that I would pay the additional amount and go with him as a private tour.

Serrania de Hornocal is a beautiful mountain range with multicolored triangular formations. The literature states that Hornocal has fourteen different colors and is best seen during the late afternoon on a clear day. Unfortunately, the clouds were rapidly moving in and the weather was deteriorating. The road to Hornocal was a winding ascent through the mountains to reach the viewpoint at an elevation of 4,350 meters (14,272 feet). By the time we arrived at the viewpoint area, the clouds had moved in with visible heavy rain in the distance. The good news was that I was at the highest elevation of my trip, but the bad news was that the vibrant colors of the rocks were diminished by clouds and fog. During the drive to Hornocal we saw several herds of wild Vicugna near the road. By the time we returned to Humahuaca, it was raining and I spent the remainder of the afternoon at my hotel.

I met my 4x4 tour on Saturday morning to go to Tilcara and Pumamarca. It was another beautiful clear morning as we drove southbound along Route 9 through the Quebrada de Humahuaca to Tilcara. We stopped for a few minutes at the picturesque village of Uquia en route to Tilcara. After arriving at Tilcara, with an elevation of 2,400 meters (7,874 feet), we stopped for photos in the town center and then continued on to the Pucara de Tilcara and the Jardin Botanico de Alturam. Jardin Botanico, which is located next to the pucara, is a botanical garden with cactus species native to the area. It is well worth a visit.

The Pucara de Ticara is a pre-Inca fortification or pucara located on a hill just outside of Tilcara. The pucara was originally built by the Omaguaca tribe around the 12th century. At its peak, the pucara covered up to 15 acres and housed over 2,000 inhabitants that lived in small square buildings with low doorways and no windows. The pucara also contained corrals for animals, sites to perform ceremonies, and burial sites. The Inca conquered the site during the late 15th century. The Spanish arrived in 1536, conquered the Incas, and founded the town of Tilcara. After excavation of the site during the early 20th century, the site was opened as an archaeological museum in 1966.

Our tour continued southbound on Route 9 through the Quebrada de Humahuaca to Purmamarca. Purmamarca, with an elevation of 2,200 meters (7,218 feet), is a small town situated at the base of many colorful mountains. The most famous of these is the Hill of Seven Colors, Cerro de los Siete Colores. After stopping for photos along the main road, where most tourists take photos of Cerro de los Colores, the driver took us back through a valley and over a pass with multi colored landscape on all sides. As the road ascended, the driver asked me if I was able to walk downhill at this altitude. I answered that I was. Later near the top of a pass overlooking a beautiful valley, the driver stopped for photographs and then drove off to the valley floor to wait for us. I didn’t realize that he was going to drive off and left my hat on the front seat of the truck. It was a long beautiful hike to the valley floor to retrieve my hat and my face received a severe sun burn during the hike. After a visit to downtown Purmamaca for lunch, we returned to Humahuaca.

On Sunday, 14 January, I took the long distance bus back to Salta. After checking into my hotel, I went to book small group tours to Cachi, Cafayete, and Salinas Grandes for the following three days that I would be in Salta.

I met my small group tour to Cachi early Monday morning. After a brief stop at Parador El Maray, the bus continued on Route 33 through the Cuesta del Obispo, which is a zigzag and steep section of road between Parador El Maray and the summit of Piedra del Molino at an elevation of 3,450 meters (11,319 feet). Route 33 continues on crossing the Los Cardones National Park. We stopped at a visitor area in the park with signs describing the park and a pathway to walk among several of the many Candelabro Cactus nearby. The cactus reaches 4 meters (13 feet) in height. Its solid branches and trunk are used to craft furniture, beams, and handcrafts. The elevation of the visitor area was 2,871 meters (9,419 feet).

The tour continued to a location where local people operated a roadside spice market adjacent to a popular tourist viewpoint. The market had a wide selection of spices and people from our bus purchased many different spices. The snow covered Nevado de Cachi, with an elevation of 6,380 meters (20,932 feet) and nine summits, was visible in the distance.

The tour continued to Cachi, where I purchased lunch at a restaurant across from the main plaza and the Church of San Jose. The small town of Cachi has an elevation of 2,200 meters (7,218 feet) and is surrounded by majestic mountains. Downtown Cachi was very picturesque and maintains a big tourism business.

On the return across the Parque National Los Cardones, heavy clouds began moving in. By the time we were near the summit at Piedra del Molino, the road was barely visible to the bus driver as we continued on at a snail’s pace. As we descended, we finally got below the clouds and continued back to Salta.

On Tuesday morning, 16 January, I met my small group tour to Cafayete. The tour headed southbound on Route 68 and, during our first stop, vehicles participating in the Dakar Rally 2018 (Peru to Bolivia to Argentina) began passing where we were stopped. This provided a great opportunity to see and to photograph some of the unique vehicles in the rally as they drove along Route 68. After we resumed our tour toward Cafayete, vehicles in the rally continued to pass us.

We stopped at several viewpoints with spectacular scenery as we drove along Route 68 and through the Quebrada se las Conchas. These included Mirsador Tres Cruces, Garganta del Diablo, El Amfitheatro, Valles Calchaquies, and Los Castillos. As we entered Cafayete, the tour stopped to tour a winery. The tour was short and superficial. Although Cafayete is known for some very good wines, I believe that the wine being tasted and sold to the tour visitors was of somewhat poor quality. I ate lunch at Cafayete and, except for the plaza and church, Cafayete was not a picturesque town. After the lunch stop, the tour returned to Salta.

On Wednesday morning, 17 January, I met my tour to Salenas Grandes. This tour would take us northbound on Route 51 through the magnificent Quebrada del Toro to San Antonio de las Cobres for lunch and then to Salenas Grandes before descending to Purmamarca and returning to Salta.

The bus driver was nearly thirty-five minutes late picking us up. He stopped at a convenience store before departing Salta. At the first tourist police checkpoint, one of the policemen requested our driver to blow into a breath tester. To everyone’s surprise our driver did not pass the breath test and was instructed to park the bus off of the road. The police escorted the driver inside a facility and we were informed that we were to get a new driver. Our new driver arrived wearing an olive colored tee shirt with a skull on the front with the captions “BAD DECISIONS” above the skull and “GOOD STORIES” under the skull. The police informed him that our bus would not be going anywhere and we would all need to wait for the company to provide another bus.

The replacement bus finally arrived and, after a brief stop at Campo Quijano to use public toilets, we continued our journey with our new driver ascending Route 51 to San Antonio de los Cobres for lunch. Once again, we were treated to beautiful views of the snow covered Nevado de Acay from Route 51. When our driver stopped at a turnout north of Abra Blanco overlooking the plateau, he pointed out the conical shaped Tuzgle Volcano behind a mountain range across the plateau. It has an elevation of 5,500 meters (18,044 freet).

The tour company bought lunch for the group as compensation for the arrest of our first driver. The road from San Antonio de los Cobres to Salinas Grandes was an unimproved dirt road across the plateau and provided views of the snow covered Nevado de Chani with an elevation of 5,893 meters (19,334 feet).

Salinas Grandes is a spectacular salt plain at an average altitude of 3,450 meters (11,319 feet). According to the literature, it is the largest salt flat in Argentina and the second largest in the world after Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It covers an area of approximately 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 square miles). There is a road that cuts across the salt plain where a visitor center is located.

After visiting Salinas Grandes, we continued northbound on the unimproved dirt road to the intersection of Route 52. We continued eastbound on Route 52 to the top of the Lipon Slope where the elevation is 4,140 meters (13,583 feet). We continued the long zigzaging nearly 1,940 meter descent of the Route 52 Lipon Slope into Purmamarca. After a brief stop at Purmamarca, we drove back to Salta.

I flew back to Buenos Aires on Thursday, 18 January, with the satisfaction of not only experiencing beautiful locations in both Salta and Jujuy Provinces, but also knowing that I will be able to acclimate to the high altitude of Tibet.

See pictures from Northern Territory, Australia

Oct/Nov 2017
Northern Territory, Australia

Travel Notes

Jan and I decided to visit or friend, Lily, in Sydney, Australia, and then rent an all-wheel drive SUV to explore the Litchfield, Nimiluk, and Kakadu Australian National Parks in the Australian Northern Territory after completing our Pacific Ocean crossing aboard the Holland America ship, MAASDAM.

We arrived at Sydney during the early morning hours of Saturday, 21 October. After disembarking from the MAASDAM, we took a taxi to our Sydney hotel. We walked from the hotel through the Darling Harbour area to the Australian Maritime Museum so Jan could tour the replica of Captain Cook’s ship, HMB ENDEAVOUR. I had sailed on this ship from Darwin to Broome in 2011 as part of the Circumnavigation of Australia by the ENDEAVOUR. I had purchased one of four Supernumerary sailing openings for the voyage to Broome and was given the cabin of the botanist, Joseph Banks, who had accompanied Captain Cook. After visiting the maritime museum, we returned to the hotel and called Lily. We arranged to meet up with her the following morning to go hiking at the Blue Mountains.

On Sunday morning, we took the train to Paramatta, Greater Western Sydney, to meet up with Lily. She drove us to the Blue Mountains where we hiked through the Minnehaha Falls Reserve to view the Minnehaha Falls. We ate lunch at a small family operated restaurant at the town of Blackheath. After lunch, we visited Govett’s Leap and then hiked to the Pulpit Rock Lookout – the landscape views at both of these locations were magnificent. Our final stop at the Blue Mountains was to at the famous Three Sisters viewpoint. Lily drove us back to see her new home on the Paramatta River where she cooked dinner for us. After dinner, we returned to the hotel, sorted our luggage, and packed up for an early morning flight to Darwin. Although I had visited Darwin before boarding the ENDEAVOUR in 2011, I did not have enough time to visit any of the national parks in the Northern Territory (NT).

On Monday morning, 23 October, we placed one piece of our luggage in storage at the hotel and took a taxi to the train station and boarded the train to the Sydney Domestic Airport. Our flight to Darwin, NT, arrived early afternoon, and we drove our rental SUV to our hotel. That afternoon, we walked along the Esplanade to the tourist information office to obtain information on the national parks that we would be exploring. The outside temperature was very hot and was an introduction to the many very hot days ahead of us. That evening, the sunset viewpoint at the Esplanade provided us with an exquisite Darwin sunset.

There are only a few good highways in the Northern Territory and there are many “truck Trains” on these highways. Lily advised that we should give plenty of space when near a truck train. She also said that we should always slow down when we see birds gathered on the highway as they often will fly toward an approaching vehicle. The Stuart Highway between Darwin and Alice Springs is a very good road with many strategically spaced protected passing areas.

We departed Darwin early Tuesday morning and drove the Stuart Highway southbound to Batchelor, NT, near the entrance to Litchfield National Park. We visited the Batchelor Museum which was very interesting. It had a large collection of World War II exhibits including a Bombing of Darwin DVD on the Japanese sneak attack on Darwin a couple of months after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Australian war efforts. The attack was carried out by the same carrier group that attacked Pearl Harbor. It devastated Darwin and was only one of many Japanese attacks on the Northern Territory. It resulted in the building of the Stuart Highway and the installation of many Allied airbases spread out in the Northern Territory. The museum also had exhibits on the aboriginal tribes that lived in the area, other settlements in the area, and the local Rum Jungle Uranium mining operations during the 1950s.

After checking into the Batchelor Butterfly Hotel, we drove into Litchfield and visited the Magnetic Termite Mounds which had both magnetic termite mounds and cathedral termite mounds. Although the cathedral termite mounds were found throughout the park, the magnetic termite mounds were concentrated in this area. We continued on to the Buley Rockhole turnout where we hiked to the Buley Rockhole portion of the Florence River and found people swimming in several of the rockholes as the river cascaded down the hillside. We continued on to the parking area for the Florence Falls Lookout and hiked to the lookout, which provided a spectacular view of the Florence Falls. We then descended 135 stairs down the Florence Creek and hiked to the Florence Falls Rockhhole at the base of the falls where people were swimming. Jan didn’t have her swimsuit but soaked her feet on the water at the rockhole. We climbed back up to the lookout and hiked back to the car. Since it was already late afternoon, we returned to the hotel and visited the butterfly enclosure and other animals at the butterfly farm.

On Wednesday morning, 25 October, we returned to Litchfield and began sightseeing the relics of the abandoned Bamboo Creek Tin Mine situated at the opposite end of the park. While hiking to the tin mine, we stopped for photos at a very large cathedral termite mound. The vegetation was interesting as were the remains of the tin mine which had been closed after miners began contracting silicosis. Our next stop was at the Cascades Creek parking area. We opted to hike along the Lower Cascades Creek, which was posted with warning signs regarding the presence of saltwater crocodiles. The hike was spectacular with crystal clear water and wonderful landscape scenery.

Our next stop was at Wangi Falls, the most popular location at Litchfield. We hiked to the falls and the rockhole at the base. This is also a popular location for people to swim in the rockhole with the freshwater crocodiles that inhabit this location. There were two separate waterfalls and, although some people were swimming, Jan opted to wait for us to return to the Buley Rockhole to go swimming.

After Wangi Falls, we drove to the Tolmer Falls parking area. We hiked to the Tolmer Falls Lookout which provided a superb view of the very high Tolmer Falls. Tolmer Creek flows across a plateau and then cascades down two escarpments into a distant deep plunge pool below and across the lowland plains.

We returned to the beautiful Buley Rockhole for Jan to go for a swim. Although the underwater rocks at the cascading creek and at the rockhole plunge pools were very slippery, the water was cool, clear, and refreshing after hiking in the hot weather. Jan’s swim concluded our visit to Litchfield, and we returned to the Batchelor Butterfly Hotel.

We departed Batchelor on the morning of 26 October and continued southbound on the Stuart Highway to Katherine, NT. Our first stop was to take a photo of the fire station at Adelaide River. Our next stop was at the Katherine Tourist Information Center where we purchased our permit to visit Kakadu National Park and gathered information on recommended sites to visit at Kakadu. We also obtained detailed information about Nimiluk National Park, which would be our next stop. After visiting a Woolworth store in Katherine, we drove along the Katherine River to Niniluk National Park. After stopping at the Nimiluk Visitors Center, where we obtained the key to our chalet at the Nimiluk Chalets, we ordered dinner to be delivered to our chalet and signed up for two tours the following day.

Once we moved into the chalet, we returned to the visitor center to view a video about Nimiluk and then walked down to the boat dock area on the Katherine River to make sure we knew where to go for our dawn cruise in the morning. We were impressed by the very large numbers of flying foxes (bats) in the trees beside the river. As we walked back to our chalet, we saw several wallabies in an open area near the chalets. The chalet was very nice with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living, and dining area with separate air conditioning in the bedroom and the other portion of the chalet.

On Friday, 27 October, we took a dawn cruise to Katherine Gorge No. 1 and Gorge No. 2. Since gorge 1 is separated from gorge 2 by an area with many large rocks, we disembarked at the upstream end of gorge 1, admired some aboriginal rock art, and hiked along a path to the downstream end of gorge 2, where we boarded a second boat. The second boat took us to the upstream end of gorge 2. The early morning sun shining on the beautiful tall escarpment cliffs made for wonderful photo opportunities. We were there during the dry season, but these areas of Katherine Gorge are flooded during the wet season as the river water level rises.

Since the outside temperature was over 100 degrees F, we ate lunch at the visitor center, ordered dinner to be delivered to the chalet, and spent the afternoon at the chalet until time to hike back to the boat dock for our afternoon cultural safari.

We met the Ancient Garlarr Safari at the boat dock and, since we were the only people who had signed up, instead of canceling the trip they gave us a private tour. The safari was hosted by several aboriginal people who demonstrated how the aboriginal people have lived in the area for thousands of years. En route to the upstream end of gorge 1, a woman demonstrated how they obtained vegetation to weave and dye various articles including baskets, mats, and hunting pouches.

We disembarked at the end of gorge 1, where the men showed us how they make spears, spear throwers, fishing spears, boomerangs, and clubs. They also provided information on aboriginal history and customs including the skin system used for marriage. In addition, they described in detail the different ancient rock art images on the escarpment cliffs. When we returned to the boat dock, once again, we were in awe at the large numbers of flying foxes in the trees. We were extremely impressed with this safari and would recommend it to any visitors to Nimiluk National Park.

We departed Nimiluk on Saturday, 28 October, for the very long drive to Kakadu National Park. We drove northbound on the Stuart Highway to Pine Creek where we visited the Pine Creek Railway Museum. We turned onto the Kakadu Highway at Pine Creek and continued northeast to Kakadu. We stopped at a ranger station inside the park which had an open door with some tourist information brochures and some exhibits on the aboriginal history, wildlife, vegetation, and geology of the park. We continued on to a parking area with hiking trails to the South Alligator River and the Gungurul Lookout.

The trail to the river had a warning sign for the presence of saltwater crocodiles. After I hiked to the river, which was completely dry, Jan and I began hiking to the lookout which turned out to be a very steep climb on a very hot afternoon. About half way up to lookout, Jan returned to the car while I continued to the top. The views from the lookout showed a vast area of lowland plain with several ranges and some tall escarpments toward the east. In addition, a large billabong was visible in the distance toward the west.

We continued on to the Kakadu Visitor Center, where a park ranger provided us with additional tourist brochures and marked up a park map of places that we should visit based on our expressed desire to visit rock art sites and take a couple of river cruises. The visitor center also had extensive exhibits on the cultural history, wildlife, and geology.

We continued driving to Jabiru, near the eastern side of the park, where we checked into the very upscale Mercure Crocodile Hotel. We booked a South Alligator River sunset cruise for the following afternoon and a mid-morning cultural cruise on the East Alligator River for the second day. We enjoyed a wonderful buffet dinner at the hotel that evening.

On Sunday, 29 October, we drove to the Anbangbang Billabong where we saw an enormous quantity of birdlife that included black cockatoos, white cockatoos, and magpie geese. Of course, all along the pedestrian trail near the billabong were the crocodile warning signs. We continued on to the Anbangbang Rock Art Gallery where we hiked along an escarpment with areas of ancient aboriginal rock art. This art was not only extensive but was very impressive. From here we took a trail to the Gunwarrdehwarrdeh Lookout to see the surrounding area with spectacular landscape views. As we left this area, we noticed a sign for the Nawurlandja Lookout and decided to stop.

We hiked up across a large escarpment to the lookout which provided an outstanding view that is reported to be spectacular at sunset. The view included the Anbangbang Billabong off in the distance from the side opposite to where we visited earlier.

En route to Cooinda, we stopped at the Warradjan Cultural Centre which housed wonderful exhibits of the aboriginal culture in the area. The museum did not allow any form of photography, but it is a must-see when visiting Kakadu. We ate a late lunch at the Cooinda Lodge where we met the courtesy bus to take us to our sunset Yellow Water River Cruise on the South Alligator River.

The river cruise departed from a dock in a billabong where we could see saltwater crocodiles swimming in the distance. After cruising through the billabong, where we saw numerous crocodiles on the shore, the cruise entered the South Alligator River where we saw water buffalo, crocodiles, wild horses, and many species of birds. The guide on the boat was very good and stopped the boat for people to observe different birds that most of us would otherwise probably not have noticed. As dusk set in, the guide pointed out the many thousand magpie geese flying overhead to their nighttime roosting place. Storm clouds began forming, with lightning off in the distance, as we ended the cruise.

It was after dark when we drove back to Jabiru and it was raining by the time we arrived at the hotel. We were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm with driving rain during the night. By morning, however, the storm had passed and we had another sunny day.

On Monday, 30 October, we drove to the East Alligator River Upstream Boat Ramp near Cahill’s Crossing for our cultural river cruise. The ubiquitous crocodile warning signs were also present here. The cruise took us downstream to Cahill’s Crossing and then upstream. The boat driver and guide was a local aboriginal person who was exceptionally good. There were countless saltwater crocodiles along both sides of the river. The guide showed us how they have fished, hunted, and lived off the land for thousands of years. He also showed us how the three-prong spear, used for fishing, pops back up in the water after he throws it. He also provided aboriginal cultural history and pointed out some ancient aboriginal rock art. After a stop for people to climb up to a lookout spot, we returned to the boat dock. It was another wonderful river cruise at Kakadu.

We visited the Border Store to get a snack and then drove to Ubirr to visit the Ubirr Rock Art Galleries. There were several galleries with exceptional ancient rock art that included the rainbow serpent, a Tasmanian tiger, barramundi, turtles, hands, wallabies, and Mountford Figures. As we drove back to Jabiru, we passed the remains of an abandoned car with extensive fire damage – it appeared to have been beside the road for a very long time.

We checked out of the hotel on 31 October and began driving along the Anthem Highway toward Darwin. We stopped to visit the Mamukala Wetlands, which is part of the South Alligator River Floodplain. This area was declared a Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. It is also visited by more than 60 species of birds. It is most spectacular during September and October when thousands of magpie geese visit to feed. Fortunately the magpie geese were present during our visit. As we continued along the Anthem Highway, we came upon another large billabong on the north side of the highway. I stopped to photograph two Jabirus - black-necked storks - standing in the water relatively close to the highway. I had seen a Jabiru when we were driving to the East Alligator River cruise but was not able to get a photo.

As we continued on the Anthem Highway, approximately 30 kilometers before reaching the Stuart Highway, we noticed a sign for the Fogg Dam Conservation Project. Since we had no knowledge of the Fogg Dam Project, we decided to drive there. It is a wetland area within the Adelaide and Mary River Floodplains. It attracts a wide range of local and migratory water birds and other wildlife including one of the largest populations of snakes in Australia including the Water Python and Death Adder. As we slowly drove across the dam, we were lucky enough to see and photograph several Brologas - Australian Cranes - standing in the water. The weather closed in and, as we were driving back across the dam, a torrential rain ensued but subsided as we were exiting the dam.

We continued driving to Darwin during intermittent rain showers. We stopped at downtown Darwin to fill the SUV with gasoline before going to our Darwin airport hotel. After checking into the hotel, we returned the rental car and walked back to the hotel. We flew to Sydney on the morning of 1 November and checked into an airport hotel. The following day, we took the train into Sydney to retrieve our stored luggage from our first Sydney hotel. We repacked for our flight the following day and flew back home to Los Angeles on Friday, 3 November.

See pictures from the MAASDAM

Sept/Oct 2017
Pacific Ocean Cruise

Travel Notes

Jan and I decided to take a Pacific Ocean repositioning cruise from San Diego, California, to Sydney, Australia, aboard the Holland America ship, MAASDAM. The cruise itinerary included en route ports of call in Hawaii, American Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Our good friends, Tom and Leslie, from Orcas Island, Washington, USA, decided to sail to Australia on the same cruise, which was wonderful.

We departed San Diego on Wednesday, 27 September, and arrived at Honolulu, Hawaii, on Tuesday, 3 October. After arriving at Honolulu, we took the Holland American “Monarchs & Missionaries: Hawaii’s Royal History” shore excursion. The first stop was at the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout which was the site of the Battle of Nu’uanu, one of the most important battles in Hawaiian history. The lookout provided magnificent views of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean coastline.

The second stop was at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site & Archives. We visited three restored mission houses, two of which are the oldest houses in Hawaii. Prior to the arrival of the missionaries, the Hawaiian Islands had no written language. The missionaries developed what is now the written Hawaiian language, and one of the buildings contained the print shop that houses both printing and book binding presses.

The Kawaiahaʻo Church, situated across the street from the mission houses, was designed by Rev. Hiram Bingham in the New England style of the Hawaiian missionaries. It was constructed between 1836 and 1842 of some 14,000 thousand-pound slabs of coral rock. The Kawaiahaʻo Church was once the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom and chapel of the royal family; the church is popularly known as Hawaii's Westminster Abbey.

Kawaiahaʻo Church was frequented by the chiefs of the Hawaiian Islands as well as the members of the reigning Kamehameha Dynasty and Kalākaua Dynasty. The upper gallery of the sanctuary is adorned with 21 portraits of Hawaiian royalty. The mausoleum of King Lunalito is situated adjacent to the Kawaiahaʻo Church – he preferred burial in a church cemetery to burial in the Royal Mausoleum.

A statue of King Kamehameha is situated in front of the court house. King Kamehameha was the king who united the Hawaiian Islands after the famous Battle of Nu’uanu.

The Iolani Palace is located across the street from King Kamehameha’s statue. This is the only royal palace in the United States and was built by King Kalakaua in 1882. It was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s last two monarchs – King Kalakaua and Queen Lili’uokalani. The Hawaiian Kingdom was a sovereign nation until Queen Lili’uokalani was overthrown during a coup and imprisoned within the palace. After the palace tour, we walked to the Aloha Tower Pier area and then continued back to the MAASDAM.

Since we had two days in Honolulu, we took a second shore excursion to visit the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday, 4 October. After viewing a documentary film about the attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, we boarded a Navy launch to go to the USS Arizona Memorial. After a talk by one of the docents at the memorial, we returned by another Navy launch to the main area for some free time before being transported to Ford Island to visit the battleship, USS Missouri. The USS Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States and was the vessel where the surrender of Japan took place on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay ending World War II. After a guided tour of the decks of the ship, we were given free time to continue on a self-guided tour to explore other areas of the battleship. The tour then drove us to the Punch Bowl National Cemetery before returning to the pier.

After five days at sea, we arrived at Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa, on the morning of 10 October. We decided to visit the Jean P. Haydon Museum and then explore the neighborhood in the vicinity of the port on foot. The museum is dedicated to the culture and history of American Samoa. It has extensive exhibits that include canoes, pigs’ tusk armlets, natural history, tapa making, tattooing, kava bowls, war clubs, and historical photographs.

We continued from the museum, along the picturesque waterfront, toward the McDonald’s restaurant where we purchased milkshakes and used their WiFi to check email. During our walk around the area, we passed the outdoor town market and many small businesses as well as the District Court, the High Court, and the Police Station. The Fagatogo Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa O LE KI LE MALO O LE LAGI (CCCAS) stood out as a landmark. The original church dates back to the 1830’s; however, the current building was reconstructed between 1933 and 1949. After damage from three cyclones, the church was closed for a two-year renovation and re-opened in 1994.

Although we intended to walk in the opposite direction from the port to see one of the local beaches, it began to rain as we were passing the port. As a result, we decided to skip the long walk to the beach and returned to the MAASDAM which departed Pago Pago later that evening.

After two more sea days, we arrived at Port Vila, Suva, Fiji, on the morning of 13 October. After disembarking from the ship, we walked through an immense municipal market before arriving at the downtown center of Suva. We visited the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart which was first used in 1902. As we continued walking, we admired many very nice colonial buildings in downtown Suva. We passed the Carnegie City Library, a large complex of Government buildings, and Albert Pavilion en route to Fiji National Museum. The museum is located in the large Thurston Gardens botanical garden. The museum is magnificent and contains a large array of diverse Fijian and Melanesian cultural exhibits. One unique exhibit is the rudder from the famous HMS BOUNTY, the ship the mutineers, led by master’s mate Fletcher Christian, took from Captain William Bligh on April 28, 1879.

After visiting the museum and Thurston Gardens, we walked along Suva Harbor past the Parliament of Fiji and the Police Academy before walking back along the harbor to the ship, passing the Grand Pacific Hotel and Umoria Park along the way.

We arrived at Dravuni Island, Fiji, on the morning of 14 October. This was a tender port with a small village at the small pier. The island had a very nice beach and a hiking trail to a couple of mountain viewpoints. Jan opted to spend time at the beach with our two new friends Bob and Bernie. I purchased a boat ride around the island to get an overall assessment of the island from the small boat and some photos in the morning light. The owner of the boat unsuccessfully tried to solicit additional passengers after I had climbed into the boat. Thus my own private boat ride around the island provided some very good photo opportunities. I joined Jan on the beach after the boat ride and then decided to hike the hill top trail to the two highest viewpoints. Both the beach and the hilltop viewpoints also provided some very good photo opportunities.

After another sea day, we arrived at Port Vila, Vanuatu, on the morning of 16 October. Since the cruise ship port was quite a distance from downtown, we took a water taxi from the ship to downtown Port Vila. The water taxi took us across Port Vila Harbor and provided close-up views of Iririki Island and several wrecked ships along one side of the harbor possibly awaiting a salvage operation. After arriving at the downtown mooring dock, we departed and walked around the downtown area before arriving at a small city overlook area with a bench under a very large tree. We continued on in the direction of the Venuatu National Museum when we came across a large open area where the Week of Pacific Agriculture Expo was being held. We walked through several of the expo exhibits that were open and continued walking until we came upon the new Vanuatu National Convention Center, which is near the museum. The National Convention Center project is being jointly funded by the Chinese Government.

The Vanuatu National Museum is a wonderful museum that depicts the Vanuatu and Melanese cultures. While we were there, a tour group arrived, and the museum put on a special cultural demonstration for them. After being fortunate to see the special event, we spent considerable time viewing the museum exhibits. We walked back to the downtown area and found a small restaurant where we could connect to WiFi. Since we were still quite a distance from the cruise port, we caught a local bus that took us back to the MAASDAM.

We arrived at Tadine, Île Maré, New Caledonia, during the morning of 17 October. This was another tender port in the Tadine Bay. Tadine village is small and the main attraction as a cruise ship destination is Yejele Beach. There was round-trip bus service from the dock to Yejele Beach. Jan, Bob, Bernie, and I all took the bus to the beach. After walking the beach from one end to the other to take some photos, I left Jan, Bob, and Bernie on the beach and took a bus back to the village. The coastline adjacent to Tadine Bay is described in the literature as being a natural aquarium. I decided to hike the coast beside the bay to view the exquisite rock forms and beautiful ocean scenery.

After walking to the area described as a natural aquarium, I returned to Tadine village where I spotted a shipwreck monument near the dock. The village had erected the MONIQUE Shipwreck Monument to remember tihe disappearance of the MONIQUE during the night of July 1, 1953, en route from Tadine to Nouméa with 126 passengers aboard.

On the morning of 18 October, we arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia, where we were instructed to take a complimentary shuttle bus from the MAASDAM to the downtown ferry building. After exchanging money at the ferry building, Jan and I purchased tickets for the hop-on-hop-off bus and went to visit the Nouméa Aquarium. We arrived about ten minutes before the museum opened and were among the first visitors of the day before the tour bus crowds arrived. The aquarium was exceptionally nice with both indoor exhibits and an outdoor turtle tank, as well as a viewpoint overlooking Lemon Beach. The indoor exhibits are very well presented and make this a world-class museum. We continued on to the Museum of New Caledonia which offered free admission on the day we were there. The museum closed for lunch about fifteen minutes after we arrive, and we were told to return after lunch.

We walked across the street to a small plaza area with two monuments. One monument honored the US Forces whose presence during World War II prevented the island from being overrun by Japanese soldiers. The second monument appeared to be associated with the Melanesian culture.

We returned to the Museum of New Caledonia and spent a couple of hours viewing the extensive cultural exhibits. The museum is very large and also has an outdoor area for special events. This museum should not be missed when visiting Nouméa. Instead of waiting for the hop-on-hop-off bus, we walked to the Nouméa Central Square where we were unsuccessful at connecting to public WiFi. We continued walking back to the ferry building where we caught the shuttle bus back to the MAASDAM.

We departed Nouméa during the evening en route to Sydney, Australia. After two more sea days, the MAASDAM arrived at Sydney during the early morning on 21 October. We said goodbye to our friends, disembarked, and took a taxi to our Sydney hotel where Jan and I would begin a new adventure to visit and explore three National Parks in the Northern Territory of Australia.

June 2017
Chongqing, China Weekend

Travel Notes

I took the high speed train from Chengdu, China, to Chongqing, China, on Friday, 16 June, to visit with friends in Chongqing over the weekend. After arriving in Chongqing, I took a local taxi from the high speed rail station to my hotel. I called my friend Summer, who currently works for China Express Airlines, to let her know that I had arrived. She had arranged for me to accompany her and several China Express flight attendants to go to the Sante Blueberry Camping Garden that evening to pick blueberries and have a multi-course dinner.

Later in the afternoon, Summer sent one of her friends to pick me up at my hotel and take me to meet up with her and three more of her China Express friends. As we all drove high up in the Gele Mountain International Citteslow mountains, we passed the No Feng Shui Treasure Land Park en route to the Sante Blueberry Camping Garden. The people at Sante also grow many different kinds of fresh vegetables in terraced plots. We proceeded to pick as many blueberries, fresh off the bushes, as we could eat.

After picking blueberries, we were served an eight course meal plus steamed rice. The people at Sante used their fresh picked vegetables in the food preparation, and the food was marvelous. During the dinner, I took my chopsticks and the piece of chicken that I extracted from the dish turned out to be the entire chicken head. I looked at the chicken head and said to Summer, “I don’t know how to handle this,” and she politely replied, “just give it to me.” We all ate as much as we could, and the folks at Sante packed up the remainder of the food for them to take home.

After dinner, we hiked around the camping area as the sun went down. A few goats were kept at one section, and, at another section, the China Express people enjoyed bouncing on two trampolines while I attempted to take some photos of them. I managed to capture one photo of Summer at the top of one of her high bounces. After the trampolines, we drove back to Chongqing and I was dropped off at my hotel. It was a wonderful evening with Summer and new friends.

On Saturday morning, 17 June, Thong and Peng, two of my friends from Chongqing, drove Summer and her daughter, Nancy, to pick me up at my hotel. They decided that our first stop would be to visit a portion of “Old Chongqing” in the Na’nan District of Chongqing. Thong parked near a tower that Peng referred to as the Tower of Scholars, and we walked down a stairway to “Old Chongqing.” We walked along the ancient pedestrian streets and admired the architecture and surroundings. Some buildings appeared empty while others were occupied by local residents whom I was told refused to leave their homes to allow demolition of the area by the Government for new development. A few of the buildings had small shops and small local restaurants open for tourists. At one street corner, several artists were busy painting images of the ancient buildings.

We ate lunch at a tiny Chongqing local noodle restaurant and then went to visit the Huguang Guild Complex. The complex consists of old buildings dating from 1759 that served as a cultural, business and social center for more than 200 years. It was built for people from Hubei, Guangdong, Guanxi, and Hunan. It opened for tourists in 2005 after a renovation. The complex was very interesting and provided many photo opportunities.

We ended our day with a visit to a shopping center on Nanbin Road east of the Sheraton Grand Hotel. It had a several art galleries and a large modern book store. The top floor was occupied by a very nice restaurant where we ate a classic Chongqing hot pot dinner while overlooking the Yangtze River. After dinner, we visited the bookstore where Nancy, after browsing through many books, purchased several. I had read recent newspaper articles discussing the increasing popularity of bookstores in China, and this bookstore was packed with young people and families with young children.

Thong then drove us back to my hotel where I thanked all of them for a wonderful day in Chongqing. Hopefully we can all get together for another visit either in Chongqing or in my hometown of Los Angeles, California.

On Sunday, 18 June, I took the high speed train to the Chengdu East Station. I transferred to the metro and rode it to the Dongman Bridge Station near my Chengdu hotel. The following morning, I boarded the first of my flights from Chengdu back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Chongqing

June 2017
Thailand

Travel Notes

I flew from Chengdu, China, to Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, 2 June, en route to Chiang Rai, Thailand. After overnighting in Bangkok, I flew to Chiang Rai and checked into my hotel on 3 June. The purpose of this trip was to rent a car and take a road trip in the far north of Thailand. Although I did not have a pre-planned itinerary, I wanted to either visit the mountains in far northwestern Thailand near Myanmar or visit the Nan and Phrae Provinces of central northern Thailand near Laos.

I rented a car on Sunday, 4 June, and drove to Doi Tung, north of Chiang Rai, to visit the beautiful Mae Fah Luang Gardens. I hadn’t visited the gardens in several years, and I wanted to see the most recent changes. I noticed a huge white Buddha statue on a distant hill north of Chiang Rai. Since I had never seen the statue before, I decided to take a detour to visit it first. The giant white Buddha statue is part of picturesque Wat Huai Pla Kung. The Buddha statue is still a work in progress and is twenty-six stories high with the middle interior portion still under construction. I took the interior elevator to the 25th floor, and the white interior sculptures were spectacular. The white Buddha statue is adjacent to a nine story high Thai-Chinese style pagoda which is also very nice. Of the numerous times that I have visited Chiang Rai, I was overjoyed to discover Wat Huai Pla Kung. I continued driving to Doi Tung and spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling around the Mae Fah Luang Gardens.

After deciding to visit the Phu Langka Forest Park en route to Nan, I began my road trip in earnest on Monday, 5 June. The fairly long drive to the park consisted of some narrow secondary roads with beautiful mountain scenery. After I booked a cabin at the Pulangka Resort on Thai Route 1148 for the night, I hired a driver and took an off-road trip to Phu Langka Forest Park. Since it was the rainy season, the off-road trip through the park was on a slippery dirt trail, with many deep ridges and gullies, ascending the mountains to a hiking trail-head that led to the two mountain peaks. My driver and I hiked to both the lower Doi Phunom peak and then to the higher Doi Phu Langka peak. The elevation at the Doi Phu Langka peak is 1,720 meters. The spectacular views from the peaks were somewhat obscured by distant high-humidity haze. During the downhill return, my driver nearly lost control of the vehicle in a deep rut and damaged his off-road vehicle. Fortunately for me, the vehicle was drivable back to the resort where several people began to assess the damage.

Although the cabin was very primitive, the double bed had very good mosquito netting. I placed all of my belongings on the bed within the mosquito netting to prevent them from becoming infested with ants and other insects within the cabin. The view from the cabin porch, overlooking a valley, was spectacular, and, off in the distance, I could see a portion of Route 1148, where I would be driving to Nan the following day. Since the nearby Magic Mountain Bar and Restaurant was closed, I ate dinner at the resort.

I woke up early the next morning to view the sunrise across the valley, and after breakfast at the resort, I began my drive to Nan via Route 1148 and Route 101. Although the drive to Nan was supposed to be relatively short, I missed a U-turn as I exited Route 1148 onto Highway 101 and drove in the wrong direction on Highway 101. I realized my mistake when I saw a sign for a Laos Immigration checkpoint. After making a U-turn, I backtracked along Highway 101, past Route 1148, and then continued on to Nan. Although the scenery was beautiful heading to Laos, I regretted the extra 90 to 100 kilometers of driving.

I checked into a very nice hotel in Nan and then went to a recommended local Nan restaurant for a late lunch. After lunch, I visited Wat Phrathat Chang Kam Wara Viharn, Wat Phrathat Chae Haeng, Wat Phrathat Khao Noi, Wat Phumin, and Wat Sripanton (Golden Temple). Beautiful murals decorated the walls of Wat Phumin. There were also some amorous murals on the temple walls including one famous mural of a man and woman referred to as “The Whisper.” In fact, ubiquitous images of the “The Whisper” mural were displayed throughout Nan City. The image was even displayed on the curtains in my hotel room.

On Wednesday, 7 June, I drove to the entrance of the Doi Phaphueng Waterfalls but was turned back because the waterfalls were closed due to the rainy season. My next stop was at the Sao Din Na Noi Landforms to walk among unique soil formations. I continued driving to Doi Samer Dao, a mountain in the Si Din National Park. Doi Samer Dao has a ridge with a view of a “lion head” rock formation and expansive landscape views. It is also referred to as the mountain to the stars. I also observed stunning views in the opposite direction from another ridge as I hiked back to my car.

After a long drive back to Nan City, I visited Wat Boon Yen, Wat Huay Kuang, the Nan National Museum, and then revisited Wat Phumin to take additional photos of the wall murals.

I drove to Phrae on Thursday, 8 June, and checked into another very nice hotel. I really appreciated the nice hotels after staying in the very primitive cabin at the Pulangka Resort. After attempting to visit another waterfall that was closed due to the rainy season, I visited Wat Doi Leng, Wat Phrathat Chohae, Wat Phrathat Chom Chaeng, Wat Phrathat Jom Jang, Wat Phrathat Suton Mong Kol Kee Ree, and Wat Phra Non.

The following day, I first drove north to visit the Pha Nang Khol Cave, which was interesting but not as spectacular as some of the karst caves of southern China. My next stop was at the Phae Mueang Phi Forest Park, another landform with unique soil formations. I then returned to Phrea City and visited Wat Phrathat Pu Jue, Wat Hua Kuang, Wat Si Chum, Wat Luang, and Wat Pong Sunan. Since I still had ample time, I drove a long distance along Route 1023 to visit Wat Phrathat Lam Lee and Wat Phrathat Hi Soy.

On Saturday, 10 June, I began the long drive back to Chiang Rai. Along the way, I visited Wat Phra Tet near Khaewn as well as Wat Phrathat Phra Lo near Song. I returned my rental car after I arrived in Chiang Rai and spent the next day editing photos.

On Monday, 12 June, I visited the relatively new Wat Rog Sell Ten, commonly referred to as the Blue Temple, which is beautiful and another work in progress. I also visited Wat Phra That Doi Kow situated above the Chiang Rai reservoir lake. My last stop was at the Chertawan International Meditation Center. This center is very large and was a very interesting place to visit.

I flew back to Bangkok on Monday, 12 June, en route to Chengdu, China. I was disappointed that I was unable to visit the two waterfalls, but I was very happy to have been able to visit so many beautiful temples and drive through the wonderful mountains of Nan and Phrae Provinces.

See pictures from the Pacific Northwest

April/May 2017
Pacific Northwest

Travel Notes

Jan and I wanted to visit friends in the vicinity of Seattle, Washington, as well friends on Orcas Island, Washington, in the San Juan Islands. We booked a repositioning cruise from San Diego, California, to Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada, aboard the Holland America ship, ZAANDAM. Since the cruise itinerary included an en route stop at Victoria, BC, we requested and were granted permission to disembark at Victoria. This would be our third Holland American repositioning cruise from San Diego to British Columbia.

On Saturday, 22 April, we took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles to San Diego, boarded the ZAANDAM, and settled into our cabin. The ship departed San Diego that evening and began the journey to Victoria.

After open-ocean sailing for the next three days, we arrived at Victoria, BC, during the late afternoon on Tuesday, 25 April. Since we had special permission to disembark at Victoria, we were required to wait on board until the Canadian Immigration Officials were ready to clear us into Canada upon disembarkation.

We took a local taxi from the port to our hotel near the inner harbor. After checking into the hotel, we met up with Tom and Leslie, our friends from Orcas Island, who had taken the ferry from Orcas Island to Victoria to meet us. This visit to Victoria was earlier in the year than our two prior visits, and the flowering trees and tulips were stunning. The weather was perfect as we walked around the inner harbor to go to a restaurant where Leslie had made dinner reservations.

Although Jan was recovering from a foot problem that impaired her ability to walk for any great distance, she felt that she could probably manage a morning walk with Tom and Leslie to find a restaurant for breakfast. After leaving the hotel on Wednesday morning, we walked past the inner harbor and along the scenic coastline past the road to the cruise ship port until we finally ended up at the entrance to Beacon Hill Park.

The flowers, flowering trees, and landscape scenery within Beacon Hill Park were magnificent. Since the flowers were so beautiful, I called the Butchart Gardens to made a reservation for lunch on the following day. By this time, Jan’s foot was beginning to give her trouble, and we still had not found a restaurant for breakfast. I was unable to find a local taxi as we continued walking back toward the inner harbor area. As we came upon the Royal BC Museum, we decided to stop and get some food at the museum restaurant.

We had previously admired the collection of totem poles on the grounds of the Royal BC Museum while on a walk during our May 2016 visit to Victoria. Since we were already at the museum, we decided to purchase tickets and tour at least part of the museum. We visited the temporary Terry Fox Exhibition which was scheduled to run from 12 April to 1 October. Terrance Stanley “Terry” Fox was a young Canadian athlete who inspired Canada and the world through his struggle against cancer and his determination to raise funds for cancer research. After losing his right leg to cancer, he decided to run across Canada to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. He ran 5,373 km in 143 days from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he was forced to stop after cancer invaded his lungs. He died one month before his 23rd birthday. He received numerous awards, was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and became the youngest person to be made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Since the museum’s permanent collection was quite large and Jan’s foot was becoming increasingly painful, we only toured a portion of the Native American exhibits. The totem poles inside the museum were amazing, and this museum is a place that I look forward to revisiting during a future trip to Victoria.

As we were getting ready to leave the museum, Tom wanted to go to a special restaurant for lunch, which he said was nearby. I wanted to have the museum call a taxi to take us to the restaurant but Tom insisted that the restaurant was very close to the museum. Jan thought that she would be ok for a very short walk to the restaurant, which turned out to be more than a kilometer uphill from the museum.

Although we had planned to visit Craigdarroch Castle after lunch, Jan and I decided to forgo the castle and took a taxi back to our hotel. Jan and I took a taxi to meet up with Tom and Leslie for dinner that evening.

The extended walking had aggravated Jan’s foot problem to the point that she would not be able to walk more than a very short distance during the remainder of our time in Victoria. On Thursday morning, after canceling our lunch reservation at Butchart Gardens, Jan remained at the hotel resting her foot while I met up with Tom and Leslie. Jan and I continued to take taxis to the other wonderful restaurants at which we ate in Victoria.

On Friday, 28 April, Tom and Leslie drove us to the ferry terminal at Sydney, BC, where we cleared Canada Customs, and boarded the ferry to San Juan Island, where we then cleared US Customs. After disembarking from the ferry, we drove around the ferry parking lot and got into the queue to wait for the ferry to Orcas Island. It was a short ferry ride to Orcas Island, and we drove home with Tom and Leslie, where we visited until 3 May. I helped Tom with a couple of projects at their home during our stay on Orcas Island, and Leslie prepared some of her wonderful meals that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

On Tuesday, 3 May, Tom and Leslie drove us to the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. En route to the terminal, we stopped at the two barns painted by the high school senior class with each class painting over the work of the prior years’ class – the old barn was last painted by the Class of 2014, and the new barn was painted by the Class of 2017. The old barn continues to be on the verge of collapse. We boarded the ferry to Anacortes, Washington, and then caught the BelAir Airporter Shuttle bus to SEA/TAC International Airport.

Our friends, John and Diane, from Federal Way, Washington, met us at the airport. We spent the next four days visiting with them as well as their son, David, and his wife, Doreen, who live in Tacoma, Washington. Since Diane was having problems with her hip, both she and Jan ended up on the disabled list. Consequently, we limited our sightseeing activities here as well.

David and Doreen drove all of us to revisit Fort Nisqually at Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday, 6 May. The fort was closed when we visited it during our 2015 trip. At that time, we were only able to take photos from the outside. The fort was established as a fur trading outpost in 1833 by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Hudson’s Bay Company sold its holdings to the United States Government in 1869, and Fort Nisqually became the homestead of the last manager, Edward Higgins. The fort is now a museum that portrays the British establishment during the year 1855.

The working blacksmith shop was one of the main attractions, where the blacksmith was making forged metal puzzles that ended up for sale in the fort’s gift shop. Other attractions at the fort included cabins with circa 1855 furnishings, a general store exhibit, and a meeting building that housed a selection of hats and early American clothing that tourists were welcome to try on. Of course, I had to try on several of the hats while John and Diane donned a complete pioneer couple’s wardrobe. We all had a wonderful time at the fort, which is currently also used for additional public educational functions.

On Sunday, 7 May, David and Doreen drove us to visit the award winning Chase Garden near Orting, Washington. It is a 4.5 acre naturalistic retreat created by Emmott and Ione Chase. It reflects Japanese and modern design influences of the 1950’s and 1960’s in a native woodland carpeted with wildflowers and a sunny meadow. The garden also provides a spectacular panoramic view of Mt. Rainier and the Cascade foothills. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the garden before returning to Federal Way for dinner.

We flew home to Los Angeles on Monday, 8 May, and are looking forward to future trips to the Pacific Northwest.

See pictures from Yunnan & Guangxi, China

March 2017
Yunnan & Guangxi Provinces, China

Travel Notes

I decided to return to Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, in March 2017 to revisit the Yunnan Nationalities Village and then visit some places in the Guangxi Zuhang Autonomous Region. When I visited Kunming in August 2015, my trip was hampered by rain and I was unable to see the entire Kunming Nationalities Village site. Kunming seemed the perfect place for me to resume my visits to the far south of China.

I arrived at Kunming early afternoon on Sunday, 5 March. After checking into my hotel, I walked to the nearest Bank of China ATM to obtain additional China Yuan for my journey. While returning to the hotel, I passed a huge construction site for a very tall commercial building surrounded by a picturesque fence. A small white building was situated on the side of the street and inset into the fenced off construction area. There was a banner on the fence adjacent to the small white building announcing the public opening of a new Kunming Flying Tigers Museum. I entered the building and toured the museum, which occupied both floors of the building. The museum exhibits were very nice, and it was a lucky find for me. This is a second Flying Tigers Museum Exhibit – the Kunming Museum also has a Flying Tigers Exhibit Hall.

I visited the Kunming Museum on the following day. It opened to the public in 1997 and contains more than 20,000 items. The museum has six basic exhibition halls: “Dinosaurs in the Kunming Area,” “Dianchi Lake Area Bronze Ware,” “Sutra Pillar of Dizang Temple,” “Tigers in the Sky – Flying Tigers Museum,” “Fan Paintings,” and “Blue and White Porcelain Hall.” The museum also has five temporary exhibition halls. The Dianchi Lake Area Bronze Ware exhibition was closed when I was there but the other exhibits were very well organized and many of the exhibits had English captions. In addition, a temporary exhibition of paper cutting art was fantastic.

Tuesday, 7 March, was a partly cloudy day with intermittent sunshine and proved to be the perfect day for a return visit to the Kunming Nationalities Village. This lakeside village is situated on the shore of several islands formed by channels of Dian Lake. It shows the ethnic residential houses, customs, music, dance, and religious culture of the twenty-six ethnic groups of Yunnan Province: Dai, Lahu, Yi, Bai, Miao, Wa, Hani, Zhuang, Hui, Naxi, Lisu, Yao, Jingpo, Tinetan, Bulang, Buyi, A’chang, Pumi, Mongol, Nu, Jinuo, Deáng, Shui, Man, Dulong, and Han nationalities. This is one of the most interesting tourism sites in the Kunming area. I managed to spend the entire day at the village and recommend it as a site not to be missed.

I took the high speed train to Nanning in the Guangxi Zuhang Autonomous Region (commonly referred to as Guangxi) on Wednesday, 8 March, and then took a bus to Chongzuo, China. The following day, I hired a taxi for the day to visit the Huashan Mountain Mural Paintings, which are located on a rock mountain by the bank of the Mingjiang River. The mural paintings, located on a huge and steep precipice, contain more than 1,800 images of primitive people with the largest measuring more than three meters tall and the smallest measuring about 0.3 meter. The tourism literature states that these mural paintings are more than 2,000 years old and date back to the period before the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-200 AD). It also states that among all of the ancient mural paintings in the area, the Huashan Mountain Mural Paintings are the largest scale with the highest concentrations. A very scenic boat trip on the Mingjiang River is required to reach Huashan Mountain, and the murals are best viewed from the boat.

On Friday, 10 March, I hired a taxi for the day to visit the Detian Sino-Vietnamese Cross-national Waterfalls. They consist of the Ban Gioc Waterfalls of Vietnam and the Detian Waterfalls of China and span the Guichun Boundary River, which forms the China-Vietnamese border in this region of Guangxi. It is the largest cross-national waterfalls in Asia – the waterfalls are more than 200 meters wide and 60 meters deep with a drop of 70 meters. The viewing area for the Detian Waterfalls on the China side of the river begins with a walkway from near the top of a mountain gorge down to the side of the Guichun River downstream of the falls and along the river bank up to the bottom of the waterfalls. There are spectacular views of the falls from the riverbank. A stairway near the base of the falls ascends to the top of the waterfalls with several viewing platforms along the ascent. Once at the top of the falls, a walkway along the edge of the gorge back to the entrance provides additional spectacular views of the Ban Gioc Waterfalls as well as a temple situated high on a mountain in Vietnam. I also consider the Detian Sino-Vietnamese Cross-national Waterfalls to be another site not to be missed when visiting Guangxi.

On Saturday, 11 March, I took the train from Chongzuo to Nanning. After checking into my hotel, I went to the Museum of the Guangxi Zuhang Autonomous Region (commonly referred to as the Guangxi Museum) and the adjacent Minority Cultural Relics Garden. The museum houses more than 50,000 cultural relics. The Guangxi Baiyue Cultural Relics Exhibition is a magnificent collection that includes hand axes dating from 800,000 years ago and big stone spades from the Neolithic age. The Bronze Drum Hall has the world’s biggest bronze drum and boasts having the most drums collected as well as a comparatively complete collection of the different types of bronze drums. The Hall of Ethnic Folk Customs displays the customs of eleven ethnic minorities in Guangxi. The Museum also had a wonderful porcelain collection exhibition.

The Guangxi Minority Cultural Relics Garden, located next to the Guangxi Museum, is a nice outdoor garden that contains a restaurant where I relaxed and enjoyed a pot of tea. The garden is situated around a pond that is spanned by the famous wind-and-rain bridge, Guangxi Chuan Tong Gong Yi Zhan Shi Guan. The garden is a nice place to walk around and enjoy the architecture and scenery.

On Sunday, 12 March, I visited the Guangxi Museum of Nationalities and the Guangxi Ethnic Village located behind the museum. The Nationalities Museum had extensive exhibitions including Zhuang Culture, bronze drum, Guangxi ethnic costumes and customs, occupational tools, ethnic architecture, ethnic religious beliefs, world nationalities, and cliff painting exhibitions. The exhibits are magnificent, and this museum is now one of the most popular attractions in Nanning.

The Guangxi Ethnic Village was still a work-in-progress when I visited it. There will be many ethnic houses when the village is completed. The Auki Town Water-sprinkling Festival was being filmed while I was there. The people were splashing and throwing water on each other. It reminded me of the Songkran Festival in Thailand and would have appeared to be more spontaneous if it was not being scripted and paused by the filming crew.

On the morning of 13 March, I took the high speed train to Guilin which is also in Guangxi. The city of Guilin is noted for having four interconnected lakes - Song Lake, Rong Lake, Gui Lake, and Mulong Lake - which are connected by locks to two rivers (Peach Blossom River and Lijiang River). The section of the Lijiang River between Guilin and Yangshuo is designated as a AAAAA national scenic zone. When I checked into the Guilin Park hotel, I was given a room overlooking Gui Lake. I decided to explore the local neighborhood and walked along the shore of Gui Lake before going into the nearby downtown area.

While walking along Gui Lake, I observed many tourist river boats navigating the lake in both directions. After returning to the hotel, I asked the lady at the hotel tour desk where to go to board one of the tourist boats. She asked me if I wanted a daytime boat trip or a night trip. Since the night boat was nearly three times more expensive than the day boat, I figured there must be something special about the night trip and booked a 7:00 PM trip for that evening. She gave me the address of the wharf in Chinese for the boat departure.

I took a taxi to the wharf and boarded my Guilin Two Rivers and Four Lakes Boat trip which is designated as a AAAA national tourist attraction. There are nineteen bridges on the four lakes and when night falls, the scenic zone of bridges, trees, numerous towers, pagodas, and pavilions is brilliantly illuminated. The scenery was spectacular, and even my hotel was outlined in vivid red lighting. What a beautiful way to see the lakes and rivers in this scenic zone.

It was misting light rain on Tuesday, 14 March. I decided to have the hotel book a flight for me to go to Chengdu on 17 March. After arranging for my flight, I went on the Ctrip English web site and booked a private Lijiang River Scenic Zone cruise with an English speaking guide for Wednesday, 15 March.

After booking my flight and river cruise, I took a taxi to visit the Reed Flute Cave, another AAAA national scenic zone. The entire cave is illuminated like a magnificent underground palace made of corals, jade, and other precious stones with many different fascinating scenes. The rain had subsided by the time I exited the cave, so my next stop was at the Guilin Classic Lin Sanjie Grand View Garden. This is another ethnic minority folk park and might also be classified as another work-in-progress. Shan Lake was my last stop for the day. I walked around the lake, which features twin towers, the Sun Tower and the Moon Tower. Both towers were beautifully illuminated when I saw them during my night boat trip.

Early the next morning, Jack, my private English-speaking guide, met me at my hotel with a driver and private mini bus for a 40 minute drive to the Zhujiang Wharf to board the ship for my river cruise to Yangshou. After the cruise, our driver would meet us in Yangshou to drive us back to Guilin. There were literally more than fifty ships docked at the wharf, and I sure was glad to have Jack get us on the correct ship and to our preassigned seats. The river travels 83 kilometers as it winds its way from Guilin to Yangshou through thousands of spectacular grotesque peaks. Jack was very familiar with the entire river and was able to point out not only the section of the river that was the most scenic where I should be on the open deck on top of the ship but also individual special scenic spots along the way. Jack was wonderful, spoke nearly fluent English, and stayed with me during the entire voyage. The weather was cloudy with occasional light rain showers. The clouds, which shrouded some of the mountains, added to the mystic of the spectacular scenery. One section of the river is featured on the back of the 20 Yuan banknote, which Jack pointed out to me during the cruise.

Thursday, 16 March, was my last day at Guilin. I took a taxi to the Guilin Museum only to find that it had been moved and the building was being demolished. Since nobody seemed to know the new location of the museum, I continued on to the Elephant Hill Scenic Zone, which is designated as a AAAA national scenic zone. It is designated as Elephant Hill because it is in the shape of an elephant drinking water from the river. It is a pure limestone Karst landform situated beside the Lijiang River. The scenic area includes a park upstream on the Lijiang River from Elephant Hill and an island called “Love Island.” Both the park and Elephant Hill provided wonderful photo opportunities.

After visiting Elephant Hill, I walked along Rong Lake and Gui Lake back to my hotel. During my walk, I photographed many of the beautiful nineteen bridges on the lakes to complete my visit to Guilin and Guanxi.

On Friday, 17 March, I flew from Guilin to Chengdu where I edited photos and wrote my travel notes in preparation for my upcoming flights back to Los Angeles.

See pictures from the Mediterranean Cruise

October-November 2016
Mediterranean Cruise

Travel Notes

Jan and I decided to take a Mediterranean cruise during October and November 2016. I booked a 30-day Mediterranean cruise from Athens, Greece, that ended up at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The cruise itinerary included ports of call in Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Since the voyage would begin at Athens, Greece, we decided to spend five days visiting Athens and Delphi prior to boarding the ship. Our visit to Greece and some Greek Isles is documented in a separate narrative.

We boarded the Holland America PRINSENDAM on 20 October and arrived at Larnaca, Cyprus, on Saturday, 22 October. Since we had booked a Holland America shore excursion, we were transported by bus to the Choirokoitia Neolithic Settlement which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. This site is located on the slopes of a hill partially enclosed by a portion of the Maroni River. The literature states that the site at Choirokoitia reached apogee during the second half of the 7th millennium BC. The basic architectural unit was a circular structure with a flat roof. Several modern reconstructions located near the site were constructed for the benefit of visiting tourists.

After visiting Choirokoitia, we traveled to the picturesque village of Lefkara, which is noted for handmade embroidery products on linen imported from Ireland. We walked through the narrow streets of the village and visited the Holy Cross Church of Pano Lefkarah. We continued on to visit what is referred to as the most interesting church in Cyprus, the Byzantine Church of Pnagia Aggeloktisti (meaning Angel-Built) before returning to the ship.

We arrived at the port of Ashdod, Israel, early morning on Sunday, 23 October, and took a taxi to the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem to meet Vivian, our private tour guide booked through Zion Tours, for a full-day tour of Jerusalem. After meeting up with Vivian, we began our walking tour of the walled Jerusalem Old City. Vivian was wonderful and took us past the Tower of David Museum to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount (Wailing Wall). Since it was the last day of the Sukkot holidays, the Plaza of the Western Wall was crowded with worshipers visiting the Western Wall. To place our handwritten prayers in the wall, I visited the men’s side of the wall and Jan and Vivian visited the women’s side.

We went from the Plaza of the Western Wall to the Temple Mount where we observed the Alaksa Mosque and the other structures on top of Temple Mount. We were able to walk around the Dome of the Rock Temple of the Mount but were not allowed to enter the temple. We continued on to view nearby architecture from the time of the Knights Templars that currently houses some Muslim schools. We exited the old city through the Lions’ Gate to view both the outer portion of the old city wall as well as the Mount of Olives. Some notable sights on the Mount of Olives included the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations (also referred to as the Basilica of the Agony), the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, and the Old Jewish Cemetery on the hillside.

We re-entered the old city through the Lions’ Gate and walked to the beginning of the Via Dolarosa and the Basilica of St. Anne, a site that Christian tradition identifies as the home of Anne (Hanna) and Joachim, the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus. The remains of ancient pools, a Roman temple, and churches are situated behind the Basilica of St. Anne – these pools have been identified with the Pool of Bethesda mentioned in the New Testament.

As we walked along the Via Dolarosa from the Sanctuary of the Flagellation and the Chapel of the Condemnation to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Vivian pointed out various Stations of the Cross to us. Although the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was packed with people, Vivian was able to bypass the crowded lines to show us the must-see portions of the church.

We also visited the Cardo, which was Jerusalem’s main street 1500 years ago. It was originally paved in the 2nd century when Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman polis called Anelia Capitolina. The Cardo was extended south to the area of the Jewish Quarter during the 6th century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. In its day, the Cardo was an exceptionally wide colonnaded street running through the heart of the city on a north-south axis.

In addition, we walked past the Synagogue Haraban before we exited the Old City through the Jaffa Gate. Here, we temporarily left Vivian to visit with Jan’s cousin, Beverly, and her husband, Yusef, who live near the old city. We enjoyed a very nice lunch prepared by Beverly during our visit. Later in the afternoon, Vivian met us with her car at Beverly’s home, and we continued our tour to visit a newer portion of Jerusalem. After visiting the Knesset, we walked to the Benno Elkan sculpture “The Menora” and to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. We also visited the Wohl Rose Park of Jerusalem and the Garden of the Nations. We concluded our tour as Vivian took us through some older residential neighborhoods and a local market that was in the process of closing for the holiday. After saying goodbye to Vivian, we took a taxi back to the ship. It was a wonderful day of sightseeing.

We arrived at the port of Haifa, Israel, on Monday, 24 October. Since that day was an important Jewish holiday and many places were closed, we booked a Holland America excursion to visit the Baha’i Gardens and the Caesarea Maritima.

The Baha’i Gardens in Haifa, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, form a staircase of nineteen terraces that extend all the way up the northern slope of Mount Carmel. They were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008. Our tour bus stopped at the bottom of Mount Carmel to view the gardens from below and then took us to a viewpoint at the top of the Baha’i Gardens to see a wonderful view of the gardens, the bay, and the Galilee Hills.

Our next stop was at Caesarea Maritima, an Israeli National Park in the Sharon Plain that includes the ancient remains of the coastal city of Caesarea. According to the literature, the city and harbor were built under Herod the Great between 22 and 10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station. It later became the provincial capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palestina, and Byzantine Palestina Prima provinces. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries AD and became an important early center of Christianity during the Byzantine period.

The ruins of Caesarea were excavated during the 1950s and 1960s before being incorporated into a new national park in 2011. Major sights at the ruins included a Roman theater, the Coral Palace, the Hippodrome, two Crusader Gates, Caesarea Ancient Vaults, and the Sebastos Harbor. The Sebastos Harbor was built during the 1st century BC and was the largest artificial harbor built in the open sea. King Herod built the two jetties of the Harbor between 22 and 15 BC, and Herod subsequently dedicated the city and harbor to Augustus Caesar. After driving past the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct located north of the ancient harbor ruins, we returned to the ship.

We arrived at Valletto, Malta, on 30 October, and took a taxi to visit the Tarxien Temples, the Blue Grotto, the Minajdra Temples, and the Hagar Qim Temple. I had visited and documented all of these sites in February 2012, but Jan had never seen them. I was surprised that Malta had added additional pedestrian walkways to improve viewing of the Tarxien Temple site and to provide much better photo opportunities. We continued on to visit the city of Mdina, Malta, so that Jan could witness the marvelous architecture built by the Crusaders. Our last stop was at the Archaeological Museum of Malta, which houses some priceless artifacts.

Since our scheduled port visit to Gozo, Malta, on 31 October was cancelled due to poor sea conditions, the ship continued on to Messina, Italy. We arrived at Messina on Tuesday, 1 November, and walked to the Plaza Duomo where we took a sightseeing tram around the city. Some of the sights that we observed during the tram ride were the Santuario Santa Maria di Montalto, the Monte di Piet’a, the Sacario Cristo Re, the TeatroV. Emanuel, and the Duomo e Campanile. The highlight was our noon visit to the Duomo e Campanile Bell Tower, which houses the world’s largest astronomical clock with animated and mechanical statues that are only seen in movement at noon.

We arrived at Naples, Italy, on Wednesday, 2 November, where we had booked in advance a Mondo Private Day Tour to Pompeii and Herculaneum. This was our extravagant shore excursion, and we were not disappointed. After disembarking, we met Francesco Iaccarino, our Mondo guide, who escorted us to a new chauffeur-driven Mercedes to begin our all-day tour. Francesco’s English was impeccable, and he took us to visit what he considered to be the very best sites of Pompeii. In addition to visiting the normal tourist sites of Pompeii, he took us to one of the brothels with the menus painted on the walls. Before leaving Pompeii, we visited the building where the plaster casts of some of the victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption are on display. We were treated to a nice restaurant for a multi-course lunch prior to visiting Herculaneum.

Herculaneum is a seaside resort city and an amazing place to visit. Some of the original charred timbers remain in several buildings. There were amazing murals remaining on the walls of several buildings including one mural depicting King Solomon arbitrating the dispute between the two women as to whom the baby belonged. A somber area of Herculaneum is the dock area where the skeletal remains of people waiting for ships to come take them away are located. We returned to the ship after our private tour and were amazed at how fortunate we had been to have had Francesco as our guide.

We arrived at Civitavecchia, Italy, on Thursday, 3 November. Although this is the port city for Rome, Italy, it is quite a long distance from the city of Rome. We decided that we would take the shuttle bus to downtown Civitavecchia and then walk around the downtown area. Fort Michelangelo, situated beside the harbor, was interesting but was closed to the public when we walked past it. In addition to colorful markets and some picturesque buildings, the Museo Archeologico, the Cathedral, and the recently restored Teatro Comunale Traiano were interesting to visit.

We arrived at Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday, 5 November, and took a walking tour through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. The tour began at Place de Saint Jaume where the Palau de la Generalitat and City Hall are located, and continued past the Claustre de la Catedral, Placa de Sant Felip Neri, Casa de I’Ardiaca, Roman Walls, Casa de la Pia Almonia, the Cathedral, the Medieval Jewish Quarter, and the Museu D’Histora de Barcelona. The tour provided personal audio headphones and was extremely interesting. We then went to see Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Church. It was surrounded by throngs of people and the wait to enter the building was several hours. After admiring the architecture of the Gothic Quarter, we were disappointed by just how gaudy the building appeared. We took a couple of photos and then returned to the ship.

We arrived at Cartagena, Spain, on Sunday, 6 November. After visiting the Teatro Romano and Museum, we walked to the Molinete Archaeological Park – both were very interesting. We walked through the Plaza San Francisco en route to Concepcion Castle. The views from the castle were impressive, but the castle tour was very short. We were running short of time and briefly visited the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica as we returned to the ship. I believe that the two sculptured Bronze Sabazius Hands representing Sabazius, a god of eastern origin, were among the most interesting exhibits at the museum.

We arrived at Malaga, Spain, on Monday, 7 November. We took a taxi to visit the Castle of Gibralfaro, which is situated on a hill overlooking the city and dates back to the Phoenician period. Views from the castle were spectacular, and the Malaga bullring, Plaza de Tores, could be seen from the Castle. After touring the castle and a small museum within the castle, we took a taxi to the Alcazaba, which is described as the most well-preserved citadel in Spain and houses the Archaeological Museum. After visiting the Alcazaba, we decided to visit the Fundacion Picasso, the birthplace house of Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Since we had booked a wine and tapas tasting walking tour, we walked through the picturesque streets of downtown Malaga past the Cathedral of Malaga with one of its towers uncompleted. We met our tour guide at the Plaza de la Constitucion where we admired the prominent Source of Genoa statue. We visited three separate tapas restaurants as part of our wine and tapas tour before walking back to the ship.

We arrived at Huelva, Spain on Tuesday, 8 November. We had originally booked a Holland America shore excursion to the Riotinto Mines. Prior to arriving at Huelva, however, we were informed that the Riotinto tour had been cancelled because too few people had signed up for it. Since we did not want to book an all-day long-distance tour to Seville, we walked through Huelva and saw the City Hall of Huelva, the Church of La Concepcion, and the Church of San Pedro.

We arrived at Lisbon, Portugal, on a rainy Wednesday, 9 November. We had originally booked a wine and food tasting tour for our visit to Lisbon. However, when we arrived at Lisbon, the ship re-scheduled our departure for an earlier time, and this forced us to cancel our tasting tour. Since we had both spent a lot of time visiting Lisbon in March 2009, we went shoe shopping for Jan in downtown Lisbon and then enjoyed a wonderful cappuccino. We walked through the Rue Augusta Arch to the Plaza do Comercio and past the statue of King Jose I before returning to the ship.

Our last European port of call was at Maderia, Portugal, on Friday, 11 November. We had booked an inexpensive local four-wheel drive sightseeing tour in advance and had a marvelous tour both through tiny narrow mountain streets and off-road as well. At one point, while we were on an off-road mountain trail, we were passed by people running on the same trail. The views were stunning en route to the Miradouro do Cabo Girao and the Caba Girao Cliff. The Cabo Girao Cliff Skywalk is the highest cliff skywalk in Europe. The views over the edge of the cliff, along the coastline, and of nearby landscapes were spectacular. We stopped at Camara dos Lobos, a small picturesque beach town, where Jan had a Nikita cocktail at a small café. We loved our visit to Maderia and would not hesitate to return.

The remainder of the cruise was an Atlantic Ocean crossing that ended at Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday, 19 November. After clearing US Immigration, we spent several days visiting with relatives in Fort Lauderdale before returning to Los Angeles on Thursday, 24 November.

October 2016
Greece & Greek Isles

Travel Notes

Jan and I decided to take a Mediterranean cruise during October and November 2016. I booked a 30-day Mediterranean cruise from Athens, Greece, aboard the Holland America ship, PRISENDAM, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The cruise itinerary included ports of call in Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Italy, Spain, and Portugal before an Atlantic crossing to Ft. Lauderdale. Since the voyage would begin at Athens, Greece, we decided to spend five days visiting Athens and Delphi prior to boarding the ship. These travel notes will only cover our Greek Isle ports of call visits.

We arrived at Athens during the evening of Friday, 14 October, and checked into our hotel. The following day we visited the National Archaeological Museum of Greece. It is the largest museum in Greece and provides extensive insight into the history of the Greek civilization from prehistoric times to late antiquity. The exhibits include treasures from the royal tombs of Mycenoe, the famed Antikythera mechanism, and a large sculpture and pottery collection.

We took a day trip from Athens to the archaeological site of Delphi on Sunday,16 October. Delphi is famous for being the home to the Oracle of Delphi with whom many leaders of the ancient world consulted for advice. The trip consisted of a bus ride to Delphi and time to visit the extensive ruins of the upper portion of Delphi, including the Sanctuary of Apollo. The highlights included the Temple of Apollo, the ancient theater, the ancient stadium, and the Athenian treasury. Unfortunately the tour did not allow us time to visit the lower portion of the ruins at Delphi that included the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, but they were visible from the upper portion. We also had some time to visit the Delphi Archaeology Museum. In lieu of time to visit the lower ruins, the tour opted to stop at the picturesque resort town of Arachova to provide some time for local shopping.

Prior to visiting the Acropolis, we decided to visit the Acropolis Museum in Athens on Monday, 17 October. This museum was founded to exhibit all significant finds from the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis and its foothills. It was inaugurated during the summer of 2009. The museum is situated 300 meters south of the Acropolis and is supported by more than 100 concrete pillars that provide a shelter above the site’s archaeological excavation which extends beneath the museum. The upper level of the museum contains the Parthenon Gallery, which houses a rectangular concrete core that was built to the same dimensions and orientation as the Parthenon. It was built to receive and display the entire temple frieze. The museum utilizes transparent outer glass walls to maintain a direct visual link between the museum and the Parthenon on the Acropolis. This museum houses many artifacts from the Acropolis and provides valuable insight into the history and different stages of the Acropolis as it was occupied by different rulers.

We visited the Acropolis on Tuesday, 18 October. The Acropolis is very impressive and many of the hillside structures of the Acropolis are as impressive as the structures at the top of the Acropolis. For example, the Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus, which dominates the South Slope of the Acropolis, was once a wooden theater used for the cult dance in honor of Dionysus. It was rebuilt as a more permanent theater utilizing rock, gradually leading to the birth of ancient drama, and has been restored. Famous tragedies and comedies such as Antigone, Medea, the Birds, and Peace were first presented here. The very impressive “Herodium” Odeum of Herodes Atticus is a theater that is also situated on the South Slope of the Acropolis west of the Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus.

The Areopagus hill is situated beneath the west end of the Acropolis, is connected with mythical and historical trails, and is the world’s oldest court of law. The seat of the first aristocratic senate of ancient Athens was here. It is the place where the Assembly of Athenian citizens gathered and is essentially the birthplace of democracy. Important ancient orators and politicians, including Demosthenes, Pericles, Themistocles, and St. Paul spoke from the site’s bema, the speaker’s platform.

According to the literature, cults devoted to fertility and vegetation performed in open-air sanctuaries and cavernous openings in the rock on the North Slope of the Acropolis. Among the site’s most important monuments are the Klepsydra and the three caves dedicated to the cults of Pan, Zeus, and Apollo. In addition, a large cave dedicated to the nymph Aglauros dominates the East Slope.

The top of the sacred rock of the Acropolis was for many centuries a place of worship of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. Due to the ambitious artistic program of Pericles during the 5th century BC, the monumental Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the Parthenon were constructed. The Parthenon is the eternal symbol of Greek and European civilization.

After visiting the Acropolis, we walked through Hadrian’s Gate en route to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Hadrian’s Gate was built by the Athenians in honor of the Roman emperor who completed the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. This temple was one of the largest temples in the ancient world measuring 110 meters in length with more than 104 columns. Sixteen of the columns have been preserved. Construction of the temple required six centuries to complete.

Our final stop of the day was at the Panathenaic Stadium which according to the literature dates from the 4th century BC. The stadium was used for the first time during the celebration of the Great Panathenaia in 330/329 BC to host gymnikoi which had, since early times, been held in a space south of Athens. During the reign of Emperor Hadrian, significant works were carried out in the stadium between 139 AD and 144 AD due to the generosity of the orator and magnate Herodes, son of Atticus. These included changing the rectangular shape of the stadium to a horseshoe shape, the installation of white Pentelic marble seats for spectators, and a vaulted passage under the east retaining wall that terminated at the back of the stadium and the Temple of Tyche/Fortuna. The first modern Olympic Games were held here in 1896. This Panathenaic Stadium was also used to host some of the events during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

On Wednesday, 19 October, we visited the Kerameikos, the oldest and largest Attic cemetery that extends outside the ancient city walls on the northern outskirts of Athens. The site is dominated by stately tombs with sculptural masterpieces. Many of the on-site sculptures are replicas with the original sculptures on display in the Kerameikos Museum. The Demosion Sema (public cemetery), a site for the burial of war casualties, is also located here.

We walked from the Kerameikos to the Ancient Agora. It was the center for Athenian democracy where the city’s most important political functions were exercised and where both Pericles and Socrates once walked. The exceptionally well preserved Temple of Hephaistos is situated within this archaeological site. We walked from the Ancient Agora to the Roman Agora which was built during the 1st century BC with gifts from Julius Caesar and Augustus to house Athens’ commercial activities. It is bordered by the Gate of Athena Archegetis, while the Clock of Kyrrestos, where relief figures of the eight winds and the Fethiye Mosque, stands at the corner.

Our last stop of the day was at the Library of Hadrian, which was built during AD 132-134 as a donation from the Roman Emperor Hadrian to the city of Athens. It is a large rectangular peristyle structure with an interior courtyard and only one entrance. The main areas of the Library were on the monument’s eastern side. The papyrus scrolls were kept in a large central two-story building. The Library suffered severe damage during the Herulian invasion of AD 267 and was later repaired by Herculius, the Prefect of Illyricum, during AD 407-412.

We boarded the Holland America PRISENDAM on 20 October and, after stopping at Cypress and Israel, arrived at Rhodes, Greece, on Wednesday, 26 October. After disembarking, we began our own walking tour and entered the walled Medieval City portion of Rhodes Town through the Virgin Mary’s Gate. Our first stop was at the ruins of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh built in 1300 and used by the Knights of St. John Hospitaller. Until its partial destruction, it was the largest church in the city and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We continued walking to the Square of the Jewish Martyrs, which is also called Seahorse Square. The square’s Holocaust Memorial pays tribute to the 1,604 Jews of Rhodes that were sent to die at Auschwitz. Only 151 Jews survived the Holocaust. The literature says that today there are only about 35 Jews living in Rhodes.

We walked through Ippokratous Square en route to visit the Hamman Baths (also called the Turkish Baths) which are housed in a 17th century Byzantine building. The baths were closed and we continued walking past the Sulleimaniye Mosque and the ruins of a Muslim school en route to visit the Palace of the Grand Master of Rhodes.

The Palace of the Grand Master of Rhodes was built during the 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes who occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1522. After the island was captured by the Ottoman Empire, the palace was used as a fortress. The original palace was mostly destroyed by an ammunition explosion in 1856. In 1912, the palace was rebuilt by the Kingdom of Italy in a grandiose pseudo-medieval style as a holiday residence for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and later for Benito Mussolini. In 1948, Rhodes was transferred from Italy to Greece, and the Greeks converted the palace into a very nice museum.

We exited the Medieval City through St. Antonio’s Gate and Gate D’Amboise to walk to the Ancient Acropolis hill of Rhodes. Here we visited the ancient theater, the ancient stadium, and the remains of the Temple of Apollo. The views from the Acropolis of Rhodes were stunning.

After walking back to the Medieval City, we re-entered the old city via the same gates that we used earlier to go to the Acropolis site. Back in the old city, we walked the 600 meter length of the Street of the Knights, where knights once lived and worked. It was restored by the Italian Government between 1913 and 1916. Before returning to the ship, we visited the 15th century hospital that has been converted into the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes.

The walled Old City is spectacular, and I wish we’d had more time to explore the perimeter of the fortification walls. The Medieval Old City was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1988. When I return to Rhodes, I will rent a car and spend several days leisurely exploring its many interesting sites.

We arrived at Santorini, Greece, on Thursday, 27 October. The island of Santorini was originally known as Thera. It was re-named as Santorini by the Latin Empire during the 13th century and was a reference to St. Irene. The name Thera (officially Thira, Greece) was revived during the 19th century as the official name of the island but the name Santorini remains in popular usage.

Since we had booked a Holland American tour to visit the archaeological site of Akrotiri, we were transported by a Santorini tender boat to a docking area to meet up with our tour bus. Akrotiri was a flourishing prehistoric city prior to the final quarter of the 17th century BC when its inhabitants abandoned it due to powerful earthquakes and the enormous volcanic eruption that followed. The volcanic material that covered the city and the entire island has provided excellent protection for the buildings and their contents up to the present time. The city covered an area of approximately 20 hectares and its multi-story buildings - adorned by superb frescoes, rich furnishings, and household effects - signify the high level of development at that time.

After a very nice tour of Akrotiri, we were taken by bus to the town of Fira, the main town on the island, where our tour guide took us to the Santozeum Museum. The Santozeum Website states: “The Santozeum is an interdisciplinary creative platform that fosters dialogues between the arts, humanities and sciences in its local and international communities. The Santozeum environment connects a global network of art professionals and academics with the island of Santorini.” The museum was currently exhibiting a collection of Akrotiri Wall Paintings on loan from the Thera Foundation, developed in collaboration with the Getty and Kodak Pathe. These paintings were superb copies of paintings that had been removed from the Akrotiri Archaeological Site – the original paintings currently reside in the National Museum at Athens and at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.

We were then free to visit other places of interest in Fira on our own before making our way back to the ship. We decided to first visit the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, which displays exhibits from the excavations of ancient Akrotiri as well as from some other sites around the island. This museum opened in 2000 and features exhibits from the 18th and 17th centuries BC which include fresco compositions, plaster casts of furniture, the unique gold wild goat figurine, and impressive collections of pottery and bronze working.

We walked to the splendid Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist which was built during the 17th century AD, en route to visiting the Archaeological Museum of Thera. The Archaeological Museum featured sculptures and inscriptions from the Archaic to the Roman periods. It also has a collection of vases and clay figurines from the Geometric to the Hellenistic periods.

We took the cable car down from the top of the hillside near the archaeology museum to the old port area where we were transferred by tender back to our cruise ship.

We arrived at Crete, Greece, on Friday, 28 October, and decided to walk around Heraklion City on our own. After disembarking from the ship we walked along the port to view the Venetian Koules Fortress which is situated at the entrance of the Venetian Harbour. We then walked to Dematas Gate and up the street to the Morosini Fountain which was inaugurated in 1628. We continued on to visit the Heraklion Archaeological Museum which had an amazing collection of exhibits. It is known worldwide as the most important museum of the Minoan Civilization. This museum should not be missed by anyone visiting Crete. After spending several hours at the archaeology museum, we walked along many picturesque streets en route to the port.

Crete was the last Greek Isle port of call portion of our cruise. The remaining ports of call on our Mediterranean cruise to the countries of Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Italy, Spain, and Portugal are covered in the separate “Mediterranean Cruise” set of travel notes.

See pictures from the Greek Isles

August 2016
Taiwan

Travel Notes

I decided to return to Taiwan to meet up again with Sunny to hike some more trails in Taiwan and visit southern Taiwan. I had visited northern Taiwan in July 2015 but was unable to hike the more difficult trails due to problems with my right hip. After my total hip replacement in November 2015 and clearance from my doctor, I wanted to try to hike the Zhuilu Old Trail in the Taroko National Park.

I originally met Sunny while traveling in southern Turkey in June 2012. Our paths crossed again in Juaiquan, Gansu Province, China in April 2014, and she and her family showed me much of northern Taiwan in July 2015.

I arrived at Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday, 13 August 2016 at about 6:40 PM. After clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and located the hotel car that Sunny had arranged for me. After checking into my hotel, I met Sunny in the lobby and we met up with her friend Jessie to go to dinner. It was like old times because Jessie was with Sunny in Juaiquan, China and again when we all met up for dinner at the DinTaiFung restaurant the previous year in Taipei. Since the DinTaiFung was totally booked, we went to another restaurant for a wonderful dinner.

Sunny met me at my hotel the following morning and we took the train and a bus to Yangmingshan National Park to hike to the main peak of Qixing Mountain, the highest mountain in the national park. We hiked the 2.0-kilometer Xiaoyukeng Trail from the bus stop to the Qixing Mountain Main Peak. The mountain was originally formed by a volcano. The trail passed steam vents and the Xiaoyukeng Fumaroles – both continued to emit steam and sulfur fumes. The weather was picture perfect and the scenery was impressive. The main peak has an elevation of 1,120 meters. The view from the main peak summit provides a 360-degree view of the entire Yangmingshan National Park. After spending some time at the main peak, we hiked down the 2.4-kilometer Maiopu Trail to a bus stop in the park and then returned to Taipei City. My pedometer logged more than 14,000 steps over the uneven large rock stepping stones and cobble stone paths during the hike.

Sunny met me at my hotel at 6:00 AM on Monday morning to take the train to Hualien. We met up with Sunny’s friend Joyce at the train station and continued to Hualien. Joyce is a middle school teacher in Taiwan. Sunny and Joyce rented motorbikes at Hualien, and I rode behind Sunny on the motorbike to the Taroko National Park to hike the Zhuilu Old Trail, which is one of the most spectacular hiking trails in Taiwan. The trail is naturally formed from marble above the Taroko Gorge and is the last remaining section of the old Cross-HeHuan Mountain Road. It was the trail to connect different aboriginal Taiwanese tribes 100 years ago. Some sections of the trail follow the Zhuilu Cliff where the trail is extremely narrow with the Liwu River 500 meters below. Sections of the trail are very challenging to hike and a hiking permit is required in advance. Only 95 people are allowed per day due to the fragile landscape. Although the trail is 10.3 kilometers long, the western portion was closed due to typhoon damage the previous year and only the last three kilometers of the eastern end of the trail from Cliff Outpost to Swallow Grotto was open for hiking. Fortunately for me, the most famous Zhuilu Cliff portion of the trail was open for our hike.

Sunny had obtained the necessary permits in advance for the three of us to hike the trail. We parked the motorbikes at the western end of Swallow Grotto and walked to the suspension bridge near the eastern end of Swallow Grotto to check in for our hike. The weather was beautiful and, after signing in at the entrance, we began the hike by crossing the suspension bridge over the Taroko Gorge. The next 2.5 kilometers would be a very challenging uphill climb to reach the Zhuilu Cliff for the 500-meter hike along the cliff face. Although I had been going on daily hikes of 7 to 10 kilometers in Los Angeles for several months, the altitude coupled with the rough terrain made the Zhuilu Old Trail hike very challenging for me; the residual fatigue from the hike to the Qixing Main Peak the day before probably contributed to my difficulties with this 6 kilometer hike.

I was extremely fortunate to be with Sunny who had hiked the trail several times before and provided additional incentive for me to complete the hike. After the grueling climb up to the Zhuilu Cliff, the scenery was magnificent and I felt so much exhilaration – truly a Eureka moment! Upon completion of the round trip one-kilometer hike of the narrow trail along the side of the magnificent Zhuilu Cliff, I needed to muster up enough energy to complete the long 2.5-kilometer hike down the mountain to exit the trail. Although uphill was grueling, I also found the downhill hike to be very challenging. What a relief it was to finally cross the suspension bridge and be able to say “mission accomplished.” My pedometer logged more than 19,000 steps during the hike.

After a brief rest at a 7 Eleven store outside the park entrance, we ate dinner at a wonderful hot pot restaurant in Hualien before returning the motorbikes and taking the train back to Taipei. We reached the Taipei train station at 10:32 PM and I arrived at my hotel around 11:00 PM – a wonderful fifteen-hour day.

I slept in on Tuesday, 16 August, and Sunny met me at 3:15 PM to go to the Mid-Summer Ghost Festival 2016 at Keelung City. We took the train to Keelung and ate dinner before going to the festival. The Ghost Festival is an annual event with both Taoist and Buddhist traditions. The Keelung Ghost Festival begins on the first day of the seventh lunar month when the tower Gate of the Old Venerable Temple is opened to let the wandering, hungry, and lonely ghosts in Hell return to the world of the living to seek food for one month. On the 12th day, lamps on the altar are lighted. On the 13th day, the procession of the dipper lantern is held. On the 14th day, a parade is held for releasing the water lanterns. On the 15th day, water lanterns are officially released and sacrificial rites for delivering the ghosts are performed both in public and in private. The purpose for releasing the water lanterns is to illuminate the waterways for lonely souls on the water and to bring them to land so the ghosts on both land and water can co-exist in peace. On the first day of the eighth lunar month the tower gates are closed for sending the ghosts back to the nether world. The first Keelung City Ghost Festival was held in 1856. For additional information, visit the website link to the Keelung Ghost Festival. Since there is a mismatch between the solar Gregorian calendar and the lunar calendar, the 7th month of the lunar calendar began on 2 August 2016, which meant Sunny and I arrived at Keelung City on the 14th day of the seventh month to see the Parade for Releasing the Water Lantern. The parade lasted for nearly three hours. We then took a taxi to the seaside to also see the releasing of the water lanterns into the sea at the beginning of the 15th day. After the ceremony for releasing the water lanterns was completed, we took a bus back to Taipei. It was nearly 2:00 AM when I finally arrived back at my hotel.

I decided to take a day off from sightseeing to edit photos and to begin writing my travel notes on Wednesday.

On Thursday, 18 August, I met Sunny at the Songshan Train station to take the train to Ruifang County on the north coast of Taiwan. After arriving at Ruifang, we took a local northbound bus to the Bitou Fishing Port where we hiked the Bitou Cape Trail. After our hike, we took the southbound bus back to the Shuijinjiu Area, which includes not only the three towns of Shuianandong, Jinguashi, and Jiufen, but also the hillside architecture. We got off of the bus at the Golden Waterfalls in Jinguashi. The waterfalls are yellow in color from the mineral deposits in the water and the yellow color continues as the water cascades down the river to the sea at a point called Yin-Yang Sea. It is called Yin-Yang Sea because the yellow river water colors the ocean water in a crescent-like area at the mouth of the river. As we walked along the river to the Yin-Yang Sea, we passed the enormous abandoned Shuianandong Smelter also known as part of the Kinkaseki Copper Mine. Form our vantage points, we were barely able to view portions of the three cement flues that extend up the mountain from the smelter which carried the smoke and toxic fumes up the mountain and away from the populated area – they are possibly the world’s longest smokestacks.

This area is very picturesque and has become a popular tourist area after the movie “A City of Sadness” was filmed at Jiufen. We took the bus from Yin-Yang Sea to Jiufen and walked along the now famous Jiufen Old Street also called Jioufen Old Street. We ate lunch at a restaurant with a magnificent view of the mountains, coastline to Keelung, Keelung Island, and the sea. After relaxing and indulging ourselves with the view from the restaurant, we took the bus back to the train station and then a very crowded train back to Taipei.

Friday, 19 August, was a travel day and we took the high-speed train from Taipei to Kaohsiung. It was raining when we arrived at Kaohsiung, and I spent the remainder of the afternoon at my hotel. The rain subsided during the early evening and Sunny met me to go to the Sabben Beef Noodle restaurant for dinner. This restaurant has become very popular for both local people and tourists.

On Saturday, 20 August, I met Sunny at the high speed train station where we took a local bus to go to the Fo Guang Shan Monastery and the Fo Guang ShanBuddha Memorial Center located in the Dashu District of Kaohsiung. The Fo Guang Shan Monastery is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. It was founded by Hsing Yun who purchased more than 30 hectares as the site for the construction of the monastery. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on 16 May 1967. The monastery embarked on many construction projects including university buildings, shrines, and a cemetery. In 1975, Fo Guang Shan’s 36-meter tall statue of Amitaba Buddha was consecrated and in 1981, the Great Hall was built. During May 1997, Hsing Yun announced that he would close Fo Guang Shan to the general public to give the monastics the cloistered atmosphere they needed for their Buddhist practice. After a visit in 2000 by the president of Taiwan and officials from Kaohsiung, Fo Guang Shan decided to reopen the monastery to some extent to the general public.

In 1998, Hsing Yun traveled to Bodh Gaya, India, to confer the precepts for full ordination. Kunga Dorje Rinpoche entrusted Hsing Yun with a Buddha Tooth Relic that he had safeguarded for nearly thirty years. With the tooth relic in his possession, Hsing Yun looked for a suitable piece of land to build the Buddha Memorial Center, which, by luck, just happened to be behind the Fo Guang Shan Monastery. After acquiring more than 100 hectares, construction of the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center as a Mahayana Buddhist cultural, religious, and educational museum began in 2008. The museum was opened to the public in December 2011 and construction has continued ever since. Since its opening, the Buddha Memorial Center has been featured as one of the top ten landmarks in Taiwan.

The Buddha Memorial Center guide brochure states that there are ten must see splendors at the Buddha Memorial Center, including the Fo Guang Big Buddha, the largest drum, the Main Hall Museum of Underground Palaces, the Buddha Tooth Relic in the Jade Buddha Shrine, the Golden Buddha Shrine, and the Maitreya Buddha in the Museum of Buddhist Festivals. The Jade Buddha Shrine is magnificent and features a Reclining Buddha statue sculpted out of Burmese white jade, a reliquary above the statue containing the Buddha tooth, jade reliefs on the walls on both sides of the Buddha statue, and sandalwood reliefs of stupas and pagodas on the side walls. The Fo Guang Big Buddha, which was completed during 2011, took more than a year to cast and required a total of 1,800 tons of metal. The statue itself measures 40 meters high, while the seat is 10 meters high and the total height is 108 meters.

Sunny met me at my hotel on Sunday morning, 21 August, to go for a walk around the Southern end of the Kaohsiung Lotus Pond. The Lotus Pond is a large lake in Kaohsiung that is home to several beautiful temples and pavilions as well as the Lotus Wakepark. We visited the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, Spring and Summer Pavilion, Wuli Pavilion, and Beiji Pavilion. After walking around part of the Lotus Pond, we took a train to Tainan and then a local bus to visit the Amping Old Street area and the Amping Fort.

We ate lunch at a restaurant in the Amping Old Street area and then walked to the fort. The Amping Fort dates from 1624 when the Dutch military-business alliance troops conquered the current-day Amping and built Fort Zeelandia as a defense base at the Bay of Taijiang in 1634. In 1662, the 16th year of the Emperor Yongli’s reign during the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) seized Fort Zeelandia and renamed it as Amping Township. During the Qing Dynasty, the Bay of Taijiang was becoming silted and the Qing army demolished Fort Zeelandia to build the Eternal Golden Castle which was gradually abandoned. Fort Zeelandia was rebuilt after the Japanese Occupation and renamed as Amping Fort after Taiwan’s Retrocession. Today, the only remains from the Dutch period are the southern brick walls of the fort. The fort and museum are very picturesque and definitely well worth a sightseeing visit.

After visiting the Amping Fort, we took a taxi to downtown Tainan to visit the Tainan Confucius Temple, also called the Scholarly Temple (to be called “Wen Miao” hereinafter). It was built in 1665 when Cheng Ching, son of Koxinga, approved the proposal for the construction. It holds the distinction of being the First Academy of Taiwan. It has been renovated many times over the years and the last major renovation was in 1917. After visiting the Confucius temple, we walked past the Pangong Stone Archway and visited the site of Fort Provintia. The fort was originally built in 1653 during the Dutch colonization of Taiwan. During the siege of Fort Zeelandia, the fort was surrendered to Koxinga but was later destroyed by an earthquake in the 19th century. It was later rebuilt as Chihkan Tower. We also visited the Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple en route to the train station to return to Kaohsiung.

On Monday, 22 August, I got up early and walked to the Old Fongshan City East Gate, which is now a Taiwan National Historic Site. I walked along a section of the old city wall that extends from the ancient city East Gate a short distance to the north and south to the Old Fongshan City South Gate. The South Gate currently sits in the center of a traffic circle. Both gates and the old city wall are very picturesque. I checked out of my hotel after my walk, and met Sunny at the high-speed train station to return to Taipei City. Back at Taipei, I met up with Sunny in the late afternoon to go see the Taiwan President’s Building and Jieshu Park before meeting up with her friend Joyce at the DinTaiFung restaurant at the Taipei 101 Mall for dinner. I had originally met Joyce last year at the Wisteria Teahouse and it was a nice reunion. After a wonderful dinner, I took a taxi to my hotel and packed up for my flights home early the next morning.

Since Sunny wanted to visit a tea store in the international airport terminal, on Tuesday morning, 23 August, she picked me up at my hotel with a car to drive me to the airport for my flights home. After thanking her for her fabulous hospitality, we said goodbye at the tea store, and I continued on to catch my flights home. It was a wonderful trip to Taiwan to visit with Sunny and her friends and embark on more superb sightseeing trips with Sunny.

See pictures from Taiwan

July 2016
Xinjiang Province, China: Hami and Turpan

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to Xinjiang Province, China during July 2016 to continue my travels west along the Silk Road and southwest to Kuqa before heading northeast finally ending up at Urumqi, China.

I arrived at Chengdu, China, on Saturday, 9 July, at about 6:40 PM. After clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and took a local taxi to my hotel. I took an early morning flight on 10 July from Chengdu to Dunhuang, Ganzu Province, China. Upon arrival at Dunhuang, I took a three hour taxi ride to the Liuyuannan Railway Station where I boarded the high speed train to Hami, Xinjiang Province, China.

I arrived at Hami late afternoon on 10 July and took a taxi to my hotel. The following morning, I managed to find a taxi driver who agreed to take me to the Buddhist Temple Ruins at Baiyang (White Poplar) River near Baiyanggou Village. It was a very long drive over some unimproved Gobi Desert roads with detours around washed out bridges from earlier heavy rains. The driver asked directions many times when as we approached Baiyanggou Village until we finally arrived at the entrance to the location of the temple ruins. We parked the taxi near the entrance and hiked approximately half a kilometer along the river gully to reach the temple ruins.

The grand temple was in existence from the Thang Dynasty (618-907) to the period of the Gaochang Uyghur Kingdom. The main part of the ruins is found on the western side of the Baiyang River. Remnants of the main hall, side halls, a pagoda, and Buddha niches are visible on the site. The temple ruins were very picturesque with ancient grottoes on both faces of the river gully. Although the literature said that there were also some Buddhist rock carvings nearby, I apparently did not hike far enough along the river gully to find the location of the carvings. There were no other tourists at the site and very few tourists actually visit the site.

On the morning of 12 July, I visited the Komul Mukham Heritage Center, which includes two museums, the Hami Folk Museum, and the Hami Museum. The Hami Museum was closed due to power outages and the Folk Museum was open but, also due to power outages on the upper floors, only access to the first floor was available. The museum first floor was very interesting with exhibits of Uyghur ethnic clothing and musical instruments. I walked across the road from the heritage center to the Hami Moslem King palace which was very interesting and well worth a visit. The Islamic King Tombs are located adjacent to the Moslem King Palace. The tombs are officially named The Mausoleums of Hami Royal Uyghur Family. The mausoleums site also included a mosque and a very interesting exhibition building.

Shortly after returning to my hotel during mid-afternoon, a sand/dust storm rapidly swept across the city and lasted for nearly two hours. Being back at my hotel was definitely the best place for me to be during the storm. The storm subsided as quickly as it came and the view of the horizon once again became clear.

On Wednesday morning, 13 July, I took a taxi back to the Hami Museum only to find that it was once again closed due to the ongoing power outage. Since the museum was closed, I continued in the taxi to an interesting sculpture in the center of the intersection of two major streets where I exited the taxi. After photographing the sculpture, I walked back to my hotel. Later in the afternoon, I walked to the train station and took the high speed train to Turpan. I took a taxi from the Turpan high speed train station to my hotel in Turpan.

Upon arrival at my hotel, I negotiated hiring a taxi driver for the next three days of sightseeing in the Turpan area. During the three days, I visited the ruins of Jiaohe Ancient City, the Bizaklik Thousand-Buddha Grottoes, the ruins of Gaochang Ancient City, the Ancient Tombs of Astana, the Turpan Museum, Grape Valley, and Tuyu Gully. Tuyu Gully is the picturesque location of the Mazar Village, Mazar Mosque, and the Tuyugou Thousand-Buddha Grottoes.

The ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe, which was originally named Yar City, are situated about 13 kilometers from downtown Turpan. Yar City was in existence from the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE) to the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). It stood on an oblong tableland 30 meters above the riverbed with three gates in the southern, eastern, and western sides. Vestiges of 85 Buddhist temples, prayer halls, pagodas, and altars remain at the site; the Grand Buddhist Temple and the Grand Pagoda are two of the most impressive ruins. The city covers 37.6 hectares and is both the largest and best-preserved earthen architectural site still in existence in China. Yar City was a central town in the Turpan Basin laying along the Silk Road dating back from the 2nd century BCE to the 14th century AD.

The ruins of the ancient city of Gaochang, which is commonly referred to as Qocho City, are situated in Astana Village about 40 kilometers from Turpan city. It is comprised of three parts: outer city, inner city, and core city surrounded by rammed earth walls. The outer city is in an irregular rectangular shape. The inner city is inside the outer city and the core city is inside the inner city. Remnants of the Grand Buddha Temple are probably the highlight of the city ruins. During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist monk Xuanzang (602-664) lectured in the Grand Temple when he stopped by on his western pilgrimage journey.

The Ancient Tombs of Astana were a communal cemetery when the Gaochang Kingdom was in existence. Many artifacts have been unearthed from the tombs including up to 1,000 official documents, clay and wood figurines, pottery, and silk fabrics of various kinds of brocades such as kesi, thin silk, laced silk, gauze, and double-sided embroidery. Three of the tombs are accessible by the public with two mummies in one of these three tombs. Many of the artifacts from these tombs have been transferred to the Turpan Museum and to the Museum of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Urumqi.

The Turpan Museum is the second largest museum in Xiajiang Province and is housed in a modern building in Turpan city. It has magnificent exhibits of early inhabitants of the area including their customs and many of their artifacts. The exhibit about burial customs was superb including several mummies from different ethnic people of varying status. The museum has no admission charges and is definitely worth a visit.

Flaming Mountain is about 98 kilometers long and 9 kilometers wide. The Uyghurs call it Kezletag, which means Red Mountain. In high summer the red rocks give off strong and shimmering light like bulging flames toward the sky. The Flaming Mountain Scenic Area is a small park-like area with various sculptures and amusements and is situated adjacent to the major highway approximately 30 kilometers to the east of Turpan city. Some people, including me, stop on the highway to photograph the mountain and the various sculptures from a distance.

The Tuyu Gully is a sanctuary for both Buddhists and Muslims and is situated approximately 40 kilometers to the east of Turpan city. The Mazhar Village is a picturesque ethnic Uyghur village currently occupied by approximately 65 families. The village contains some ancient houses and the famous Mazhar Mosque. The Mazhar Mosque is described in the literature as a holy land for Muslims in China. It is worshipped as “Mecca in China.” Tuyugou Thousand-Buddha Grottoes are located on both sides of the Tuyu River approximately one kilometer upstream of the village. The grottoes were first discovered in 1905 and contained many beautiful frescos. They were known in ancient times as “Dinggu Temple” and were built at an early date in the Turpan area. The literature states that many of the frescos were damaged or destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

During my visit to the grottoes, the original wooden stairs and scaffolding had been damaged and/or destroyed all together. A photo in the Turpan Museum showed how the stairs and scaffolding once existed for tourists to visit the caves. Since some local village people had climbed up to some of the caves, I made the very challenging assent up the cliff-side of the mountain to visit the major area of the accessible caves. The fact that the caves had not yet been converted into a new tourism destination with the mountain cliff-side face being covered with concrete and doors in front of the caves made this visit very worthwhile for me.

The Bizaklik Thousand-Buddha Grottoes are situated in the Mutougou River Valley less than 20 kilometers from the Tuyu Gully. It is the site of a Buddhist temple that was in existence from the 5th century to the 13th century when Turpan was under the rule of the Gaochang Kingdom and the Gaochang Uyghur Kingdom. There are 83 intact caves in a sheer cliff over a distance of one kilometer along the western bank of the river. I was really looking forward to visiting these grottoes.

When I arrived, I found that the Government had resurfaced the face of the mountain containing the grottoes with concrete and concrete walkways. All of the caves had locked doors at the cave entrances and only six caves were open for display to the public. In addition, only one small section of the walkways in front of the caves was accessible. The normal exit route down into the valley beside the river was locked, which only added to my frustrations. The mountain scenery was spectacular and a very large beautiful sand mountain, which tourists could visit by camel ride, motorized vehicle, or hiking, was adjacent to the parking area for the grottoes. In addition, a large Earth Art area was located on both sides of the road nearby the Bizaklik grottoes. I took several photos of the Earth Art area en route back to Turpan city.

The Islamic tower, called the “Emin Pagoda,” built during 1777 is 44 meters high and has a base 11 meters in diameter. The brick-wood tower tapers upward tier by tier to resemble a vase. It has a spiral stairway of 72 steps inside the tower. It is situated adjacent to a mosque and there was no access to the inside of the pagoda. It is said to be the largest pagoda from ancient times in Xinjiang Province.

On Sunday, 17 July, I departed Turpan via a local train to Kuqa to continue my visit in Xinjiang Province, China.

See pictures from Hami and Turpan

July 2016
Xinjiang Province, China: Kuqa and Urumqi

Travel Notes

On Sunday, 17 July, I continued my visit to Xinjiang Province, China by taking a local train from Turpan to Kuqa, and checking into my Kuqa hotel. To begin my sightseeing in Kuqa on Monday, 18 July, I hired a car and driver for a full day trip to take me to the Kezil Grottoes, the Kumtula Grottoes, the Kezilgaha Beacon Tower, and the Kezilgaha Grottoes.

My first stop was at the Kezil Grottoes. Although these grottoes are highly rated, the Government has preserved the site with concrete covering the cliff-side of the mountain containing the grottoes. The Government also installed concrete walkways with stairs and doors at the entrance to each grotto. Guides are required to escort small groups of tourists to the grottoes and only a few are accessible to tourists. The rest of the concrete walkways are blocked off. Of the small portion of the grotto site that was accessible to visitors, the guides only opened six caves during my visit and no photos were allowed within the caves. There are much better Buddhist grottoes in other areas of China and, unless a person has a VIP Status, these grottoes should probably be avoided.

There was a group of resident tourist guides at the Kezil Grottoes and they insisted that tickets for all of the accessible grotto sites in the Kuqa area must be purchased at the Kezil Grotto ticket counter. Furthermore, an additional charge was required to have one of these guides accompany tourists to each of the other grotto sites. The only other tickets available for purchase were the Kezilgaha Grottoes at a cost of 55 CYN with an additional charge of 300 CYN for one of the guides was required – the guide said that six caves at Kezilgaha would be shown to tourists. No tickets were available for the Kumtula Grottoes or the Sensaim Grottoes. I decided not to pay for a ticket and guide for me to visit the Kezilgaha Grottoes.

My second stop was at the Kezilgaha Beacon Tower which is prominently situated above the Yansnui Valley. It is described as one of the grandest beacon towers in Xinjiang Province. In the Uyghur language “Kezilgaha” means “Red Headed Crow” or “Red Sentry Post.” The remaining portion of the tower is approximately 16 meters high. While at the beacon tower, a very good view of the Kezilgaha Grottos could be seen. After taking some photos of the grottoes, we drove to the grotto entrance, which was closed to the public.

We continued on to the Kumtula Grottoes. The police had blocked the roadway near the entrance to the site of the Kumtula Grottoes. Since I was not allowed to visit the grottoes, the police finally allowed my driver to walk down to the Kumtula Grotto sign near the actual entrance at the grottoes where he took a photo of the sign – none of the actual grottoes were visible from the sign. On the way back to the hotel, we visited the Kuqa Folk Museum, the King Palace in Kuqa, and the Kuqa Mosque.

On Tuesday morning, 19 July, I visited three remote sites not typically frequented by tourists. They were the Kerxishu Fort, the Mazabaiha Grottoes, and the Sensaim Grottoes. My driver needed to stop many times to ask the local people for directions to these sites. Of these three sites, the Sensaim Grottoes is one of the more notable grotto sites in Kuqa. The grottoes were built during the Jin and Tang Dynasties (265-907) and make up the largest grotto group in the eastern part of the Qiuci area. There are 52 stone caves and some of the caves are said to have many murals. Driving to the grottoes was difficult and included driving through a dry river bed. Although the grottoes were closed to the public, the grotto caretakers allowed me to see and photograph many of the grottoes from the perimeter fence.

After lunch at a local village restaurant, I visited the Subash Buddhist Ruins which is also called the Zhaoguli Grand Temple. The temple complex was built during the Wei and Jin Dynasties (230-420). The temple was divided by the Tongchang River into the Eastern Temple and the Western Temple. All of the structures were built with adobe bricks. I was able to visit the Western Temple Ruins. The two best preserved portions of the Western Temple were the Hall of the Western Temple and the Pagoda on the Center of the Western Temple. I was able to photograph the Eastern Temple Ruins on the opposite side of the river. The Eastern Temple Ruins were closed to the public during my visit.

I spent the remainder of my time sightseeing the local Kuqa city, visiting the Ruins of the Qiuci Capital City, and taking another day trip to the Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark.

Resitan Road runs through the Unity Bridge which spans the Kuqu River. There are markets along Resitan Road on both sides of the Unity Bridge. The market on the east side of the bridge was in a somewhat run-down condition whereas the larger street market on the west side of the bridge was much more prosperous. I have designated Resitan Road on my photos as ‘Resitan Road – East’ and ‘Resitan Road – West’ to differentiate between east and west of the Unity Bridge. I walked along Resitan Road west of the bridge for approximately 1 kilometer and admired the colorful picturesque buildings on both sides of the street. There were lights hanging from the trees on both sides of the street which gave the appearance that this street would be beautifully illuminated at night. A lady in a red dress ran up to me from across Resitan Road and wanted a photo with me, I handed my camera to one of two men who came with her and he photographed us with the other man standing next to me. After two photos were taken, he told me that the lady in red was his mother.

The Qiuci Capital City ruins occupy the largest area of all ruins of ancient cities in Xinjiang, but only the foundations of rammed earth for six large scale buildings are still in existence. The city was named Yangcheng in the Han Dynasty and Yiluolu in the Tang Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, the Governor of the Western Region set his headquarters in this Yiluolu. I visited the portion of the Qiuci Capital City foundation of the city that is situated in Kuqa city.

During my final day at Kuqa, I took a day trip north to the Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark, which includes many different sites with unique names. For example, the southern portion is called the Salt Water Valley Scenic Spot and it contains an area that is called Buddhala Landscape. Continuing northbound is an area called the Red Mountain Stone Forest that is followed by the Kizilya Scenic Spot. At the northern end of the Geopark is the famous Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon. I hiked the length of the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon. The area is very beautiful. I also hiked down into the Buddhala Landscape. Some of the areas resemble colorful rock formations found in Southern Utah, USA.

I took a local night train from Kuqa to Urumqi, which is also called Wulumuqi, and arrived at Urumqi early morning on 22 July. After checking into my hotel and eating breakfast, I went to visit the Museum of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Exhibition Hall of Geology and Minerals. Although both museums had spectacular exhibits, the cultural museum was amazing. Among the permanent exhibits are exhibits related to ethnic minorities living in Xinjiang, the history of Xinjiang, artifacts unearthed in Xinjiang, and ancient mummies found in Xinjiang.

Saturday, 23 July, was an interesting sightseeing day in Urumqi. I started out in the morning to go to the Silk Road Museum, which is said to be situated on Shengli Lu but, once I arrived there, I was not able to find the museum. I believe that I may have been in or nearby the old Uyghur Muslim part of the city. The area was very interesting with a small park with some interesting sculptures and an interesting mosque. Nearby I found the International Grand Bazaar Xinjiang where there were throngs of people and many colorful shops of all kinds. After I photographed a man with a huge falcon or eagle, he approached me and offered the glove with his bird to me. The glove fit and suddenly I was holding the bird on my right arm. I gave my camera to another man who began photographing me. The man then coaxed his bird to spread its wings to show how large and powerful it was. A huge crowd gathered around and many many people were taking photos of me with the bird. When the man then touched the bird, it brought it's wings back close to its body and he then had me put my left hand on the bird. A very exhilarating experience for me and probably also for the large crowd of people photographing me with the bird. After the man retrieved his bird from me, I gave him a nice tip and continued exploring the bazaar.

As I continued exploring the area, I visited the Erdaoqiad Grand Bazaar which was situated nearby. After I explored the area and the bazaars, I walked along a street adjacent to the International Grand Bazaar Xinjiang to try to find a taxi to return to my hotel. One side of the street was lined with small shops and many restaurants charcoal grilling lamb kebabs in front of the restaurants. I went into one of the restaurants that was packed with locals and had wonderful noodles with lamb and several of the kebabs for lunch – very spicy and very good.

On Sunday, 24 July, I visited the Shuimo Gully Scenic Zone, Hongshan Park, and the Shaanxi Grand Mosque. The Shuimo Gully Scenic Zone is a narrow mountain valley about one kilometer long with a mountain stream flowing through it. There are many interesting sites to visit while hiking along mountain-side trails and along the stream with exquisite footbridges. The Qingquan Great Buddha Temple was very large, and the Lovers’ Trees site was also very interesting.

After the Shuimo Gully Scenic Zone, I went to Hongshan Park, which is also called Red Mountain Park. It is 1,500 meters long and 1,000 meters wide. A nine-storied tower of gray bricks stands on top of the mountain. A beautiful Buddhist temple is also near the top, and a red rock pagoda is prominently situated at a point high above one end of the mountain. The park also features amusement areas for children and families to enjoy.

I continued on to visit the Shaanxi Grand Mosque. The literature states that the Shaanxi Grand Mosque is the oldest and largest mosque in Urumqi. The main hall within the square compound of the mosque is a palace-like wood-brick structure of the traditional Chinese architectural style. The front part of the main hall has a hipped single roof while the rear part is an octagonal tower with multiple eaves.

On Monday, 25 July, I visited People’s Park, which is more popularly known as West Park. It was first built in 1883, the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Gaungxu of the Qing Dynasty. Features of the park include several beautiful temples and pavilions, beautiful flower gardens, the Pavilion of Mirror Lake, a Jade-Belt Arched Bridge, and an outdoor amusement park. I walked round trip from one end of the park to the other. After my visit, I returned to my hotel and packed up for my upcoming flight to Chengdu.

I flew from Urumqi to Chengdu on Tuesday, 26 July, to be in position well in advance for my flights home from Chengdu on Friday, 29 July. While in Chengdu, I spent most of my time drafting my travel notes and editing photos for the trip. During my brief stay in Chengdu, I reflected on how much I enjoyed traveling in Xinjiang Province. The people were friendly and I thought that the food was exceptionally delicious. I am looking forward to a return trip in the future to explore more areas of Xinjiang Province.

See pictures from Kuqa and Urumqi

See pictures from the Pacific Northwest

May 2016
Pacific Northwest

Travel Notes

Jan and I wanted to visit friends on Orcas Island, Washington, in the San Juan Islands and in the vicinity of Seattle, Washington. In addition, we wanted to visit Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada. We booked a repositioning cruise from San Diego to Vancouver aboard the Holland America ship, MAASDAM. The cruise itinerary included a stop at Victoria, BC. This would be a repeat of the same repositioning cruise that we took in May 2015.

We took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles to San Diego and boarded the MAASDAM on Wednesday, 18 May, and settled into our cabin. The ship departed San Diego that evening and began the journey to Vancouver.

After open-ocean sailing for the next three days, we arrived at Victoria, BC, during late afternoon on Saturday, 21 May. The ship arrived at Victoria several hours late due to some time lost when we encountered rough seas west of San Francisco. Since the weather at Victoria was overcast with misting rain showers when we arrived, we opted to take a short walk along the Unity Wall and Breakwater adjacent to the cruise ship port.

We set sail at midnight for the short voyage from Victoria to Vancouver and disembarked at Canada Place pier on Sunday, 22 May at about 9:30 AM. After checking into our hotel, we took a taxi to visit the University of British Columbia (UBC) Botanical Garden and the UBC Museum of Anthropology. The UBC Botanical Garden is situated in one of Vancouver’s Coastal Rainforests. In addition to viewing the beautiful flower gardens, we also took the Greenheart Canopy Walkway within a portion of the forest. The canopy walkway is a series of suspended walkways and tree platforms high above the forest floor.

We took a UBC campus bus from the main botanical garden area to the Nitobe Memorial Garden, which is also part of the UBC Botanical Garden. It is a Traditional Japanese Tea and Stroll Garden that is ranked in the top five Japanese Gardens in North America. It was small and very beautiful, with another party taking wedding photos. We walked from the Nitobe Memorial Garden to the UBC Museum of Anthropology. This museum was magnificent and should not be missed when visiting Vancouver. In addition, this museum had a special exhibition of the Contemporary Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea.

We visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park located in North Vancouver on Monday, 23 May. I had purchased tickets in advance on the Internet, and we were able to catch a special Capilano Bus near our hotel that took us directly to the park. The park is named after a suspension footbridge 450 feet long and 230 feet high across the Capilano River Canyon. The park has been attracting tourists since 1889. In addition to the suspension bridge, the park has a rainforest with paths and boardwalks, a Cliffwalk, and a Treetops Adventure. The Cliffwalk is a structure attached to the face of the cliff on one side of the canyon for visitors to walk along the face of the cliff, examine the geology of the cliff, and enjoy exhilarating views of the canyon below. Raptors Ridge is a path and boardwalk through the rainforest. The Treetops Adventure is a system of tree-friendly platforms and suspension bridges that allow pedestrians to walk the treetop canopy.

After we returned to our hotel, we decided to use the Downtown Vancouver Official Walking Map to walk to the Chinatown district and visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden. The map was a godsend and easy to follow, but the museum was closed when we arrived. We continued walking to the Gastown district on our way back to the hotel.

The following day, we continued walking in Vancouver. During our walk we visited the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, a private museum displaying many of the works of Bill Reid. It was a very impressive museum and we were glad we stopped to have a look inside. We also visited the Christ Church Cathedral, Harbour Green Park, the Digital Orca sculpture, the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Steam Clock, the Gassy Jack Statue, the Chinatown Milenniun Gate, and finally the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden.

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden is the first of its kind built outside of China. Fifty-three master craftsmen came from China with 950 crates of material and constructed the Garden using traditional methods – no glue, screws, or power tools were used. It is modeled after the highest standards of private classical gardens in the city of Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Construction began in March 1985 and cost 5.3 million dollars. It was officially opened in 1986. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park is a public park adjacent to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden.

On Wednesday, 25 May, we took the BC Ferries Connector service from Vancouver to Victoria, which is located on Vancouver Island. I had advance purchased tickets and we were picked up at our hotel by a shuttle bus that transferred us to a large bus that drove us to the ferry. The bus boarded the ferry and then delivered us to downtown Victoria. It was the perfect way to travel from Vancouver to Victoria and exceeded all of our expectations.

Upon arrival at Victoria, we walked to our hotel and waited to meet up with Tom and Leslie, our friends from Orcas Island. They had taken the ferry from Orcas Island to Victoria to meet up with us. That evening, we ate dinner at the Fish Hook Restaurant where Leslie had made reservations weeks in advance. Leslie said that it was rated the best restaurant in Victoria. It was casual, very small, the food was superb, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. After dinner, we all walked around old town Victoria and along the Inner Harbour. The Legislature Building was illuminated with lights very similar to the way the Palace at Mysore, India, is illuminated after dark – very beautiful indeed!

The following morning, Tom and Leslie drove us to the world-famous Butchart Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day with perfect weather to stroll leisurely through the magnificent gardens. There were so many beautiful landscapes that included the Sunken Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Star Pond, Italian Garden, Piazza, and Mediterranean Garden. Butchart Gardens covers more than 55 acres of a 130 acre estate and has attracted visitors since the 1920s. We were in awe and amazement throughout our visit.

We also visited the Victoria Butterfly Gardens, which is located near the Butchart Gardens. It was also an amazing place to visit with at least twenty-five different species of butterflies, many rainforest plants, parrots, flamingos, turtles, and a large Iguana lizard. The butterflies would land on the visitors and people needed to check to make sure that they weren’t wearing any butterflies when they exited the enclosure.

We returned to downtown Victoria and ate a late afternoon lunch at a classic pub before continuing to walk around the old town area and inner harbor that afternoon. During our walks, we stopped to admire the collection of totem poles on the grounds of the Royal BC Museum.

On Friday, 27 May, we drove to the ferry terminal at Sydney, BC, where we cleared US Customs and boarded the ferry to San Juan Island. After disembarking the ferry, we drove to the San Juan Island Sculpture Park where we strolled among acres of interesting sculptures, all of which were for sale. We returned to the ferry queue and ate lunch at a quaint local pub while waiting for the time to board the ferry to Orcas Island. It was a short ferry ride to Orcas Island and we drove home with Tom and Leslie where we visited until Tuesday, 31 May. I continued daily hikes during our stay on Orcas Island and Leslie prepared some wonderful meals that we thoroughly enjoyed.

On Tuesday, 31 May, Tom and Leslie drove us to the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. En route to the terminal, we stopped at the two barns painted by the high school senior class with each painting over the work of the prior years’ class. The old barn was last painted by the Class of 2014, and the new barn was painted by the Class of 2016. The old barn continues to be on the verge of collapse. We boarded the ferry to Anacortes, Washington, and then caught the BelAir Airporter Shuttle bus to the SEA/TAC International Airport. Our friends, John and Diane, from Federal Way, Washington, met us at the airport. We spent the next five days visiting with them and their son, David, and his wife, Doreen, who live in Tacoma, Washington.

On Wednesday, 1 June, John and Diane drove us to the Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field near Everett, WA. This is the collection established by Paul Allen in the 1990s and houses a unique assemblage of rare aircraft and vehicles from the World War II era. Not only does each artifact appear exactly as it did in combat, most are fully functional. These vintage planes also take to the skies on scheduled Fly Days.

On Thursday, we visited the Soos Creek Botanical Garden in Auburn, WA. It occupies 22 acres of beautifully designed gardens and woodland. We strolled through the gardens and woodland admiring the landscaping and blooming flowers that were in season. There is no charge to visit the garden and different plants bloom at different months during the year. John and Diane plan to return during different times of the year.

David and Doreen drove all of us to Mt. Rainier National Park on Friday, 3 June. We drove southbound on Route 410 to the park and entered at the White River Entrance en route to the Sunrise Visitor Center at 6,400 feet elevation. Since it was still early in the season for visiting the park, the road was only open to the White River Campground at an elevation of 4,400 ft. We backtracked and continued on Route 410 where we transitioned to Route 123 and entered the park at the Stevens Canyon Entrance. We continued on the Stevens Canyon Road to Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at an elevation of 5,400 feet. We continued on along the Nisqually River until we exited the park at the Nisqually Entrance where the road continued westward as Route 706. We stopped in Elbe, WA, at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Depot where we ate dinner before returning to Federal Way. It was another beautiful sunny day and we saw some spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, which, at an elevation of 14,410 feet, dominates the surrounding landscapes.

On Saturday, 4 June, we went to the 10th Annual Pacific Northwest Evergreen Eggfest. It is an event sponsored by the manufacturers and distributors of the Big Green Egg barbeques. People make advance reservations to attend and are able to sample different barbeque recipes cooked on many Big Green Egg demonstration barbeques. Beverages are provided as part of the admission and people also sign up in advance to purchase the demonstration Big Green Eggs. There were literally more than 100 different barbeque foods being offered for people to sample. In addition, there was a live band as well as recorded music. Everyone in attendance appeared to have a good time and nobody left hungry.

On Sunday, David and Doreen drove us all to Olympia, WA, where we took a guided tour of the Washington State Capital. It was completed in 1928 and has one of the tallest masonry domes in the world, rising 287 feet high. It also has one of the world’s largest collections of chandeliers and decorative lighting fixtures made by the famous Tiffany Studios of New York. We walked past the Executive Mansion, which is the official home of the Governor, en route to the Olympia Visitor Information Center where we obtained a walking map of Olympia.

We decided to continue walking in Olympia and visited the Old Capital Building that was built in 1862 and now houses some Government offices. It is across the street from Sylvester Park, which was the location where the Oregon Trail ended. Our next stop was at Percival Landing, where we toured the classic tugboat SAND MAN. It was commissioned in 1908 and built by the Crawford & Reid shipyard in Old Town Tacoma. We continued walking northbound on the Boardwalk along the Deschutes Waterway toward the Port of Olympia. We observed some interesting sculptures as we walked along the boardwalk. About halfway to the port, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the waterway.

We flew home to Los Angeles on Monday, 6 June, and are looking forward to returning to the Pacific Northwest on future trips.

April 2016
Thailand

Travel Notes

I flew from Chengdu, China, to Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, 5 April 5 en route to Chiang Rai, Thailand. After overnighting in Bangkok, I flew to Chiang Rai and checked into my hotel on Wednesday, 6 April. The purpose of this trip was to attend the annual Songkran Festival celebration the Thailand Traditional New Year and to update my Thai mobile phone, which had become outdated. This was my first trip following my total hip replacement surgery in November 2015, and I wanted to continue taking daily hikes to keep improving my physical endurance capabilities.

I did not have a pre-planned itinerary for this trip and after I arrived at Chiang Rai, I learned that the father of Praima, a good friend of mine in Chiang Rai, had fallen the day before I arrived and broken is right leg. He was 88 years old and was hospitalized. Because Praima and her brother were the only family members there to care for her father, I decided to remain in Chiang Rai to provide some emotional support for them.

I had visited Chiang Rai on numerous occasions but most of the visits were to relax after visiting some other part of Asia and to work on my travel notes and photos. Although the air quality in the Chiang Rai area was impaired due to burning in the mountains of Myanmar and Northern Thailand, I decided to spend time taking a daily hike in Chiang Rai city. I also decided that I would try to take my hikes during the morning in advance of the afternoon high temperatures. My hikes ranged from 6 km to 12 km. I also took a couple of short day trips outside of the city while I was there.

During my first morning hike on Friday, 8 April, from my hotel to the new bridge over the Mae Kok River, I passed a place that had a museum learning center and a large garage for some spectacular Royal Carriages. This was quite a find for me because I had never read or heard about these carriages in Chiang Rai. Since I only had my mobile phone with me for photos, I decided that I would return the following day with my camera. Back at my hotel, I searched the Internet but was unable to find any information about these carriages. They are one of Chiang Rai’s best kept secrets. I later learned from a Tourism Authority of Thailand Bicycle Map of Chiang Rai that this place is called the “Hall of Royal Carriage.”

I returned to the Hall of Royal Carriage the following day and took photos of the carriages and the descriptive signs for each of the Royal Carriages which are also referred to as Royal Chariots. There is a sign on the wall behind the carriages captioned “The History and Construction of the Nine Royal Chariots” with the following description:

Chiang Rai is the historical land of the ancient Lanna civilization. Chiang Rai Municipality intends to maintain its cultural heritage and the various Buddhist images that people worship.

The mayor of Chiang Rai, Mr. Wanchai Chongsutthanamanee, had a vision to make merit. He and the citizens of Chiang Rai built Nine Royal Chariots to display the precious Buddha images. The images are paraded throughout the city every New Year in hopes of bringing prosperity to all.

Chiang Rai Municipality
6 February 2005

Each of the carriages is fashioned after one of the following locations:

Phrae Style Carriage built in 2001
Chiang Mai Style Carriage built in 2002
Chiang Rai Style Carriage built in 2003
Lampoon Style Carriage built in 2003
Nan Style Carriage built in 2003
Mae Hong Son Style carriage built in 2006
Lampang Style Carriage built in 2012
Phayaeo Style Carriage built in 2013
Chiang Sean Style Carriage built in 2015

The Hall of Royal Carriages is open Tuesday through Sunday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM and is closed on Mondays and holidays.

Chiang Rai has several main landmarks and tourist attractions. Perhaps two of the most famous landmarks are the Golden Clock Tower and the King Mengrai the Great Memorial. The clock tower puts on a ten-minute light show performance every night at19:00, 20:00 and 21:00 hours. Of course there are also many Buddhist temples Wats located throughout the area. In addition, the White Temple and the Baan Dam Museum (also known as the Black House and the Black Temple) were built by two of Thailand’s National Artists. The Oub Kham Museum is a private museum that includes objects from the ancient Lanna Kingdom – it should not be missed when visiting Chiang Rai.

I had an appointment at the mobile phone store to upgrade and re-register my Thai mobile phone with the Thai Government on Sunday, 10 April 10. Praima said that she would take me to the mobile phone store. In the morning, before the phone store opened, she took me to the Baan Dam Museum. The Baan Dam Museum consists of a group of more than 40 houses and buildings built by Thai national artist Dr. Thawan Datchancee. All of the houses of many styles are painted black and contain many things such as household furnishings, ancient utensils, horns, and bones of animals for his painting inspirations. There is also a gift shop complex that offers some of his renditions for sale. After visiting Baan Dam Museum, Praima took me to the phone store and helped me get the necessary paperwork completed for the new sim card, which the phone company would activate after re-registering it with the Government. Due to the Songkran holidays, this process would take about one week.

On Monday, 11 April, I obtained a tourist map from my hotel and located the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office. I decided to walk to the TAT office to try to find out more information on the royal carriages. Although I was unable to find any additional information, they gave me a Chiang Rai Bicycle Map that identified the location of the carriages as the “Hall of Royal Carriage.” This map was my second best find in Chiang Rai because it had different bicycle routes for sightseeing as well as the locations for many places of interest for tourists. It also had a descriptive paragraph both in Thai and in English for each of the places of interest. Armed with my new map, I began hiking individual bicycle routes and stopping at various places of interest. Since I had been to many of these places during my January 2011 initial visit to Chiang Rai, I did not take interior photos of the temples that I had previously visited as they are already documented on my travel website.

I visited more than twelve Buddhist temples during my daily walks. Although each temple has its own story to tell, there were two temples that I found especially noteworthy. The first was Wat Phra Kaew, which was originally founded as Wat Pa Yia or Temple of the Bamboo Grove. In 1434, the Emerald Buddha was revealed to be enshrined in the temple pagoda. This event caused Chiang Rai to rename the temple “Wat Phra Kaew” or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The original Emerald Buddha is currently enshrined at the Royal Chapel in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. Wat Phra Kaew also houses a very nice small museum in the Lanna style and the entire building is decorated in teak.

The second temple that I found very interesting was Wat Ming Muang due to its elephant sculptures. It is a seven hundred year old Tai Yai temple. A historical record illustrates that King Mengrai generally visited the temple to make merit at least twice a year: one was on the full moon night of Visaka, the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Another was on Loy Krathong (Ye Peng Festival), in the twelfth month. The original name of this temple was “Wat Chiang Moob,” meaning “The Temple of Crouching Elephants.” In 1970, the temple received the royal appointment for becoming a formal Buddhist temple of Thailand and was given the name “Wat Ming Muang, the Auspicious temple of the city.”

The first day of the Songkran Festival celebration in Chiang Rai began on Wednesday, 13 April. Many people reveled in the traditional water fights in the streets and along the sidewalks that have become part of the celebration. While the water fights began during late morning, they grew in intensity during the afternoon and lasted into the evening. Since it is difficult to capture the essence of the water fights in still photos, I took a couple of short video clips that depicted the action. The celebration lasted for three days and became less intense on the second and third day.

During my early morning hike on Friday, 15 April, I visited the Orb Kham Museum that I had also visited in January 2011. The exhibits at the museum from the Lanna Kingdom are superb. My main reason for visiting the museum was to purchase some more of the “Emperor Tea” that is for sale at the museum. Of course, the lady at the museum poured several complimentary cups of tea for me after my purchase.

As I was walking back toward my hotel after visiting the Orb Kham Museum, I felt a huge thud on my back as a truck filled with Songkran celebration people passed me. After the initial shock, I realized that I had just been drenched by a bucket of water tossed from the truck that hit me behind my right shoulder. I had also just joined in on the fun!

Other places of interest that I visited included the City Market, Thung Park, the Brahman Shrine, Nung Pung Reservoir, a Chinese temple, the City Naval Pillar, Darunaman Mosque, the Old Moat location of the old city wall, the Night Bazaar and Food Court, and the two weekly one night bazaars (the Saturday Walking Street and the Sunday Happy Street). In addition, I happened upon many interesting sights that are normally only seen while walking the streets and sidewalks of Chiang Rai. One was the Golden Triangle Palace hotel, which was designed and built by the owner who invited me onto the property and described his creations.

Praima and I ate dinner together on several occasions, and she drove me to several nice restaurants for dinner. These included a Vietnamese restaurant, Sa-Tha-Nee-Nam-Nuen; a restaurant beside the Nong Pung Reservoir, Soom-Kung-Ten; and a restaurant beside the river, Lu-Lumm.

On Saturday, 16 April, Praima needed to drive to Mae Sai to pick up a physician to visit her father. She invited me to ride along and we visited the Choui Fong Tea Plantation and Doi Mae Salon en route to Mae Sai. Both of these are located in the mountains to the north of Chiang Rai. In spite of the fact that there was much burning occurring in the mountains and the air was filled with smoke, the visit to the tea plantation was very nice. As we continued on to Doi Mae Salong, the burning intensified and obscured all of the normally beautiful views from the mountains. We ate lunch in Doi Mae Salong, and I took some photos of a hillside landscaped with beautiful flowers.

Since several other locations that I wanted to visit were closed due to the holidays or closed on Monday, I planned to visit Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple), Chiang Rai Historical Hall and the Mengrai Plant Nursery on Tuesday, 18 April. However, the smoke was so bad in Chiang Rai on this day that I opted to remain inside the hotel most of the day. Since the White Temple is such a famous Chiang Rai landmark, I have included several photos from my January 2011 visit to the White Temple.

I departed Chiang Rai on Wednesday, 19 April, and flew to Bangkok. The following day, I flew to Chengdu, China, in anticipation of my flight back home.

See pictures from China: Yangtze River Tour

October 2015
China - Yangtze River Tour

Travel Notes

Jan and I booked an October 2016 Roof of the World China Tour by Viking River Cruises which included visiting Shanghai, a Yangtze River cruise from Wuhan to Chongqing, visiting Tibet, visiting the Terra Cotta Soldiers at Xi’an, and visiting Beijing. During July, Jan’s doctor told her that she could not go to Tibet due to the high altitude. Instead of canceling the tour, we decided to visit with my friends in Chongqing and then re-join the tour at Xi’an.

We arrived at Shanghai during the evening of 21 October 2016 and checked into Hotel Indigo on the Bund. The Bund is the famous waterfront and has been regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. Our last visit to Shanghai was approximately 25 years ago. At that time, the Pudong district, across the Huangpu River from the Bund, was mostly an undeveloped area. Since then, it has been developed as the Pudong New Area and is home to many of Shanghai’s best-known buildings, such as the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Shanghai Tower. The Shanghai Tower is currently the tallest building in China and the second-tallest in the world. We went to the lounge at the top of the hotel to get an aerial view of the Bund and the Pudong New Area.

The following morning we walked along the Bund. During the afternoon, we transferred to the Fairmont Peace Hotel to meet up with Leo, our Roof of the World tour guide. Later that evening, I took a leisurely walk along the Bund to view the spectacular lighting of both the Bund and the Pudong New Area at night.

Our tour began on the morning of 23 October with a visit to the Yuyan Garden in Shanghai’s Old City. It was the private garden of the Pan Family and was first conceived in 1559. It has a total area of five acres with an exquisite layout and beautiful scenery that have made the garden one of the highlights of Shanghai.

After lunch, we visited the Shanghai Museum, which is considered to be one of China’s first world-class museums. It has a collection of over 120,000 pieces, including bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, jades, ancient coins, paintings, seals, sculptures, minority art, and foreign art. I was particularly impressed by the ancient Chinese bronzes including the Bianzhong of Marquis Su of Jin from Western Zhou. This set of ancient bronze bells is 3,000 years old, and they are now listed by the Chinese Government as one of the first 64 national treasures forbidden to be exhibited abroad. The arts and crafts exhibits by Chinese Minorities and the ancient Chinese sculptures were also very interesting. After dinner, we went to a wonderful performance of the Chinese Acrobats.

On Saturday morning, 24 October, we flew to Wuhan, the port city for our Yangtze River cruise. After lunch in Wuhan, we visited the Hubei Provincial Museum featuring the Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng, a complete ceremonial set of 65 zhong bells dated 433 BC. A replica set of the ancient bells is located in an adjacent building called the Music Hall – musicians played the replica bells for us before we entered the main Exhibition Hall. The museum has a collection of more than 200,000 artifacts including extensive artifacts from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng and the tombs at Baoshan. Due to limited time, we were unable to thoroughly explore this superb museum.

After departing the museum, we were taken to the Wuhan Passenger Port to board our cruise ship, Viking Emerald. After settling into our cabin, we explored the ship and prepared for our cruise up the Yangtze to Chongqing. The ship departed Wuhan in the evening and we sailed through the night to Yueyang.

We arrived at Yueyang on Sunday morning, 25 October 25. While at Yueyang, we visited the Yueyang Bazimen Primary School, which was renovated and sponsored by Viking River Cruises. The children greeted us with musical and dance performances before inviting us to visit their classroom. Jan and I sat at a desk occupied by two young girls who showed us their workbooks and we practiced English with them. One girl tried to put a bracelet on my wrist but since my wrist was too large, she gave it to Jan and put it on her wrist. The school visit was a delightful way to spend time in Yueuang and gain some insight into education in China’s rural areas.

After sailing for approximately five hours west of Yueyang, we passed the salvage operation for the Eastern Star cruise ship. The ship capsized on 01 June 2015 during severe weather resulting in the loss of 442 people with only 12 survivors. We continued sailing through the night toward Yichang.

During Monday afternoon, 26 October, we arrived at Yichang and sailed into the lock at the Gezhou Dam, China’s largest dam before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. As we exited the lock, we entered the Xiling Gorge, the largest of the three Yangtze River Gorges. We encountered rain and fog during the afternoon, which diminished the views of the gorge. Later, some passengers disembarked early in the evening to be bussed to view the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric power station in the world that became operational in 2011. Due to the inclement weather and approaching darkness, Jan and I opted to remain on the ship. Later that night, we entered the first of five locks of the dam and continued sailing through the night.

Tuesday morning, 27 October, we sailed through Wu Xia (Witches Gorge) to Wushan and docked near the entrance of the Daning River for a lesser Three Gorges excursion. We disembarked from the Viking Emerald and boarded sampans for a cruise on the Daning River through the Lesser Three Gorges. The weather was bright sunshine with clear skies, which made the scenery spectacular. Without a doubt, this was the highlight of our Yangtze River cruise and I purchased a photo book from our local guide. Upon returning to the Viking Emerald, we sailed through the Qutang Gorge which is the shortest and narrowest of the three gorges. The sunshine continued, and we exited Qutang Gorge during the late afternoon.

We arrived at Shibaozhai on Wednesday morning, 28 October. The original village of Shibaozhai was submerged with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and a new Shibaozhai has been constructed for tourist ships to dock. A dam has been constructed around the base of the Shibaozhai Pavilion to prevent the higher river water level from submerging the base of the pavilion – leaving a mountain with the pavilion as an island in the river. We docked at the new Shibaozhai village and walked through the village and across a bridge to the island with the pavilion. We walked along the top of the dam to stairs leading down to the base of the pavilion that is at least eleven stories high. We then climbed up through each story of the pavilion to the top and visited the temples on the top of the hill before descending down steps on the opposite side of the island.

We continued sailing toward Chongqing and arrived at Chongqing early Thursday morning on 29 October. That afternoon, we took a tour of the bridge of the Emerald Viking. We said good-bye to our friends on the tour before they disembarked to continue on to Tibet. After visiting with my friends at Chongqing, we would re-join the tour at Xi’an. Our Chongqing visit with friends is detailed as a separate side trip on my travel website.

After our Chongqing visit, we flew to Xi’an on Monday, 1 November, to re-join our tour group. We arrived at our hotel just in time to join the tour for a wonderful buffet dinner. The following morning we visited the Terra Cotta Army UNESCO World Heritage Site where thousands of statues of soldiers, archers, horses, and chariots were buried with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang more than 2,000 years ago. When Jan and I were there twenty-five years earlier, access was limited to one end of the single building containing the warriors, and photography was forbidden. This time, ample access around all three buildings was provided and photography was allowed. This visit was another highlight of our tour.

After lunch, we visited the Xi’an Wild Goose Pagoda. It was an interesting seven story square tower and Buddhist temple complex. A disappointment for me was that our tour did not visit downtown Xi’an with the city wall, city gates, drum tower, and bell tower which are very beautiful. Downtown Xi’an is detailed during my August 2012 trip to China.

We flew to Beijing on Wednesday morning, 3 November. After arriving at Beijing, we visited the Beijing Bell Tower, Beijing Drum Tower, and the Zhonglouwan Hutong. The Bell Tower and Drum Tower were built in 1272 and rebuilt twice after two fires. They were the time-telling center of the capital city during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911 CE). The towers are approximately 100 meters apart and are separated by a plaza. We visited a tea market that occupies the first floor of the Bell Tower where we tasted several varieties of tea. We walked the length of the plaza past the Drum Tower, which was closed, and continued on to visit the Zhonglouwan Hutong.

Beijing Hutongs are residential neighborhoods which still form the heart of Old Beijing. The hutongs which survive today offer a glimpse of life in the capital city as it has remained for generations. We toured the Zhonglouwan Hutong by rickshaw and stopped at one home where the family artists painted the insides of small glass bottles. Following our hutong tour, we checked into our hotel.

The weather on Thursday morning was cloudy, foggy, and cold. Despite the weather, we visited the Badaling Great Wall. We took the cable car from the parking area to the station adjacent to the Great Wall. The Great Wall at Badaling is considered to be the best-preserved and most completed section of all of the Beiging Great Wall sections. In addition to being among throngs of tourists, the inclement weather persisted with very slippery footpath portions of the wall and very limited visibility, which made for a disappointing visit.

Jan and I had visited and hiked the Beijing Great Wall section at Simatai about twenty five years earlier on a clear day. At that time Simatai was the most unrestored portion of the Great Wall and very few tourists visited this area. According to the Internet, the wall and first ten beacon towers east of the lake have now been restored and a cable car has been installed since our visit to Simatai. We were glad to have visited Badaling, but it was not one of the highlights of our tour. Additional Great Wall sections much farther West along the Old Silk Road near Dunhuang and Jiayuguan are detailed during my April 2014 trip to China. The Outer Great Wall north of Datong is detailed during my August 2013 trip to China.

The weather improved after lunch and we visited the Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs. We walked along the Sacred Way from one end to the other. There is a grand marble gateway more than 400 years old at one end of a long avenue lined with eighteen pairs of massive stone sculptures of elephants, lions, camels, and mythical beasts.

The weather was overcast with occasional light rain and fog on Friday morning, 5 November, the last sightseeing day of the tour. Our first stop was to visit Tiananmen Square, which is the world’s largest public square and is situated directly in front of the Forbidden City. We continued on to visit the Forbidden City, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Forbidden City was completed in 1420 and is the world’s largest palace complex with many buildings and 9,999 rooms. It was the palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasties where outside visitors were forbidden for five centuries. Our guide informed us that portions of the Forbidden City had been restored prior to China’s Olympic Games. The tour was very structured, proceeding from the main entrance straight through to the back exit.

After lunch, we visited the Summer Palace which was once the summer retreat and playground for the imperial family during the late Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be one of the finest Chinese architectural gardens and spans over 700 acres. The entire Summer Palace complex is centered around Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. Kunming Lake covers three quarters of the area and both the lake and Longevity Hill were man made. The dirt removed from the lake was used to build Longevity Hill. In November 1998, the Summer Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In spite of misting rain, we rode a dragon boat across the lake to a dock nearby the white marble Stone Boat. The Stone Boat is 98 meters long. The original boat was burned in 1860 and was restored in 1893 on the order of Empress Dowager Cixi, with a copy painted to look like white marble with western style paddle wheels. After visiting the Stone Boat, we walked under the Long Corridor from the boat dock to a point opposite the Tower of Buddhist Incense and then returned to the boat dock. The entire corridor is 728 meters long and contains artistic decorations, including paintings of famous places in China and scenes from Chinese mythology and folktales, The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, and the Four Great Classical Novels. The rain continued and, after a return dragon boat ride to the entrance, we returned to our hotel.

It was snowing in Beijing on Saturday, 6 November. After breakfast at the hotel, we went to the airport and checked in for our flights back home to Los Angeles.

October 2015
China - Chongqing with Friends

Travel Notes

Jan and I booked an October 2016 Roof of the World China Tour by Viking River Cruises which included visiting Shanghai, a Yangtze River cruise from Wuhan to Chongqing, visiting Tibet, visiting the Terra Cotta Soldiers at Xi’an, and visiting Beijing. During July, Jan’s doctor told her that she could not go to Tibet due to the high altitude. Instead of cancelling the tour, we decided that we would visit with my friends in Chongqing while the tour visited Tibet and then re-join the tour at Xi’an.

We arrived at Chongqing early Thursday morning on 29 October. After saying good-bye to our friends on the Viking River tour, we disembarked from the Emerald Viking cruise ship and took a taxi to the Chongqing Crown Plaza Hotel. Later my friends – Summer, Peng, and Peng’s husband, Thong – picked us up at the hotel. Summer and Peng are Air China flight attendants, and Thong is an Air China mechanic. They took us to visit the Three Gorges Museum and the People’s Auditorium, which are both situated on the People’s Square. I had visited both in 2013, but I wanted Jan to see them. Unfortunately, the Three Gorges exhibit hall was closed, but the remainder of the museum had wonderful exhibits. The People’s Auditorium is directly across the square from the Three Gorges Museum. Both the museum and auditorium are detailed during my April 2013 trip to China.

Our next stop was at the Hongya Cave Folk-Custom Scene Area where we ate lunch and walked through multiple floors of small shops and a rooftop patio. Our last stop of the day was Ciqikou (Porcelain Village), an ancient village situated on the bank of the Jailing River where we ate dinner and explored the village. The history of Ciqikou can be traced back more than 1,700 years and provides some insight into what Chongqing looked like in the distant past.

On Friday, 30 October, Jan and I took a tour with a private English-speaking guide to the Dazu Rock Carvings that Peng had arranged for us in advance. The tour included a stop at the Dazu Haitangxiangguo Style Historical and Cultural Center and lunch at the China Dazu Best Kitchen Culture Museum before actually visiting the rock carvings. Haitangxiangguo is best described as a modern-day replica of an ancient town, and the Kitchen Culture Museum was a knife store with some statues on the lawn in front of the store.

Dazu is famous for the Dazu Rock Carvings that were carved in the late Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and early Song dynasty (960-1279 CE) and were included on the World Cultural Heritage List in 1999. I had visited multiple sites of Dazu Rock Carvings in April 2013 by private car and driver, but the Goddess of Mercy statue at Baoding Mountain was closed at that time.

The Baoding Mountain Cliff Carving is located in a U-shaped valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides with a 500-meter long religious art gallery carved on the cliffs. Marvelous statues are carved along the mountain with one giant niche beside another. Our English-speaking guide provided comprehensive explanations of the different statues to Jan as we strolled among the several thousand different carvings. The statue of the Goddess of Mercy with 1,000 hands and 1,000 eyes is vividly and delicately carved. Her 1,007 hands fan out on an 88 square-meter cliff just like the tail of a peacock. She is truly a breathtakingly beautiful sight to see, and I was very happy to see her this trip.

On the way back to Chongqing, the traffic was so bad that our guide suggested that we get off of the bus and walk to the nearest train station. We rode the train to a station near our hotel and took a taxi from there to our hotel. Anyone who wants to visit the Dazu Rock Carvings should consider hiring an English speaking guide who can also arrange for a private car or taxi instead of booking the group bus tour.

Peng and Summer picked us up early Saturday morning, 31 October, to go to the Chongqing Zoo to see the Red and Giant Pandas. Summer continued on to a family gathering while we walked around the zoo admiring the pandas and other animals. Peng had never been to the zoo, and she decided that she will bring her baby boy there as soon as he is a little bit older.

Since 31 October was also Buddha’s birthday, we went to the Huayan Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Chongqing. We ate lunch at a local noodle restaurant across the road from the temple. There were throngs of people visiting the temple with offerings, and it was an amazing sight to experience. We explored the temple grounds and later Summer joined us. That evening, Summer and Peng took us to the Dezhuang Meimeimei Hot Pot restaurant for traditional Chongqing hot pot. The hot pot dinner was superb and, after dinner, we all said good-bye at our hotel. Our visit with my friends in Chongqing was wonderful, and we hope that they can come to Los Angeles to visit with us in the near future.

We flew to Xi’an on Monday, 1 November, to re-join our Viking River tour group.

See pictures from China: Chongqing

See pictures from China: Guizhou & Yunnan Provinces

August 2015
China - Guizhou & Yunnan Provinces

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to Asia during August 2015 and booked flights to Chengdu, China. I had not decided whether to continue on to Thailand and Cambodia or to continue on to Guizhou Province and possibly also visit places further south in China.

I arrived at Chengdu, China, on Saturday, 15 August, at about 6:40 PM. After clearing immigration, I exited the terminal and took a local taxi to my hotel. I spent the following day deciding on my final destination for the trip and booked a flight from Chengdu to Guizhou Province. I spent the remainder of the day resting up from the long flights from Los Angeles, California.

Monday, 17 August, was a travel day when I flew from Chengdu to Guiyang, China, and settled into my hotel. I decided to spend two days exploring Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province, before continuing on to Anshun, China.

On Tuesday, 18 August, I was greeted by intermittent rain showers. I took a taxi to visit the Jaixiu Tower and the adjacent Cuiwei Garden. The Jaixiu Tower (or Scholar’s Tower) sits on the huge Turtle Rock in the middle of the Nanming River and is a landmark of Guiyang. The beautiful Fuyu (Floating Jade) Bridge which looks like a jade belt floating on the river, is connected to the tower. I walked across the bridge to the tower. After visiting Jaixiu Tower, I continued walking on the bridge to visit the Cuiwei Garden.

In the distance, I was able to see part of one of the buildings of the People’s Square from the Jiaxiu Tower as I looked upstream along the Nanming River. Since the rain had subsided, I decided to walk along the river to People’s Square. My stroll along the sidewalk adjacent to the river was very picturesque and the rain returned as I arrived at People’s Square. People’s Square is large with a major public street bisecting it. A large building with a large statue of Chairman Mao is on one side of the street and a very unique structure stands at the far end of the square on the opposite side of the street. Although I was told that the square was recently completed, I could not find any definitive description of the square. Heavy intermittent rain returned while I was visiting the square, and I returned to my hotel.

On Wednesday, 19 August, I took a day trip to the Qingyan Ancient Town which was originally the Qingyan Fort built during the Hongwu regin of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1398). The walls around the ancient town were impressive and appeared to have been recently reconstructed. The town has four main streets, several temples, churches, restaurants, and shops. I ate lunch at an ethnic noodle shop during intermittent rain showers.

After returning to Quiyang, I visited the Wenchang Pavillion which is situated on top of the Quiyang Eastern City Gate. It is a three-story building with triple-eaves, nine irregular angles, and a pointed roof. It was first constructed in 1596, or the 24th year of the reign of the Ming Dynasty.

On Thursday, 20 August, I traveled by train to Anshun City. After checking into my hotel near the city center, I found a restaurant that specialized in grilling and serving lamb at tables with a small charcoal pit in the middle of the table. I couldn’t resist the temptation, and dinner there was wonderful.

Friday, 21 August, was a sunny picture-perfect day, and I took a day trip to the Huangguoshu Waterfall National Park situated 45 km from Anshun. It is a national AAAAA scenic zone known for hanging waterfalls, karst caves, natural miniature landscapes, stone forests on waters, running waters in the mountains, and deep and serene valleys. The park provides special buses to take visitors to scheduled stops and hike to various sights of interest near each stop.

There are eighteen waterfalls in the area around the Huangguoshu Waterfall. My first bus stop was near the Doupothang Waterfall, which is upstream from the Huangguoshu Waterfall on the Baishui River. Doupothang is the widest waterfall in the area, measuring 105 meters in width and 21 meters high. Although the trail upstream toward the waterfall was packed with tourists, the walk was beautiful with nice occasional views of the waterfall. There were also viewing platforms adjacent to the river near the waterfall that provided spectacular photos opportunities.

After visiting the Doupothang Waterfall, I hiked downstream along the Baishui River and crossed a footbridge at one of many cascades in the river before arriving at a second Doupothang area tourist bus stop. I boarded another bus that took me to the Tianxingqiao Scenic Area. This area has karst caves, small waterfalls, and a small stream running through it between ponds of various sizes. I hiked along the trail, which was also packed with tourists, through some magnificent scenery that included walking on stepping stones through the stream and ponds. After eating lunch at a small noodle shop, I walked along a road back to the Tianxingqiao bus stop.

My next stop was at the Huangguoshu Waterfall bus stop. There is a mini-scape garden with more than 3,000 bonsais of various kinds en route to the trailhead of the waterfall. Huangguoshu Waterfall is listed in tourist literature as the most famous waterfall in China and the largest waterfall in Asia. It is 101 meters wide, 78 meters high, and surrounded by 18 smaller waterfalls in nine layers.

I enjoyed a nice hike through the wonderful mini-scape sculpture and bonsai garden en route to the trailhead to the Huangguoshu Waterfall (also referred to as the Grand Waterfall). During the long hike down into a valley to arrive at the bottom of the Huangguoshu Waterfall, there were several viewing platforms amid the mist from the waterfall. Visitors can opt to continue an ascending trail to view the waterfall from a higher elevation or take another trail to the Water Curtain Cave that is situated behind the waterfall.

Since it was already late afternoon, I opted to skip the ascending trail and the Water Curtain Cave. Instead, I walked downstream to the Grand Escalator that people can ride back up to the mini-scape garden at the top of the valley. After riding the escalator, I took one of the tourist buses back to the public parking lot to meet up with my driver. The Huangguoshu Scenic Zone is a must-see when visiting Guizhou Province.

Saturday, 22 August, was another sunny picture-perfect day. I visited the Loong Palace (Dragon Palace), which is also a national AAAAA scenic and historic interest zone. The central scenic zone consists of a cluster of water karst caves. The Loong Palace Scenic Zone boasts the longest water karst cavern, the largest waterfall in a karst cavern, the lowest natural radicalization in China, and is known for oddly-shaped pools, many short rivers, and large Buddhist prayer rooms. It covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters and houses the longest underground river in China, some 5,000 meters long, that flows beneath more than 30 hills and connects over 90 limestone caves within the scenic zone.

I began my visit to Loong Palace at the public parking lot above the valley floor where there is a meadow that has the Chinese character for a dragon planted in contrasting vegetation. After purchasing my admission ticket, I hiked down into the valley and visited a waterfall upstream from the boat dock for boats traveling to the Xuantang Pond. I took a boat downstream to Xuantang Pond. The Xuantang Pond is also called the Whirling Pond because it has a whirlpool exit to an underground river beneath the pond. Due to the high water and surface currents, the slight whirling action on the surface was not visible while I was there. I hiked from Xuantang Pond to Kwan-yin Cave which contains chambers named Mahavira Hall, Guan Yin Hall, Huahu Hall, Reclining Buddha Hall, and Ksitigarbha Hall.

Continuing onward, I came to the Jiujiutun Bell tower where I joined other tourists in ringing the bell. Jiujiutun is the highest point on the footpath in the Loong Palace Scenic Area. It is also adjacent to one station of the Long Gong inertia ropeway (zipline). I rode the zipline across the valley to the opposing station. After walking to another ropeway station nearby, I rode the zipline back across the valley to Jiujiutun.

I then hiked from Jiujiutun, across the valley floor and past the entrance to Jade Long Cave, which was closed due to high water levels from large amounts of recent rainfall. After finally climbing out of the valley adjacent to the ropeway station, where I had just taken the ropeway to Jiujiutun, I continued hiking to Yulong Pass. Beyond Yulong Pass, I entered Tiger Cave which is a 400 meter long dry karst cave. Tiger cave is beautifully illuminated inside.

After exiting Tiger Cave, I hiked to the entrances of the Second Loong Cave and the First Loong Cave. A river flows through both of these caves. Although the Second Loong Cave was also closed due to recent heavy rainfall, the First Loong Cave was open. I hiked along the river in the First Loong Cave and then along a floating pathway on the surface of the river to a boat dock. I boarded a boat that sailed through the beautifully illuminated cave to Tianchi Lake where it docked near the viewing platform at the top of Longmen Waterfall.

Tianchi Lake, which is at an elevation of 1,170 meters and has an average depth of 28 meters, was formed when the ceiling of the karst cave collapsed and the water began to spread out. The water from Tianchi Lake flows into the Longmen Waterfall, which is 25 meters wide, 38 meters high, and thunders down through a karst cave to the lower mouth of the cave; it is the largest in-cave waterfall in China. A beautiful dragon bridge crosses the river below the waterfall. The river continues with cascades beyond the waterfall into Menghu Lake.

After viewing the waterfall from the top, I took an elevator down to the bottom of the waterfall and walked across the dragon bridge through the mist. I continued walking downstream along the river and past the Longevity Wall until I reached a tourist shuttle bus stop, where I took a shuttle back to the public parking area. The Loong Palace Scenic Area is another must-see location when visiting Guizhou Province.

On Sunday, 23 August, I traveled by train from Anshun to Kunming. It was raining when I arrived at my hotel late at night. I took a day trip to the Stone Forest of Yunnan the following day. The Stone Forest of Yunnan was designated as a UNESCO Geopark in 2004 and is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

As my driver approached the stone forest zone, intermittent rain began and continued throughout the day. Tourist shuttle buses are used here between the parking lots and entrance, as well as on a circular route around the site that contains several stone forest groups. Visitors can either walk throughout the area or take one of the tourist shuttles around the area.

After purchasing my admission ticket, I walked around the lake near the entrance and through the Major Stone Forest area in the rain before boarding one of the inner circle shuttles to ride through the park. The area was very beautiful and offered many good photo opportunities. This site is very good but would best be visited on a day without rain as the wet pathways were very slippery.

Upon returning to my hotel, I met with personnel at the front desk to map out locations of various local sites that I wanted to visit. Since I would have two more days in Kunming, I planned visits for both days. After dinner I walked from the hotel to the Dongsi Pagoda, the Xisi Pagoda, and the Jinma (Golden Horse) and Biji (Green Rooster) Memorial Archways.

On Tuesday, 25 August, I went to Gandu Ancient Town and visited the Gandu landmark Jingang Tower, the Shaolin Temple, the Fading Temple, and the Tuzhu Temple. My next stop was at the new Yunnan Provincial Museum, which has more than 156,000 relics. It had some of the finest relics from the Bronze Age that I have seen, including a bronze coffin. It also had some magnificent fossils from the Middle-Triassic Era and an exhibition on the evolution of human beings. This museum should not be overlooked when visiting Kunming.

My next stop was at the 100,000 square meter Yunnan Nationalities Village. It borders Dianchi Lake to the south, Kunming City to the north, and the Xishan Scenic Area to the west. It features the ethnic residential houses, customs, music, dance, and religious culture of the 25 ethnic groups of Yunnan Province. Unfortunately, I encountered more intermittent rain and thunderstorms while I was there. I was, however, able to visit villages of the Dai, Buyi, Bulang, Jinuo, Yao, Hui, Manchu, Lisu, Hani, and Tibetan ethnic minorities. This is another must-see location when visiting Kunming. I hope to return sometime when the weather is much more favorable and spend an entire day there. My last stop was to be Daghan Park but, due to the rain, I cancelled that stop and returned to my hotel.

On Wednesday, 26 August, my first stop was to visit the Yuantong Temple. It is the largest and one of the earliest Guanyin temples in China, built during the Nanzhao period (624-902) of the Tang Dynasty. Han Buddhism, Nan Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism all coexist in this temple. This is the most picturesque temple that I encountered while in Kunming. I continued on to Chihu (Green Lake) Park where I strolled around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. My next stop was at the Fine Arts Museum, but I found that it was closed and the collection had recently been relocated to the new provincial museum.

I walked from the old fine arts museum to the Zhong’ai Memorial Archway and observed some interesting street art painted on the sidewalk en route to the archway. I continued walking through a park-like area to the Biji (Green Rooster) and Jinma (Golden Horse) Archways that I had visited a couple of nights earlier so that I could see them in the daylight. As I walked back to my hotel, I passed an old Christian church and a clothing store with a school bus storefront and Disney characters on the sidewalk.

Thursday, 27 August, was a travel day back to Chengdu. I went to the Chengdu Global Center on Friday. The Chengdu Global Center just recently opened and is now the largest building in the world under one roof. In addition to two five star hotels, office space, a huge Lotte department store, a huge shopping mall, an ice skating rink, an arcade area, and an enormous food and beverage area, it features an enormous indoor water park that includes an indoor beach with wave pool and a giant LED screen behind the water with appropriate outdoor scenes playing. There is also a water amusement park and a 500-meter long “Lazy River” where people float on boats or other floatation devices. It was a very interesting way to spend my last full day in China.

I flew back home to Los Angeles on Saturday, 29 August.

July 2015
Taiwan

Travel Notes

I met Sunny at Sanliurfa, Turkey, in June 2012. She was from Taiwan and was traveling by herself in Turkey. We took several day trips together with Mustafa from Sanliurfa before she went to Van, Turkey, and I returned home. We kept in touch via email and were able to meet up again for one day of sightseeing at Jiayuguan, China, in April 2014. I sent an email to her with a photo of my recent trip to Mount Huangshan, China, and she said that we should try to meet up again somewhere later this year. I replied that I could probably arrange to travel to Taiwan sometime in July, and she said that she would love to show me some of Taiwan. She also said that I should plan to spend at least ten days, and then she planned a complete Taiwan travel itinerary that included traveling with her family and friends.

I arrived at Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday, 10 July 2015 at about 6:30 PM. After clearing immigration, I located the car that my hotel had arranged in advance. I called Sunny to let her know that I was en route to my hotel and she was waiting in the hotel lobby when I arrived. Sunny assisted me with checking into the hotel. After I deposited my luggage in my room, we took a taxi to the Taipei 101 Mall where we met up with Jessie, a co-worker of Sunny’s, for dinner. The Taipei 101 Building was the tallest building in the world from 2004 until 2010 when it was eclipsed by the Burj Khalifa in the UAE. In 2011, Taipei 101 was awarded the LEED platinum certification and became the tallest and largest green building in the world.

Dinner was at DinTaiFung, one of Taipei’s most popular restaurants, and it was wonderful. I had previously met Jessie when she and Sunny met up with me for one day of sightseeing at Jiayuguan, China, in April 2014. It is always nice to have dinner with friends when I am traveling. After dinner, I took a taxi back to my hotel and arranged to meet Sunny at my hotel the following morning.

I met Sunny in the hotel lobby on Saturday morning, 11 July, for some local Taiwan sightseeing. Sunny gave me a prepaid metro card and we took the metro to visit old town Taipei. We walked from the Daqiaotou Metro Station to the Taipei Bridge to view the Tamsui River and then walked through the old town area of Taipei. In addition to enjoying the architecture and small business shops, we visited the Cisheng Temple, the former building of the Ren-an Hospital, and the Xiahai City God Temple. The Ren-an Hospital was a modern westernized hospital set up by the Taiwanese during an era when Taiwan was still ruled by Japan. The Xiahai City God Temple is a century-old temple that has statues of the City God, his wife, the Chinese Cupid (Matchmaker God), and 200 other deities. Tradition has it that if the statue of the Chinese Cupid is standing, he is eager to find a good marriage for people.

We ate a wonderful lunch at a small restaurant that had a long queue of people eager to eat lunch. After lunch, we continued walking and went to a shop that served shaved ice desserts which were very refreshing on this hot Taipei day.

After exploring old town Taipei, we took the metro to the Guting Metro Station and walked to the Wisteria Tea House which occupies a central position in the political culture of Taipei. During the 1950s, Professor Chou Te-wei and a group of leading academics met here regularly to discuss, study, and promote western liberalism in Taiwan. The building was first turned into a tea house in 1981and named Wisteria Tea House after the old wisteria vines growing along the eaves of the building. The tea house was designated as a city historic site in 1997. Joyce, another of Sunny’s co-workers, met us at the tea house to enjoy a genuine Taipei tea house experience. It was my first real tea house experience.

After departing the tea house, we took the metro to the Longshan Temple Metro Station to visit the Longshan Temple. The temple has been declared a Secondary National Heritage Site and houses hundreds of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian deities. It was very beautiful as we arrived at sunset. In front of the temple, there was a very beautiful dragon fountain on one side and a large waterfall fountain on the opposite side.

Our next stop was the Hua Xi Night Market where we ate dinner and then strolled through the market area. We agreed to meet up in the morning at the high speed train station to go to Hsinchu. Since it was getting late, I said goodbye to Sunny and took a taxi back to my hotel. It was a wonderful day of local sightseeing.

I took a taxi from my hotel to the high speed train station early Sunday morning, 12 July, and met up with Sunny to travel to Hsinchu. The train to Hsinchu took about thirty minutes. We met up with Sunny’s mother, Sunny’s cousin, Alice, and Alice’s boyfriend, Alex, at the Hsinchu station where Sunny rented a car for us to visit the aboriginal villages of Smangus and Cinsbu in the mountains. We stopped at the Yu lao Viewpoint en route to Smangus for a photo opportunity. The roads became increasingly narrower as we continued driving deeper into the mountains. Sunny had pre-arranged our permits to enter the area and, after obtaining the permit at the checkpoint, we continued on to Smangus. The road to Smangus was quite narrow with many switchbacks, and we stopped at the Sima Kushi Bridge over the Taigang Stream for another photo opportunity.

Smangus is one of Taiwan’s most remote villages; it only received electricity in 1979, and the road to Smangus was not completed until 1995. Atayal is the local language spoken in Smangus. Smangus was completely cut off from civilization prior to the discovery of the giant Chamaecyparis trees about 5.2 kilometers from the village. The biggest tree is 20.5 meters in circumference and the giant trees became a large tourist draw which prompted the building of the road to Smangus.

After parking at Smangus village, we set off to hike the Smangus Big Tree Trail. It began to rain shortly after we started our hike and intermittent rain continued for the duration of the hike. We all hiked through bamboo and deciduous forests, across streams with waterfalls, along mountainside paths with spectacular landscape views, and past some very large trees before reaching the Tayux Raga trail marker. Since it was already late afternoon and I was the slowest hiker, I decided to return to the village and let the others continue on. The rain continued intermittently with heavy rain at times while I returned to the general store at the village to dry out and wait for the others to return. Since Taiwan is on the extreme eastern edge of the time zone for China, sunset occurs very early in the evening. After circling the famous grove of giant Cypress trees, the others returned to the village well after dark.

We drove from Smangus to the village of Cinsbu where Sunny had made reservations for all of us to spend the night. Sunny had stayed there on prior occasions and the proprietors cooked a big dinner for us. The hostel was relatively new, and my room was very nice.

After breakfast the following morning, we went to the peach orchard owned by the hostel proprietors. The family was busy sorting and packing freshly picked peaches to deliver to their private market customers. The peaches from this region of Taiwan are highly valued and the rejected ones that we ate were delicious. The children showed us around the mountainside orchard, and we bought several boxes of peaches before leaving.

We drove back to Hsinchu with a short stopover at the Yu lan Viewpoint for lunch. We also stopped at the Beijiao suspension bridge en route to a tea manufacturing plant where the Oriental Beauty tea is produced. After we sampled some tea, Sunny purchased a couple of packages of tea and we continued on to Hsinchu.

We visited the Hsinchu Chenghuang Temple (Chenghuang means City God) during sunset and ate dinner at a restaurant near the temple. After dinner, we visited the Hsinchu Falian temple and then had dessert at a shaved ice desserts establishment. Our last stop at Hsinchu was at the train station where Sunny returned the rental car. We said goodbye to her mom, Alice, and Alex before catching our train back to Taiwan. I took a taxi from the train station back to my hotel to complete another long, action-packed travel day and a wonderful two-day excursion to Hsinchu, Smangus, and Cinsbu.

On Tuesday morning, 14 July, I took a taxi from my hotel to go to the National Palace Museum which contains more than 696,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. The collection encompasses more than 10.000 years of Chinese history. The collection was originally housed in the Forbidden City at Beijing until it was crated up during the Second Sino-Japanese War with Japan which merged into World War 2. The crates were moved from place to place until they ended up at a Nanjing warehouse. During the Chinese Civil War, after the surrender of Japan, General Chiang Kai-skek ultimately decided to evacuate the crated arts from the Forbidden City to Taiwan. The Communist Army seized control of the Palace Museum collection before all of the crates could be shipped to Taiwan. In the end, a total of 2,972 crates of the Forbidden City artifacts moved to Taiwan, which accounted for approximately 22% of the original crates stored at Nanjing. These artifacts are considered to be some of the very best of the collection.

I spent a total of six hours at the museum, which included an English speaking tour that Sunny had reserved for me in advance. The museum has amazing collections of ancient artifacts that include wonderful jade and bronze exhibits. I arrived at the museum at about 10:30 in the morning to be on site during the lunch hour when the crowds would be smaller. Three of the most important pieces in the museum are the Jadeite Cabbage, the bronze Zong Zhou Zong (Bell of Zhong), and the bronze Mao Gong Ding (C of Duke of Mao). The Palace Museum should not be missed when visiting Taipei.

After I returned to my hotel, I called Sunny who gave the hotel front desk directions to give to a taxi to take me to a restaurant to meet her and Joyce for dinner. I took my Taiwan guidebook with me, and Sunny pointed out some places for me to visit the following day.

The morning of 15 July, I took a taxi to the Maokong Gondola (cableway system) where I rode the gondola from the Taipei Zoo Station up to the Maokong Station. The gondola system began operation during 2007 and serves four passenger stations. It also has two angle stations where the gondola changes direction. There are many tea plantations and hiking trails near the Maokong Station. After a short visit at Maokong, I rode back down to the Zhinan Temple Station. There is a very picturesque small temple located at this station, and there is a trail to walk to the Zhinan Temple.

After purchasing a cold drink at a small shop, I rode back down to the Taipei Zoo Station where I took a taxi to the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The memorial hall was established in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China. The hall has extensive exhibits about the life of Sun Yat-sen and is surrounded by a large park with some very interesting sculptures. My next stop was at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This memorial hall was built in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, the first president of the Republic of China. The hall has extensive exhibits about the life of Chiang Kai-shek.

My last stop was at the National Museum of History which is located within the Taipei Botanical Garden. The museum has grown over the last 50 years to include works donated by more than 400 private collectors, including rope-pattern pottery, Han ceramics, painted dancer and musician figurines from the Six Kingdoms period, Tang-era tri-color glazed ceramics, oracle bones, bronze vessels, porcelain, historic documents, and other precious works. The museum also had a special textile exhibit on display while I was there.

After returning to my hotel, I called Sunny who again gave the hotel front desk directions to give to a taxi to take me to meet her for dinner. This time we met up at a noodle shop. After dinner, Sunny took me for a hike up Elephant Mountain to several places overlooking Taipei for gorgeous views of the city after dark. During the hike, we encountered some enormous snails in the pathway. After the Elephant Mountain hike, I returned to my hotel and packed my daypack for a three day excursion to Hualien on the eastern coast of Taiwan the following day.

On Thursday morning, 16 July, I met Sunny at the train station to take a regular train to Hualien. The train ride was several hours, and we met up with Alice and Alex at the Hualien train station where Sunny rented a car. We ate lunch at a hot pot restaurant in Hualien and then had dessert at a popular shaved ice dessert shop before checking into a hostel that Sunny had reserved in advance for two nights.

Sunny had pre-arranged for our permit to visit Muku Mugi Valley on the Internet, and we drove from Hualien to Muku Mugi Valley after checking into the hostel. We passed a Duck Festival on the way to Muku Mugi. When we reached the police checkpoint, we were given our permit but were not allowed to drive any further and were told that we needed to be back before 6:00 PM. We hiked as far as we could go before having to turn back to exit by the 6:00 PM deadline. The river gorge was beautiful, and the hike was refreshing.

Before returning to Hualien, we visited Qixingtan Beach at sundown. The beach was rocky and there were many people fishing in the surf. We continued on to the Zigiang Night Market where we purchased food to take back to the hostel for dinner. We also stopped at a local bakery to purchase some food to have for breakfast in the morning.

On Friday morning, we got an early start and drove to Taroko National Park. We decided that Alice and Alex would hike the Jhuilu Old Road Trail and Sunny and I would hike the Eternal Spring Trail. We would meet up later at the Swallow Grotto Trail. We drove along the spectacular Liwu River Gorge to the trailhead for the Jhuilu Old Road where we dropped off Alice and Alex.

Sunny and I went back along the gorge to the trailhead for the Eternal Spring Trail (also referred to as the Changchun Temple Trail). We found a parking place near a small restaurant/gift shop and began hiking toward the temple where the eternal spring gushes from the mountain down to the river. We then began climbing the mountain cliff-side trail toward the Changchun Temple. The scenery was spectacular and the rock cut trail was often narrow. We hiked to the Bell Tower high above the Changchun Temple and then returned to a small restaurant beside the river where we ate lunch.

We then drove to the trailhead for the Swallow Grotto Trail and hiked along the trail admiring the Liwu River Gorge far below. The scenery from the Swallow Grotto Trail was beyond spectacular. After we hiked the Swallow Grotto Trail, Sunny and I went farther along the river to a campsite area with an observation deck not far from a suspension foot-bridge over the river. Although the bridge had a sign limiting the number of people on the bridge to eight people, many of the visitors paid no attention to the limitation. The trail at the opposite end of the bridge was closed when we were there.

When Alice called Sunny to tell her that they had completed their Jhuilu Old Road hike, we drove back to pick them up, exited the park, and went to dinner at the Yan-Liao Seafood restaurant. In the meantime, Sunny also learned that the HaHo Yang 2015 Festival was scheduled to begin that evening. After our wonderful seafood dinner, we went to the festival. It was a dance festival for all of the aboriginal tribes and was held in a stadium. There were many dance performances that culminated with nearly all the tribes joining into a group dance. At this point, Sunny and Alice took me down with them to join in with the local people celebrating. After leaving the festival, we returned to the hostel.

On Saturday morning, 18 July, we drove along the east coast of Taiwan to the Baqi Observation Platform that is situated halfway between Jiqi Beach and Niushan Beach to admire the view of the Pacific Ocean coastline. On the way back to Hualien, we stopped at Niushan Beach and made several roadside stops for photos. We returned to the Hualien hot pot restaurant for lunch before returning the rental car. Sunny and I said goodbye to Alice and Alex at the Hualien train station before returning to Taipei. I met up with Sunny and Jessie for dinner at a very nice restaurant in a Taipei mall.

Sunny met me at my hotel on Sunday morning, 19 July, for my last day of Taiwan sightseeing. We took the Metro to Beitou which is famous for hot spring spas. We visited the Ketagalan Culture Center which had wonderful displays of Taiwan aboriginal culture, including art and native dress. We walked from the cultural center through Bietou Hot Spring Park to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum which is located in a Japanese occupation era building formerly used as a Japanese officer’s club during World War 2. It is designated as a Taipei historic site. We continued walking through the park to visit Thermal Valley which is one of the sources supplying the area’s hot springs.

After visiting Beitou, we took a taxi to Tamsui to visit some of the old colonial buildings in Taiwan. Our first stop was a hike up a tall hill to the old former British Consulate building museum located adjacent to Fort Santo Domingo. After visiting the consulate building museum, we walked to the Aletheia University, which was originally founded as Oxford College in 1882, and continued on to visit the Little White House which once was Tamsui’s Custom Inspector General’s residence in the Qing Dynasty. There are impressive views of the Tamsui River to the Guanyin Mountain. We walked in light rain from the Little White House down the hill to the Tamsui Church which was established by Reverend Mackay who arrived in Taiwan in 1872.

We continued walking to the Tamsiui metro station where we took the metro to a stop near my hotel and had one last dinner at a small noodle shop. After dinner, we walked to my hotel where I said goodbye to Sunny and thanked her profusely for sharing my visit with her family and friends and making my trip to Taiwan very extra-special indeed.

I flew home from Taiwan on Monday, 20 July, and pondered just how lucky I was to have Sunny as a good friend who went out of her way to show me some of Taiwan. We will continue to keep in touch and will try to meet up somewhere in the world hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

See pictures from Taiwan

May 2015
Seattle

Travel Notes

Jan and I wanted to visit friends on Orcas Island, Washington, in the San Juan Islands and in the vicinity of Seattle, Washington. I booked a repositioning cruise from San Diego, California, to Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada aboard the Holland America ship, ZAANDAM. This cruise itinerary included a stop at Victoria, BC.

We took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles to San Diego and boarded the ZAANDAM on Wednesday, 13 May, and settled into our cabin. The ship departed San Diego that evening and began the journey to Vancouver.

After open-ocean sailing for the next three days, we arrived at Victoria, BC, during the late afternoon on 16 May. We ate dinner aboard the ship and then took a taxi to explore a portion of downtown Victoria. Here we visited the historic Empress Hotel and saw the British Columbia Legislative Buildings and Royal British Columbia Museum. The Empress Hotel was where Jan’s mother and father spent their honeymoon many years ago. The waterfront area across from the Empress Hotel was bustling with activity which included numerous street performers.

After strolling along some of the streets in the downtown district, we hailed a taxi to go back to the ship. The taxi driver offered to show us some more of Victoria on the way back to the ship for a flat rate which we accepted. He drove us past some lovely older homes and then drove us through Beacon Hill Park. The park is beautiful and retail sales within the park are forbidden. The driver pointed to several peacocks all of which he had named “Dave” and he normally feeds them water crackers. He stopped and called to one peacock which walked over to the taxi and ate a water cracker out of my hand. He very nearly also took one from Jan but reneged at the last moment. He then drove us back to the cruise ship terminal.

We set sail at midnight for the short voyage to Vancouver, BC, and disembarked at Canada Place pier, Vancouver at about 8:30 AM. While waiting for our bus from Canada Place to Bellingham, Washington, our friends, Tom and Leslie, on Orcas Island called to inform us that due to a ferry problem earlier in the morning, they would not be able to meet us at the Bellingham Airport as planned. I immediately called San Juan Airline and was able to book a flight from Bellingham Airport to Orcas Island to be available shortly after our scheduled bus arrival.

The Quick Shuttle bus from Vancouver to Bellingham was on schedule and received priority passage through the United States Border Immigration checkpoint. After arriving at the Bellingham Airport, we made our way to the San Juan Airline hangar where we paid for our tickets and took the short fifteen-minute flight to the airport at Eastsound, Orcas Island. The visibility of the San Juan Islands during the flight to Orcas Island was spectacular, and Leslie and Tom were waiting for us at the airport. We spent the next three days relaxing at their wonderful secluded home in the forest, visiting with them, and enjoying Leslie’s wonderful cooking.

On Thursday, 21 May, Tom and Leslie drove us to the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. En route to the terminal we stopped at the two barns painted by the high school senior class – the old barn was painted by the Class of 2014 and the new barn was painted by the Class of 2015. Since the old barn is on the verge of collapsing, the new barn will be used for all future barn paintings by the high school senior classes. We also stopped to photograph a longhorn bull before we arrived at ferry terminal. We boarded the ferry to Anacortes, Washington, and then caught the BelAir Airporter Shuttle bus to the Seattle International Airport. Our friends, John and Diane, from Federal Way, Washington met us at the airport. We spent the next six days visiting with them as well as their son, David, and his wife, Doreen, who live in Tacoma, Washington.

On Friday, 22 May, David and Doreen drove us all to Seattle where we rode the Ducks of Seattle Tour. The “Ducks” are vehicles that are both a land vehicle and an amphibious vehicle. The driver for our Ducks of Seattle Tour was wonderful – wearing different hats, singing along with the pre-recorded music on the “Duck”, and interacting with the passengers in addition to pointing out and describing different sights from the “Duck.” The tour route included sailing on Lake Union and driving past many of the popular attractions in the downtown Seattle area. We all had a marvelous time on the Ducks of Seattle Tour and agree with the literature describing it as the number one attraction in Seattle.

After disembarking from the “Duck,” we walked to the famous Pike Place Markets where we explored many of the shops. Our next stop was at the downtown central waterfront area near Waterfront Park and the Ferris wheel known as Seattle Great Wheel. Normally this area is very popular with many shops in the warehouses at the piers. Due to ongoing construction, however, most of the warehouses were inaccessible which forced many shops to close. We were allowed access to the Pier 57 where the Ferris wheel and some shops are situated – a couple of restaurants and an ice cream shop happened to be open. After eating some ice cream, we drove back to Federal Way via surface streets close to Puget Sound.

We spent the next two days visiting and enjoying meals cooked by both David and Doreen. On Monday, 25 May, David and Doreen drove us to visit Mount St. Helens, the volcano that erupted in 1980 with enormous devastation to the surrounding area. The18 May 1980 eruption caused the largest landslide in recorded history and removed the upper 1,313 feet of the volcano. The most popular route to Mount St. Helens is along State Route 504, the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, from Interstate 5 eastbound to the Johnson Ridge Observatory at an elevation of 4,200 feet near Mount St. Helens, which has an elevation of 8,365 feet. Although the weather was partly cloudy, we were hopeful that the mountain would not be obscured by the clouds.

As we traveled eastbound on SR 504, we passed Silver Lake and stopped at Kid Valley to visit the North Fork Survivors Gift Shop where a partially buried A Frame House, a partially buried refrigera,tor and a 28 foot high “Bigfoot” sculpture are situated. The A Frame House was nearly completed when the volcano eruption left it partially buried by mud, ash, and debris called lahars. While in the gift shop, we viewed a wonderful video documenting the eruption and destruction in the aftermath of the eruption.

Our next stop was at a public viewing area where we hiked along a short trail through the forest to a viewpoint of the area where a dam had been constructed after the eruption to help contain further flooding damage along the North Fork of the Toulte River.

We continued on to the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center at an elevation of 1,400 feet, which offers the first panoramic view of the Toutle River and the valley that leads to Mount St. Helens. We also saw the KOMO 4 News Car that was in the blast zone and was later donated to the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center. Shortly after leaving the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center, we arrived at the Hoffstadt Creek Bridge which is the largest of the fourteen new bridges constructed for SR 504. The bridge is 2,340 feet (713 meters) long and 370 feet (113 meters) high. The western end of the bridge marked the edge of the blast zone of the eruption. From here to the Johnson Ridge Observatory we would be traveling through the blast zone.

Our next stop was at The Forest Learning Center at an elevation of 2,600 feet. Herds of elk are frequently observed in the Toutle River valley below but none were visible today. The panoramic views of the valley were spectacular and, although we could see the base of Mount St. Helens, clouds obscured the summit. We walked through the visitor center and viewed another short video documenting the eruption.

We stopped at a roadside viewpoint before arriving at turnoffs for both the Science Learning Center and Coldwater Lake. The panoramic views from the roadside stop allowed us to view Castle Lake and see intermittent views of the summit of Mount St. Helens. Since it was already mid-afternoon, we decided to continue on to the Johnston Ridge Observatory as our next stop.

After we arrived at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, we were able to view portions of the summit of Mount St. Helens as the clouds were passing by. Inside the visitor center we watched the video of the eruption and the continuing reforestation of the area. Normally after the video, they open the curtains behind the projection screen to expose a dazzling view of Mount St. Helens, but the clouds obscured our view of the mountain. The view below the clouds gave us a view of Spirit Lake in the distance. The clouds rapidly moved in and completely enveloped the visitor center as we were leaving. We were grateful that we had been able to see portions of Mount St. Helens on our drive from the Forest Learning Center to Johnson Ridge.

During our return drive on SR 504 we finally descended below the clouds and visited Coldwater Lake which was formed after the eruption. We attempted to also visit the Science Learning Center but it was in the process of closing for the day just as we arrived. We continued westbound on SR 504 to northbound SR 505 as a shortcut to Interstate 5 and our return to Federal Way, Washington.

On Tuesday, 26 May, David and Doreen drove us to visit the Bass Pro Shop, which is a very large sporting goods store, in Tacoma. The store included a restaurant and the Fish Bowl, a bowling alley decorated in an underwater theme. Our next stop in Tacoma was to visit Wright Park, which had beautiful flowers and gardens. We continued north adjacent to Puget Sound from Wright Park to Point Defiance Park via Ruston Way and the five-mile drive through the park. Point Defiance Park is very beautiful and we passed raccoons at three different locations beside the road. At one viewpoint we were able to see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge before arriving at Fort Nisaqually. Two of the fort’s original structures were relocated to the present site during the 1930s. The remainder of the fort has been reconstructed to reflect how Fort Nisqually appeared during the 1850s. The fort is now a living history museum and was in the process of closing when we arrived. Our next stop was at the Pagoda, a 1914 streetcar station, across from an Asian garden in Point Defiance Park. We returned to downtown Tacoma for dinner before returning to Federal Way.

On Wednesday, 27 May, John and Diane drove us to the Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino in Fife, Washington, where we enjoyed a buffet brunch before going to the hotel lobby to review tourism brochures. Although we found many attractions to be considered for a return trip, we were intrigued by the brochures for the Pacific Rim Bonsai Museum and the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden which are located in Federal Way. Since both of them were on our way, we decided to stop for a visit. They are both situated next to each other; there is an admission fee for the Botanical Garden while the Bonsai Museum is free.

We visited the Bonsai Museum first and were amazed at the very extensive collection of beautiful bonsai creations. Some bonsai pieces were constructed entirely out of metal wires. The collection of traditional living bonsai trees and shrubs was absolutely amazing. We also visited the Botanical Garden, which encompasses 22 acres of woodland gardens, features over 600 rhododendron species, and is advertised as the largest collection of its kind in the world. The gardens were magnificent and the Himalayan Blue Poppy Meadow was in full bloom. Many of the rhododendrons had already bloomed but there were ample varieties of other flowering plants to make these gardens picture perfect. Anyone visiting the Seattle area who enjoys beautiful gardens should definitely visit the Bonsai Museum and the Botanical Garden in Federal Way.

We flew home to Los Angeles on Thursday, 28 May, and are already looking forward to returning to the Pacific Northwest on some future trips.

See pictures from Seattle

April 2015
China

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to China to visit Hangzhou City and to hike on Mount Huangshan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China. I arrived at Chengdu, China, on Sunday, 26 April 2015 at about 6:40 PM. After clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and took a local taxi to my hotel. I spent the following day resting up from the long flights from Los Angeles to Chengdu.

Tuesday, 28 April, was a travel day where I flew from Chengdu to Hangzhou and settled into my hotel. I went to visit West Lake National Park in Hangzhou on Wednesday, 29 April. West Lake National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and receives mixed reviews from tourists. The landscaping adjacent to the lake was very beautiful with flowers in full bloom. I arrived at the northeast corner of the lake and took a small boat rowed by one man for a one-hour tour of the north end of the lake over to the famous bridge at the north end of the Bai Causeway. After disembarking from the small boat, I purchased a ticket on one of the local ferryboats to go to Xiaoyingzhou Isle, a small island in the center of the lake. The island contains an architectural complex dating from 1723-1735 and consisting of the Nanshu Pavilion, Yingcui Veranda, and Huaniao Hall. I disembarked at the island and admired the beautiful architecture and scenery.

I boarded another local ferry that took me from the island to Zhongshan Park at the southern end of the Bai Causeway. The remains of the Temporary Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty are situated at Zhongshan Park. It was a very nice place to explore with lush vegetation amid the ruins of the palace. After visiting the palace, I took an electric shuttle bus to the north end of the Bai Causeway and walked along the north end of the lake. After visiting West Lake, I walked from the northeast corner of the lake into Hangzhou City and found a small restaurant where I purchased beef and noodles for lunch. With the help of my map and several local pedestrians, I was able to walk back to my hotel in about forty minutes.

On Thursday, 30 April, I took a bus from Hangzhou City to Huangshan City and checked into the Crowne Plaza hotel for three nights. After checking into the hotel, I was able to arrange for a hotel car to take me to Mount Huangshan early the following morning.

On Friday, the hotel car drove me to the Huangshan Tourist Center at the southern entrance to Mount Huangshan where I purchased my ticket for the tourist bus up to the Yungu Cableway Station. Since May 1 is the first day a of major three day national holiday in China when many Chinese people travel for sightseeing, the crowds at Huangshan were massive and I was glad that I had already booked a room at the Beijai Hotel for the night on top of the mountain. There are two cableways from the Huangshan southern entrance to the top of the mountain but the Yuping Cableway was closed for repairs which effectively doubled the number of people wanting to take the Yungu Cableway.

After arriving at the Yungu Cableway station, I purchased my admission ticket to Huangshan and my ticket for the cableway. I then joined in one of the largest queues I have ever seen to wait to board the cableway. The wait to board the cable car was in excess of 90 minutes even though each cableway car could carry eight persons. After boarding a cableway car, the views during the journey to the top were spectacular.

Once I exited the cableway station, I took some very scenic photos and began hiking mostly downhill for about one kilometer until I reached the Beiloit Hotel where I checked into my room for the night and purchased lunch at the hotel restaurant. After lunch, I began hiking both up and downhill to visit the “Flying Over Rock” which is probably one of the most spectacular sights associated with Huangshan Mountain and was one of the main reasons that I wanted to visit Huangshan. The scenery en route to “Flying Over Rock” was spectacular and the seven-kilometer roundtrip hike from the Beiloit Hotel was strenuous. It began to mist light rain during the last kilometer back to the hotel. The mist then developed into torrential rain and thunderstorms during the night. I was very happy that I decided to hike to “Flying Over Rock” during the prior afternoon in picture perfect weather.

After breakfast the next day, I purchased a lightweight plastic rain suit at a shop in the hotel and began the one-kilometer, mostly uphill, hike back to the Yungu Cableway in heavy rain. I was amazed at the constant flow of people who were just arriving to visit Huangshan and who were going the opposite direction from me. After reaching the lower cableway station, I purchased my ticket for the commuter bus back to the southern entrance tourist center and then took a local taxi back to my hotel in Huangshan City. It continued raining the remainder of the day at Huangshan City while I spent the remainder of the day drying out my wet clothes and shoes in my hotel room.

I took the bus back to Hangzhou on Sunday, 3 May. The weather was nice at Hangzhou City as I went to visit a portion of the Hangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the longest canal of artificial river in the world. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th Century BC. Today the Hangzhou portion of the canal is known as the Jiangnan Canal and is the southernmost section of the canal. There were some park-like areas adjacent to the section of the canal that I visited with many beautiful flowers blooming.

I went to visit the Grottoes at Feilai Peak and the Lingyin Temple on Monday, 4 May. These are situated to the west of West Lake. The Grottoes at Feilai Peak are one of the most representative historical sites of Buddhist culture of the West Lake landscape. They are located at the southern base of the northern peak of Feilai Mountain, opposite the Lingyin Temple and alongside Lengquan Brook. They are mainly situated on the 500 meter-long cliff along the brook and in natural caves such as Qinglin Cave and Longhong Cave. The statues were first carved in 951 CE and at the present time there are 390 statues in 115 niches carved into the limestone mountain. The statues integrate both Han Chinese and Tibetan styles of Buddhist statues and manifest the thriving Buddhist culture in Hangzhou from the 10th to the 13th centuries. During February 1982, the Chinese Government listed the Grottoes at Feilai Peak as a cultural relic.

The Lingyin Temple is one of the representative historic sites of Buddhist culture in the West Lake area. It is said that the temple was first built by an Indian monk, Huili, in 326 CE. As the earliest Buddhist building complex in the Hangzhou area, it enjoyed a remarkable status during the period of “Buddhist Realm in Southeastern China” during the 10th to 13th centuries. The temple is still considered to be one of the most important locations of Buddhist activities in the southeastern coastal regions of China. The temple is very large and extends upward along the northern side of the southern peak of Feilai Mountain. Both the Lingyin Temple and the Grottos at Feilai Peak are easy to get to and are well worth visiting when sightseeing at Hangzhou.

Tuesday, 5 May, was another travel day where I flew back to Chengdu. On Wednesday, May 6, I visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The research base is like a very large park with a museum, a lake, and a rose garden in addition to the research facilities for both Red Pandas and Giant Pandas. It is listed as a National AAAA Scenic Area and has received the “Global 500” Award from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). I spent nearly five hours at the research base and recommend it as a very good place to visit when in Chengdu.

On Wednesday, 7 May, I visited the Chengdu Zoo. Although the zoo has previously received many awards, I was disappointed that it seemed to be in a somewhat run-down condition. The clear partitions that separated the people from the animals and reptiles were very dirty and, in my opinion, it was not nearly as nice and well maintained as the Chongqing Zoo which I visited during April 2013.

I flew back home to Los Angeles on Thursday, 8 May. During the flights home, I reflected on my trip and was very happy that after visiting Mount Huangshan, I have had the satisfaction of hiking upon four of the five sacred mountains in China since August 2012.

January 2015
India

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to southern India and, after looking at several possible travel itineraries, I worked with Hi-Life Tours (also known as Caper Travel) to construct a tour primarily in the state of Karnataka that would begin in Bangalore and end in Goa. The tour was designed to include temples and ruins of medieval South India.

I arrived at Mumbai, India, on Thursday, 15 January 2015 at about 10:00 PM. After clearing Immigration, I located a taxi kiosk and procured a prepaid local taxi to my hotel. The prepaid taxi was old, small, and in need of mechanical repairs but it survived the poor roads and dense traffic and delivered me to the Holiday Inn Mumbai Airport hotel safely. I spent the night and then flew to Bangalore, India the following afternoon.

I arrived at Bangalore, India, on Friday, 16 January, and was met at the airport by the representative of Hi-Life Tours. He introduced me to Mr. Shivu who would be my personal driver for the duration of my trip in India. After checking into my hotel, I met with the Hi-Life representative to receive my hotel vouchers and to review my complete travel itinerary.

The following morning, Mr. Shivu picked me up at 8:00 AM to begin visiting some local Bangalore attractions before continuing on to Mysore. Although we already had a very full schedule for the day, Mr. Shivu agreed to add two visits to my Bangalore itinerary – the Bangalore Palace and the ruins of the Bangalore Fort. Our first stop was at the Vidhana Soudha, the Bangalore Parliament Building. The inscription above the main entrance to the building reads: “Government Work is God’s Work.” It is a new building built adjacent to the previous parliament building that is now used as a government office building. We drove past the Central Library building en route to the palace and fort. A security guard informed us that access to the palace grounds was closed due to a special private function.

After being denied access to see the Bangalore Palace and Bangalore Fort, we continued on to Tipu Sultan Palace, which is now a museum. An interesting temple is situated adjacent to the Tipu Sultan Palace and, due to some miscommunication with my driver, I was only able to take some photos from outside of the temple. Bangalore has many parks and tree-lined streets.

Our next stop was at the Lai Bagh Garden where a flower show was to be held. The flower show was to be inside the main building and I arrived prior to the opening of the show. The park was very large and contained many interesting areas to explore. Being pressed for time, I decided not to wait for the flower show to open. We also drove past the local fast food canteen and visited the Bangalore Big Bull Temple and a cobra temple. After a brief visit to the Sri Radha Krishna Temple, we continued on to see the Shivanasamudra Falls en route to Mysore.

As a result of large speed bumps installed along the highway, the journey to Mysore was very slow moving. Shivanasamudra Falls was a side-trip en route to Mysore and is advertised as the second largest waterfalls in India and the 16th largest in the world. This claim may be true during the monsoon season, but there was very little water cascading down the falls. The barren rocky cliffs where the large falls occur provided an interesting landscape above the river below. The British built ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬the Shiva Hydro Electric Project, a hydro-electric plant, in 1902. It still operates and, according to my driver, was the first electrical power plant in India.

Before arriving at Mysore, we stopped at Somanathapura to visit the Keshava temple. It was built in 1268 CE when the Hoysalas were the major power in South India. The temple is in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India and is advertised as one of the finest and most complete examples of Hoysala architecture – the carvings at this temple are exquisite.

I checked into my hotel at Mysore at about 4:45 PM and Shivu suggested that we meet at 6:45 PM to go to see the light show at the Mysore Palace. The light show is only performed during weekends and special festivals. When we arrived at the Mysore Palace, we were once again turned away because a private function had reserved the palace for the evening. Since we would be in Mysore for two nights, we decided to try to return the following night to see the light show.

On Sunday morning, 18 January, our first stop was at the Clock Tower en route to the Mysore Palace. The palace is magnificent but photography within the palace is prohibited. I took the palace tour and purchased a palace CD which I hoped might have some images of the interior. There are also several ancient Sri Lankan temples within the palace complex and I visited two of them – photography was allowed in some parts of the Sri Lankan temples.

Our next stop was at Chamundi Hill which is topped by a 12th century temple of Durga. We parked in the lower parking lot adjacent to a small reservoir and then I climbed a stairway to the top of the hill. Since it was a weekend day, the temple complex was inundated by very large crowds of people and huge queues of people waiting to enter the main temples. I decided to photograph the temples from a distance. While descending from Chamundi Hill we stopped at the Large Bull Temple for a quick photo opportunity.

Our final stop of the morning was at the Mysore Sand Museum. It is advertised as the first sand museum in India. It was inexpensive and the sand sculptures within the museum were very well done. We decided to take a lunch break and then go to the Mysore City Market in the late afternoon before going to see the light show at the palace.

On the way to the city market, we stopped to take some photos of an abandoned ancient temple near the city market. The city market was very large and colorful. According to my driver, it is the main market for many products including fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The market was very colorful and crowded with shoppers.

The light show at the Mysore Palace was spectacular. It began at 7:00 PM with the main lighting turned on all at once as a band began to play. The lights illuminated not only the main palace building but also the walls, gates and adjacent temples. I believe that the palace at night during the light show is one of the most popular photos depicting tourism at Mysore.

We departed Mysore on the morning of 19 January to do some sightseeing en route to Hassan, India. Our first stop was at the town of Srirangapatna which was situated within a fort on an island formed by branches of the River Cauvery. We visited the Jamia Masjuid, Tipu Sultan’s death site, and the ruins of Lal Mahal Palace. Before leaving Srirangapatna, we visited the Darya Daulat, commonly known as the Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan. Although the interior walls and ceilings are exquisitely decorated, photography within the palace is not allowed. Many of the murals and ornate decorations are currently being restored.

We continued on to visit Shravanbelagola, a temple complex on top of a hill and known for a giant statue of Lord Gomateshwara. Upon arrival at the temple entrance I discovered that I would be required to leave my shoes at the entrance and then climb a rock-cut stairway of nearly 400 steps to reach the temple. I decided that my bare feet were not up to that sort of physical abuse and opted not to climb up to the temple.

We continued on to Hassan and, after I checked into my hotel, we visited ¬¬¬four different ancient temple sites: the Hoysaleshwara Temple at Halebidu, the Jain Basadi Complex at Halebidu, the Kedulshwara Temple at Halebidu, and the Lakshmi Devi Temple at Doddagaddavally. Halebidu was once the capital of the Hoysala Empire and was called Dwarasamudra (Entrance from Ocean) mainly because of the huge lake. When the rulers from Delhi sacked the city during the 14th century, it marked the end of the Hoysala Empire and Dwarasamudra became Halebidu (old village).

The Hoysaleshwara Temple was built in 1121 CE and is well known for its magnificent rock-carved wall sculptures including depictions from Hindu mythology. The Jain Basadis Temple Complex houses three Basadis built during the 12th century CE and is approximately one-half kilometer from the Hoysaleshwara Temple. It consists of the Parshavanatha Basadi, the Shantinatha Basadi, and the Adinatha Bisadi. The interiors of these three Jain temples were all very well preserved. The Kedareshwara Temple situated several hundred meters from the Jain Basadis Complex was built in 1219 CE and also has very nice stone carvings.

The Lakshmi Devi Temple is located at the village of Doddagaddavally. It was built in 1114 CE and is said to be one of the earliest known temples built in the Hoysala style. The temple does not stand on a platform which became a popular feature in later Hoysala temples. It has four shrines on the inside. One feature that makes this temple unique is a shrine to the mythological Kali which is guarded by two sculptures of large demonic living corpses called betala. This was one of the most interesting temples that I visited.

On Tuesday, 20 January, we traveled to Hospet, India. The drive from Hassan to Hospet is about 340 km and consists of some very good and many very bad roads. We stopped en route to visit the Chennakeshava Temple at Hullekere village. It was built in 1163 CE and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. A caretaker was kind enough to open the temple for our visit. The remainder of the day was enduring the long drive to my hotel at Hospet.

We got an early start on Wednesday, 21 January, to go on a day trip to Hampi, the capital city of the Vijaynager Empire. Hampi is a magnificent World Heritage Zone and is spread out over a large area amid large hills and spectacular rock formations. During my visit to Hampi, I hiked several kilometers between temple sites and we drove to several other main temple complexes. I visited more than thirty individual temples with exquisite rock carvings. The highlight of my visit to Hampi was the rock-cut Stone Chariot located at the Vitthala Temple complex. I had admired it in photos for more than ten years and was delighted to actually visit it in person.

I was unable to properly see Hampi in one day and would have enjoyed hiking between and through more of the temple complexes. In retrospect, I should have booked two nights at Hospet and taken two days to visit and explore Hampi.

We drove to Badami via Aiole and Pattadakkal on Thursday, 22 January. Aihole is famous as the Cradle of Indian Architecture and is situated on the banks of the Malaprabha River. It was established in 450 CE as the first capital of the Early Western Chalukyas and has more than one hundred temples scattered around the village. Our first stop was at the Aihole Kontigudi complex which has many beautiful temples with spectacular rock carvings and the Aihole Museum. The Lad Khan Temple is the oldest temple at Aihole and was built in 450 CE. The Durga Temple is the best known temple with a curvilinear pillared corridor an is exceptionally beautiful. We also visited the Ambigera Gudi complex and the Jyotirilinga complex. I also observed the Aihole Fort on top of the hills adjacent to the village. Once again, I was time-limited and will return to spend more time here on a future trip.

We continued driving on the very bad road from Aihole to Pattadakkal. Pattadakkal is also located on the banks of the Malaprabha River and was the third Chalukyan capital. It has ten major temples built between the 7th and 9th centuries that represent the early Chalukya architecture. It is also a World Heritage site. We continued from Pattadakal to the Mahaakua temple complex en route to Badami. The Mahaakua temple complex was part of the ancient capital Badami with temples dated to the 6th or 7th century. It featured several temples and a large tank with a four human-faced Shivalinga where many people were bathing and swimming. After traveling on more small and very bad roads, we finally arrived at Badami.

Badami is picturesquely situated at the mouth of a river between two tall rocky hills. It was also a capital of the Early Chalukyas. Badami has forts on top of the two hills: the North Fort and the South Fort. There are four famous ancient rock-cut cave temples along the side of the South Fort Hill. Cave Number 4 is a Jain temple cave and has exquisite Jain rock carvings throughout. It is also the only Jain temple in Badami. The other three caves belong to the Vedic faith and have exquisite carvings. Cave Number 1 has a rock-carved eighteen-armed Nataaraja striking 81 dance poses. There is also a dam that forms a huge lake between the north and south hills.

We began touring Badami on Friday morning. After I visited the cave temples, Mr. Shivu and I climbed to the top of the hill to the North Fort. There were several ancient temples at various locations en route to the temple at the top. The remains of the fort include walls and a circular watchtower. Although the Badami Museum beside the lake was closed on Friday, I was able to visit the Bhutanatha Temple Groups around the lake. The famous Bhutanatha Temple at the end of the lake is very picturesque. In addition, there are rock-cut carvings along one side of another hill with a small temple on top.

On Saturday, 24 January, we drove to Hubli which was placed into my itinerary by Hi-Life Tours in order to provide my driver with a break instead of traveling directly to Goa. Since there are no tourist attractions at Hubli, this was a completely wasted day for me. Anyone traveling by car between Badami and Goa should avoid any suggestion to stop at Hubli. In fact, my driver was actually surprised that a stopover at Hubli had been added to my itinerary.

On Sunday, 25 January, we drove to Goa where Mr. Shivu was to drop me off at my hotel as his final portion of my trip. Hi-Life Tours was to provide me with another driver for my remaining time at Goa. The fact that both Mr. Shivu and I had spoken to the manager of Hi-Life Tours several times during the prior four days to make sure that the coordination with the Hi-Life Tours Goa office had taken place, Hi-Life Tours failed to coordinate properly and nothing had been arranged prior to our arrival at the hotel in Goa.

After a series of phone calls to Hi-Life Tours, Hi-Life Tours finally arranged for a Goa driver named Sam to pick me up at the hotel to visit the Aguada Fort in North Goa. The fort was built when Goa was under Portuguese rule and was very interesting. I discovered that Goa is very spread out with many small villages nestled among hills. When my new driver dropped me off at the hotel, he did not know if he would be my driver for the following day.

On Monday morning, 26 January, since I had heard nothing from Hi-Life Tours, I once again called the manager in Delhi to get a status update. He did not know anything but called back within ten minutes to tell me that a driver would arrive in about thirty minutes. The driver was another new driver named Raflik who took me on a local Goa sightseeing tour. The highlights of the Goa tour included the Shree Mangueshi Temple, the Shri Ganesh Temple, the Basilica of Bom Jesus, and the Se Cathedral complex. In addition, there was a site of ruins of another ancient church in the Old Goa church complex. We also drove along the southern bank of the river from old Goa to Miramar Beach. When we returned to the hotel, I requested Raflik to pick me up at 10:00 AM on following day to take me to the airport to catch my flight to Mumbai.

On Tuesday, 27 January, Rafik picked me up on time at 10:00 AM and drove me to the Goa Airport for my flight to Mumbai. When we arrived at the airport, we once again had to call the Hi-Life Tours manager in Delhi to obtain authorization for my already prepaid transfer to the airport to be paid to Rafik. Hi-Life Tours/Caper Travel certainly did not provide the proper services at Goa until I made several rather expensive phone calls on my mobile phone. My flight to Mumbai was uneventful and I continued my journey home on 28 January.

December 2014
South America

Travel Notes

After our Alaska cruise in 2013, I wanted to take Jan on a South America cruise around Cape Horn to hopefully see the magnificent Chilean Andes and glaciers along the Chilean Fjords. I booked the cruise aboard the Holland America ship, ZAANDAM. The cruise itinerary included Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenus, Chile; Ushuaia, Argentina; Cape Horn; the Beagle Channel; the Chilean Fjords to Puerto Montt, Chile; and ending at Valparaiso, Chile.

I had previously sailed from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Ushuaia, Argentina, on the tall ship bark EUROPA in 2008. I had also sailed from Ushuaia around Cape Horn and through the Chilean Fjords to Valparaiso on the EUROPA as part of the “Tall Ships Sailing Around South America” in 2010. Both of these trips aboard the EUROPA are previously documented on my website (larryfoggtravels.com).

We arrived at Buenos Aires on 5 December 2014. After checking into our hotel in the Palermo Soho District, we explored the neighborhood street market area and admired some of the “local street art.” That evening we went to dinner at Efimero Festin Restaurant. It is operated by Carolina LaVecchia with whom I met in 2010 and have since kept in touch. Carolina is a marvelous cook and our dinner was superb. Carolina invited us to return for dinner on Sunday, 7 December. The restaurant is closed on Sundays but she cooked exclusively for us as the only guests in the restaurant and we all ate dinner together. It was a marvelous seven-course dinner and was by far the very best meal that we ate during our entire South America trip.

We boarded the ZAANDAM on Monday, 8 December 8, and settled into our cabin. While the ship remained docked at Buenos Aires, we enjoyed numerous shipboard activities and met two new friends, LaVonne and Bill. The ship arrived at Montevideo on Wednesday, 10 December, and we spent part of the day taking a self-guided walking tour of the city.

After open-ocean sailing for the next two days, we arrived at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, early morning on 13 December. The Falkland Islands are also referred to as Isla Malvinas. Jan decided to take a four-hour ship’s shore excursion with LaVonne and Bill to visit a Rockhoppper Penguin colony. The weather cooperated and she had a very good time with the penguins.

I opted to take a bus and explore the Gypsy Cove area on my own. The landscape around the Gypsy Cove area was magnificent – it was a combination of beautiful beaches, Magellan penguins, scenic views from the hilltops, and interesting vegetation. One area called Ordnance Point had remains of an artillery outpost overlooking the harbor area of Port Stanley. Upon returning to Port Stanley, I walked along the waterfront from the dock to the Port Stanley Museum and enjoyed exploring part of this small but colorful city.

After another day at sea, we entered the Strait of Magellan and continued on to Punta Arenas, Chile. Upon arriving at Punta Arenas, Bill and LaVonne joined us to hire a taxi to go to the cemetery. Upon arrival at the cemetery, I instructed our taxi driver to wait for us near the entrance with the intention of paying him when our tour was completed. I had visited the cemetery in 2010 and wanted to return to the gravestone where the last Onas, the extinct Fireland Natives, are buried. In addition, the cemetery is beautifully landscaped with beautiful mausoleums. When we returned to the cemetery entrance, we could not find our taxi driver anywhere and I had memorized only the last three letters of his taxi license plate.

After searching in vain for our taxi driver, we decided to walk along the waterfront area back to downtown Punta Arenas. As we approached the waterfront road, we noticed the Cervecia Artesanal – Hernandes de Magallanes micro-brewery on the corner facing the Strait of Magellen. The brewery was open and we purchased two cold Hernandes de Magallanes Imperial Stout beers. The proprietor opened the bottles which we drank while sitting on a bench overlooking the Strait of Magellan. We later learned that this was the southern-most micro-brewery in Chile.

We passed several beautiful monuments as we continued walking to the downtown area. We ate lunch a Chinese buffet restaurant where I had eaten in 2010 and used the restaurant wifi to catch up with our emails. It began raining while we were eating lunch and then began to clear up as we started walking back to the dock area.

Upon entering the immigration area, we told the people about our taxi driver who did not wait for us and that we wanted to make sure that he received our money for the taxi fare. While we were telling them about our driver and the last three letters of the license plate, LaVonne spotted our driver and we were able to pay him directly – all is well that ends well.

After departing Punta Arenas, we sailed southbound through the Cockburn Channel and eastbound through the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia. Much to my surprise, as we disembarked at Ushuaia on the morning of 16 December, the tall ship bark EUROPA was docked immediately in front of the ZAANDAM. Since I had previously sailed a total of 127 days aboard the EUROPA, it was wonderful to see her again while she was there in between her annual Ushuaia to Antarctica voyages. We spent the day at Ushuaia before sailing during the night to Horn Island.

It was raining while we sailed around Horn Island and Cape Horn during the morning of 17 December. Then, due to unfavorable weather reports, the crew decided to return to the Beagle Channel. We continued sailing westbound back through the Beagle Channel, northbound through the Cockburn Channel, and then northbound through some of the Chilean Fjords to Puerto Montt. Although we were able to see several glaciers as we sailed along the Beagle Channel, inclement weather prevented us from sailing through portions of the Chilean Fjords and precluded us from visiting a couple of glaciers en route to Puerto Montt that were annotated on the cruise route map.

We arrived at Puerto Montt during the morning of 20 December. Prior to arriving at Puerto Montt, I was considering an excursion to the nearby lake and volcano. However, since the weather was partly cloudy with rain in the forecast, we began walking along the waterfront instead. We planned to walk toward the old downtown area and then backtrack to the fish market for lunch. Portions of Puerto Montt are colorful and the old church was very picturesque. As we were backtracking through the city, it began to rain. We tried to hail a taxi to go to the fish market but to no avail. Finally a local bus stopped and, as we got on, we asked the driver if it went near the fish market. He said yes and we continued on the bus until he stopped to let us off. The rain subsided to a light drizzle as we walked to the fish market.

We ate lunch at a small restaurant on the second floor balcony with a view over the small bay. Our fresh seafood meal – consisting of pisco sour, ceviche, salmon, and abalone – was very good. The rain subsided while we ate lunch, and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon as we walked back past handcraft markets to the dock area.

After another ocean sailing day, we arrived at Valparaiso, Chile, and disembarked on Monday, 22 December. We spent two days in Valparaiso, which is a very colorful and picturesque town. We took a Wally Tour 4 Tips walking tour of Valparaiso where we learned that because portions of Valparaiso have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, virtually no upkeep is being done in those portions of the city. The old town portion of the city has become much more rundown that it was when I visited in 2010. Street art in Valparaiso is also very colorful.

On Wednesday, 24 December, we rode a bus from Valparaiso to Santiago and took a local taxi to our bed and breakfast, Casa Moro, where also I stayed in 2010. Casa Moro is operated by Walter and Marcelo and has been the number one rated B&B in Santiago by Trip Advisor for many years.

Since it was Christmas Eve, Walter recommended the Bella Vista Neighborhood area of Santiago as a place where we might be able to find a few open restaurants. We took the subway to Bella Vista and found many restaurants closed. We finally found one restaurant still open but getting ready to close. The waiter took pity on us and finally said that he would remain open for us. After taking our order, many more people converged on the restaurant and the waiter relented and remained open for business.

I had advanced booked the Christmas morning Santiago Wally Tour 4 Tips on the Internet. Although it was a somewhat abbreviated tour because many places were closed, it included Parque Forestal, the Central Fish Market, walking through various neighborhoods, and the General Cemetery. Most of the tour group ended up eating lunch at a local restaurant adjacent to the main central fish market building.

We also decided to take the afternoon Tours 4 Tips that included Barrio Lastarria, Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center, Paris-Londres Neighborhood, Palacio La Moneda, and Plaza De Armas. Since it was late afternoon, we continued walking to Bella Vista for a fresh fruit drink and dinner. It was a very long day and Jan’s phone computed that we walked nearly 18,000 steps during the day.

On 26 December, we began the day at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. We rented the museum headphones and spent nearly three hours viewing the exhibits. This is a very powerful exhibition that documents Pinochet’s seventeen-year rule from 1973 to 1990 which resulted in torture, murder, and disappearances of thousands of Chileans. The museum displays photographs of victims, video of protesters, legal documents, letters, and artifacts.

We walked from the human rights museum to Desde 1886 Boulevard Lavaud, a French restaurant that Walter recommended highly for lunch. It was a two story restaurant with a very unique and picturesque décor. Our waiter was very friendly and the food was also quite good. We continued on to visit the Pre-Columbian Museum. I had visited this museum in 2010, and it was well worth a return visit.

Walter had informed us when we arrived at Casa Moro that we would be the last guests at Casa Moro. He and Marcelo had purchased a farm to the south of Santiago. They plan to take a one-year sabbatical to pursue their other interests while looking for property to build a seaside resort in the future. We would be leaving on 27 December and they would move the following day. Walter and Marcelo cooked a wonderful Chilean dinner for us on our last night with them and they joined us for dinner.

Prior to departing Casa Moro on 27 December, we purchased one of the colorful dolls that Marcelo had made. After we said goodbye to Marcelo, Walter drove us to the Santiago airport where we said goodbye to him and caught a flight to Buenos Aires.

Back in Buenos Aires, we had one last meal at Efimero Festin cooked by Carolina. It was another wonderful meal, after which we bid goodbye to Carolina and took a taxi to our hotel.

We departed Buenos Aires on 28 December and returned home the following day. The highlights of our trip were time spent with Carolina, as well as the time spent with Walter and Marcelo.

See pictures from South America

October 2014
Australia

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to Australia to attend an air safety conference in Adelaide during October 2014. In addition, I wanted to visit with friends who live in Sydney and nearby Melbourne.

I arrived at Sydney on Thursday, 9 October 2014, at about 7:15 AM. After clearing Australia Immigration, I asked for directions at a tourist information stand on taking the train to Sydney and then connecting to the light rail. I was told to purchase a combination train/light rail ticket at the ticket office located one level down in the train station.

I purchased my combination ticket and took the airport train to Central Station and then connected to the Sydney Light Rail to a hotel in a suburb nearby Burwood where my friend Lily resides. Lily is a lady who I first met in January 2013 at a hotel in Kajuraho, India, and, after keeping in touch, visited with us in Los Angeles when she traveled to the Southwest United States in September 2013.

Lily belongs to a couple of bushwalking groups in Sydney and wanted to take me on a couple of bushwalking hikes if I visited Sydney. I had previously sent a magazine article to her that listed the cliff walk at the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) as one of the top ten cliff walks in the world. She said that she had previously hiked that trail and would take me there the next time I came to Sydney. It is named the Blue Mountains National Pass Trail. The greater Blue Mountains area was unanimously listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO on 29 November 2000.

My hotel was a short walk from the Tavener’s light rail stop. I walked from the light rail to my hotel and then rested up from the very long flight from Los Angeles.

On Friday, 10 October, I took the light rail to downtown Sydney for some local sightseeing that included a visit to the Australian Maritime Museum to see the replica of Captain Cook’s tall ship, HMB ENDEAVOUR. In August 2011, I sailed on this ship from Darwin to Broome as part of the “HMB ENDEAVOUR Voyage Around Australia 2011-2012.”

Lily picked me up at the hotel on Friday evening and took me to a very nice Chinese restaurant in Burwood for dinner with two clients that had just purchased some property from her. After a marvelous dinner, Lily worked with the clients to complete the mortgage paperwork for the property sale and then dropped me off at my hotel before taking her clients home.

On Saturday morning, Lily arrived at my hotel with two of her bushwalking friends, Silena and Emma, to take me bushwalking in the Blue Mountains. Lily drove to the town of Wentworth Falls where we ate lunch and met up with some other members of her bushwalking group. After lunch, we drove to the Wentworth Falls parking area and began our National Pass bushwalk. The National Pass trail is approximately six kilometers long and has sections listed as a hard trek for bushwalking. The walk and the scenery are spectacular. We began our cliff walk at the Wentworth Falls Lookout and continued along the Queen’s Cascade, the Rock Galleries, and down the Grand Stairway to the Wet and Wild area below the Wentworth Falls. After crossing below the falls, we continued to the Wet Amphitheater and through the Under Den Fenella. We continued through the Dry West End and above the Valley of the Waters to the Empress Falls where we encountered climbers and swimmers in a pool below the falls. The climb out of the valley was quite strenuous to the Queen Victoria Lookout and then was moderate on up to the Conservation Hut.

The Australian Government has a magnificent website for the Blue Mountains National Pass bushwalk (http://www.nationalpass.com.au/index.php). If you choose to go to the website, I recommend clicking on the “walk the trail” tab and then clicking each of the sub-tabs to view the movies and experience each section of the trek that we walked.

Emma and I waited at the Conservation Hut while Lily and Silena walked to the parking lot and returned with the car to pick us up. We then drove further south to a scenic spot overlooking the Jamison Valley and the famous Three Sisters rock formation. We remained here while the setting sun illuminated the Three Sisters. We stopped for dinner at a local pizza and kabob restaurant en route to Sydney where Lily dropped me off at my hotel.

On Sunday morning, Lily returned to my hotel with Silena and Emma to take me for another bushwalk. We planned to go to the Australian Royal National Park which, designated as a national park in 1879, is the second oldest national park in the world.

We drove to Audley and met up with two other members of Lily’s bushwalking group. We then drove to the Wattamolla Picnic Area on the coast and parked in one of several parking areas. The picnic area is adjacent to the Coote Creek Waterfalls that plunge into a deep pool below. This is a popular place for people to jump from the top of the falls into the pool below. The pool is part of the Wattamolla Lagoon which is also fed by the Wattamolla Creek. Many people also swim in the lagoon, and there is a sandy beach area beyond the lagoon which goes directly into the Providential Cove and the Pacific Ocean.

We ate a picnic lunch and then began the Coast Walk to the north of the picnic area. The walk crossed the rocks above the Coote Creek Waterfalls and continued climbing north through the bush to a dam and small pool above the Wattamolla Creek Waterfalls. Some people also swim in this pool. After crossing the creek, we continued climbing through the bush, passing several large unique rock formations until we finally reached the top of the dramatic rocky sea cliffs.

These sea cliffs are spectacular. We continued hiking along the cliffs where the trail has colorful massive rock formations and uniquely erosion-shaped rocks. After walking for some distance, Lily, who had been here many times before, suggested that we might consider returning to the picnic area as the trail further north along the coast atop Marley Beach was very similar to the area we had just walked. We agreed and returned to the picnic area.

Lily decided to go for a swim in the Wattamolla Lagoon and the rest of us hiked the beach trail down to the beach at Providential Cove. After her swim, Lily drove us south through the park to the Otford Lookout for another view of the coastline and then on to Bald Hill. Bald Hill overlooks Stanwell Park and provides an excellent view of the famous Sea Cliff Bridge. The Sea Cliff Bridge was opened on 11 December 2005 and is one of only seven off-shore parallel to coast bridges in the world.

As it was already getting late, we began our drive back to Sydney. En route to Sydney, we stopped to see Lily’s new home overlooking the Paramatta River. It was in the early stages of construction and the construction was somewhat behind schedule. We stopped at Burwood for one last wonderful Chinese dinner together. Before saying good-bye, I thanked Lily, Silena, and Emma for making my visit to Sydney very special indeed.

On Monday, 13 October, I flew to Adelaide to attend the annual International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) conference. The four-day conference was held at the Stamford Grand Hotel located on the beach at Holdfast Bay. During the conference, I was able to renew some worldwide professional air safety relationships.

On Friday, 17 October, Greg Keays and his girlfriend, Allanah, came to Adelaide from Melbourne to visit with me before continuing on for a holiday at Noosa. Greg sailed with me on the HMB ENDEAVOUR in August 2011, and he and Allanah had previously lived in Adelaide. They picked me up at my hotel on Friday to do some local sightseeing. We also planned to go to the Adelaide wine country on Saturday.

We drove north along the ocean and stopped at Semaphore where we ate lunch. Semaphore is a picturesque spot where the restored Semaphore Time Ball still commands a prominent spot on a small hill overlooking the ocean. The time ball tower was originally built in 1875 and was adjacent to the official old Government signal station that was constructed in 1856. The time ball provided the means for the ships in the harbor to set their chronometers. A black ball was manually hoisted half-way up the mast on top of the tower at 5 minutes before 1 PM and then hoisted to the top of the mast at 3 minutes to 1 PM. The ball was then dropped at precisely 1 PM by an electric signal directly from the observatory located at West Parklands, Adelaide.

The Semaphore World War I Clock Tower Memorial is presently situated between the time ball tower and the ocean. We continued northbound along the ocean to the outer harbour area where Greg had sailed with his father many years ago. On our way back to downtown Adelaide, we stopped briefly at the Fort Glanville Conservation Park which was closed to the public. Later we visited the Art Gallery of Southern Australia in downtown Adelaide and then stopped for afternoon tea. After tea, I took the Gleneg Tram back to my hotel.

Since Allanah came down with an allergic reaction to some pollen in the air during the night and required medical attention, she was unable to go with us to the wine country the next day. Greg picked me up at my hotel in the early afternoon and drove to the wine country. We visited the Lane Vineyard where we tasted a large selection of fine wines. Greg purchased several bottles and we then drove to a nearby village where some of his grandparents had once lived. After returning to Adelaide, we checked on Allanah and then Greg took me back to my hotel. It was really wonderful to visit with Greg again and finally meet Allanah.

I flew to Sydney on Sunday to overnight at a hotel near the airport and returned home to Los Angeles on Monday, 20 October. The flight to Los Angeles took nearly fourteen hours which gave me plenty of time to reflect on what a good trip this had been.

See pictures from Australia

September 2014
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Travel Notes

I wanted to return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to visit Abu Dhabi and to hopefully visit with friends. Since Renuka, who is the daughter of Panchal, my driver in Nepal during 2012, and her husband were both working in Abu Dhabi, I wanted to try to visit with them. In addition, I wanted to try to visit with Mohammed Waqas from EMAL Magazine if he happened to be at Dubai while I was there.

I arrived at Dubai, UAE, on Wednesday, 10 September 2014, at about 4:45 PM. After clearing immigration, I located the nearest ATM to obtain some UAE Dirhams. When I arrived at the taxi stand, I was directed to the line of unmarked black luxury taxis. This was the same routine that was in place a year ago when I visited Dubai. After checking into my hotel, I rested up from the two very long flights from Los Angeles to Dubai.

The following morning, I asked the receptionist at the hotel front desk for information on how to take the bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. She told me to take a taxi to the bus station where buses departed for Abu Dhabi approximately every thirty minutes. While checking out of the hotel, I asked the hotel staff to summon a taxi for me to go to the nearby bus station. A member of the hotel staff directed me to a white unmarked luxury taxi. The taxi driver was from Pakistan and suggested that I let him drive me directly to my hotel in Abu Dhabi. He asked me which hotel I was staying at and I told him the Abu Dhabi Crowne Plaza hotel. He asked if it was the Crowne Plaza on Yas Island. I told him that there were two Crowne Plaza hotels in Abu Dhabi and that I was at the Crowne Plaza located at Abu Dhabi city center. He said the price would be 250 Dirhams to go to the Abu Dhabi city center hotel. Although this was an amount considerably higher than the cost to ride the bus, I opted for the convenience of the comfortable air conditioned luxury taxi.

I agreed to the 250 Dirham amount and we began the journey to Abu Dhabi. When we were approaching the Yas Island exit, he asked to see my hotel reservation. Since it was in my carry-on luggage in the trunk of the car, we pulled off of the main highway so that I could retrieve a copy of my reservation. He reviewed my reservation and then programmed the address into his GPS navigation device. He then said that my hotel was very much farther than he had originally believed it to be.

When we arrived at my hotel, he parked in a nearby parking space instead of stopping in front of the hotel. He then proceeded to tell me that although he knew about the Yas Island Crowne Plaza Hotel, he was not familiar with the location of the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi City Hotel. He the then asked me to lean over the back of the front seat and to look at a portable taxi meter sitting beside him on the front seat. The meter display showed 379 Dirhams and he told me that I could pay what I wanted. Since we discussed the city center location before his original firm 250 Dirham price quote, I paid him 300 Dirhams.

The Crowne Plaza hotel at the Abu Dhabi city center was very nice, and the staff members were wonderful. In addition, IHG Rewards members receive a 50% discount on the lunch and dinner buffets offered at the Garden Restaurant – a very good deal indeed. After eating a superb buffet lunch at the Garden restaurant, I spent the remainder of the day catching up on emails and reviewing Abu Dhabi tourist attractions on the Internet. I made contact with Mohammed Waqas from EMAL Magazine, and we made plans to try to meet up after I returned to Dubai. I also contacted Renuka who said that she was working evenings. I made plans to meet her the following day for lunch at my hotel. She was also able to schedule her day off from work for Saturday, 13 September.

I met Renuka for lunch on Friday, 12 September, and we had a very nice lunch at my hotel. During lunch we decided that she and her husband, Babudin, would join me on a full day tour to Al Ain the following day. After lunch, I booked the Al Ain tour and Renuka left to go to work. Since Friday was the day of morning prayers and many of the tourist sightseeing attraction were closed, I spend the remainder of the day exploring the neighborhood near my hotel.

After dinner, I took a local taxi to visit with Renuka at Café Bateel where she worked. I ordered cappuccino, a wonderful pastry that Renuka selected for me, and some fresh dates. The café was very nice and Renuka introduced me to her friend Pratima who was also from Nepal. When I requested my bill, Renuka informed me that she was paying my bill since I was her guest. It was very nice – thank you again Renuka. After leaving Café Bateel, I walked to the main road and caught a local taxi back to my hotel.

On Saturday morning, Renuka and Babudin met me in the hotel lobby at 8:30 and our tour driver picked us up at 8:45 for our tour to Al Ain. Al Ain, also known as the Garden City of the Gulf due to its greenery and tree-lined streets provided by many oases. It is the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest city in the UAE. It is located on the inland border with Al-Buraimi, Oman, and is the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the first president of the UAE. Al-Buraimi and Al Ail shared an open border until 2006 when the border was closed and passport controls were imposed.

Although the tour was listed as requiring a minimum of four people, we were the only three people in the nearly new SUV with our driver who was from Jaipur, India. It was as if we had booked our own private tour to Al Ain. As we were departing Abu Dhabi, we drove past the very beautiful Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque and the two circular tower “green buildings.” The outside of the “green buildings” is covered by adjustable solar panels that close when exposed to direct sunlight and open when in the shade.

We visited the Al Wathba Camel Race Track en route to Al Ain. The race track is situated about 45 km east of Abu Dhabi. The facility consists of two separate race tracks, a practice track and the official competition race track. We first visited the practice track and then continued on to the competition track where I photographed the “Starting Gate” for the official races. Human jockeys have been replaced with robot jockeys for the races in response to criticism of using young boys to be camel racing jockeys.

We continued on to Al Ain where we stopped at the picnic grounds at the base of Jabel Hafeet (Hafeet Mountain) where fresh water from the mountain is channeled through the picnic area. This is a very popular place for people to enjoy family outings and for visitors on holiday. A large complex adjacent to the entrance to the picnic area is owned by the Royal Family.

Jabel Hafeet is considered to be one of monuments of Al Ain and it rises to 1,340 meters in elevation. We continued driving the winding road to the summit viewpoint of Jabel Hafeet. There is a dirt pathway from the viewpoint that was once used to continue over the crest into Oman, but is now closed to the public. Of course, the views from the summit are spectacular. In addition, there is a large complex near the summit that is also owned by the Royal Family.

We drove back down the mountain road and went to the very large Al Ain Livestock Market which our driver referred to as the “Camel Market.” It was very interesting with vendors for camel food and supplies as well as many individual pens with camels and goats for sale. Our driver explained that there were camels for sale from several countries including Saudi Arabia. We drove through the market and then continued on to the Hilton Hotel for a very nice buffet lunch.

After lunch we visited the Al Ain National Museum and the Al Ain Oasis. The national museum is located in the same compound as the Sultan Bin Zayed Fort which is also known as the Eastern Fort. The museum has sections for archaeologhy, ethnography, and gifts. Exhibits which are labeled both in English and Arabic, include collections of Bedouin jewelry, musical instruments, and weapons. The extensive archaeology displays date back to the first millennium BC. Finally, the gifts section houses some of the gifts that Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan received during his lifetime.

Al Ain oases are known for their underground “falaj” irrigation system that brings water from boreholes to water farms and palm trees. According to the literature, falaj irrigation is an ancient system dating back thousands of years and is used widely in Oman, the UAE, China, Iran, and other countries. Al Ain has seven oases and the largest is the Al Ain Oasis. We visited the Al Ain Oasis and observed an open portion the falaj and strolled among the date palm trees. Babudin was able to climb up a leaning date tree and picked some ripe fresh dates. The dates were delicious.

Our next stop was at the Skeikh Zayed Palace Museum. It is based in the palace of the former UAE President, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his family. It was originally built in 1910 on the western side of the Al Ain Oasis, and Sheikh Zayed lived here until 1966. It was made into a museum in 1998.

Although the palace museum was designated as our final place to visit on the tour, our driver asked if there was anything else that I would like to see while in Al Ain. I told him that I would like to visit the Al Jahili Fort, if possible. He agreed and took us to visit the fort.

The Al Jahili Fort is one of the UAE’s most historic buildings as well as one of the largest forts in the UAE. It was built during the 1890s on orders of Zayed the First to defend and protect the precious palm groves. It was also his summer residence. The fort fell into disrepair by the early 1950s, when British forces came to Al Ain and requisitioned the fort as a base for their unit of the Trucial Oman Levies. Barracks and other buildings were added to the original fort and tower. The fort became the headquarters of Oman Trucial Scouts, the force that protected the mountain passes and kept inter-tribal peace. It also served as a residence for the local governor. The fort was restored between 2007 and 2008. The original part of the fort consists of two buildings, a square fort and a separate round tower. Today, the fort houses a permanent exhibition of the photographic work of the British Adventurer Sir Wilfred Thesiger and his 1940s crossings of the Rub Ali Khali (The Empty Quarter) desert. The Al Jahili Fort should not be missed while visiting Al Ain. Upon returning to Abu Dhabi, I bid a fond farewell to Renuka and Babudin. We all had enjoyed a wonderful day trip to Al Ain.

On Sunday morning, after arranging for a late check-out from my hotel, I called the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital and was able to book a reservation for the 10:00 AM tour. The Falcon Hospital is located nearby the Abu Dhabi International Airport and by advance reservation, offers tours to the public at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, Sunday through Thursday (except public holidays). It is the world’s largest and most advanced falcon hospital. The hospital employs about 52 people and treats more than 5,000 falcons each year. Falcons are now being registered and issued “Falcon Passports” to help reduce the illegal trade in falconry. All falcons treated by the hospital are registered captive falcons and any wild falcons that happen to arrive at the hospital are examined and then immediately returned to the wild.

I took a local taxi to the hospital for the 10:00 AM tour where I met some other people from Australia and England. After a comprehensive introductory briefing, we began our tour of the facility at the examination room where many falcons were perched on rails waiting to be examined. While we were in the examination room, our guide showed us the three species of falcons in the UAE – the peregrine falcon, the saker falcon, and the gyr falcon. The peregrine is the smallest and also the fastest falcon. The saker, the national bird of the UAE, is larger and slower than the peregrine falcon. The gyr is larger and slower than the saker falcon.

During the examination process, the falcons are first anesthetized and then in addition to a complete physical examination, they have their claws and beaks manicured. We watched as one falcon underwent the complete physical examination. We were then invited to hold one of the falcons. I was able to hold one of the saker falcons. We left the examination room and passed the surgery room and intensive care unit before going outside to a separate facility for rescued owls.

We continued on to one of the molting buildings designed to house falcons during their molting period. The building was large enough to allow for free flight of the falcons and had perching cave-like areas at each end above two small air conditioned enclosures for the falcons. Our final stop was at the museum and gift shop portion of the facility. When I first arrived by taxi, one staff member asked if I would need a taxi after the tour. I said yes, and a taxi was waiting for me when I was ready to leave the museum.

Upon returning to the hotel, I ate one last buffet lunch before checking out and taking a taxi to the Abu Dhabi bus station. Since the hotel staff members had all been so wonderful, leaving the hotel was like saying good-bye to people at a family reunion.

I took the bus to Dubai and followed other people who got off of the bus at the first stop we came to in Dubai city. Being able to get a taxi became somewhat of a challenge but finally managed to summon local taxi to go to my hotel. After checking into my hotel, I called Mohammed Waqas from EMAL Magazine and we arranged to meet later that evening. I have been a member of the EMAL Magazine team for nearly one year and the magazine features one of my world-wide trips every month. The link for EMAL is www.emalmag.com. Waqas met me at my hotel and took me to the Lal Qila Restaurant, a Mogul theme restaurant. The restaurant was very nice and the food buffet was both extensive and exquisite – thank you again Waqas. After a very nice evening together, Waqas and I bid each other fond farewells.

On Monday, 15 September, I spent time editing photos before checking out of my hotel and going to the airport for the first of my two very long flights back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Abu Dhabi

August 2014
China

Travel Notes

I arrived at Chengdu, China, on Sunday, 17 August 2014 at about 6:30 PM. After clearing Immigration, I exited the terminal and located the taxi stand. I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel and settled into my room for the evening. I spent the next day exploring the neighborhood in the vicinity of the hotel and resting up from my journey to Chengdu. The main purpose of this trip was to continue my travels along the Silk Road eastbound to Luoyang since I ran out of time at Lanzhou during my April 2014 visit.

I flew from Chengdu to Lanzhou during the afternoon of 19 August and took a taxi to my hotel. Helen, my guide during my April trip, met me and would be my English speaking Chinese tour guide for this trip as well.

We hired a taxi for a day trip the following day to visit the Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves, one of the prominent rock cut cave sites in China. I had planned to visit these grottoes in April but a huge dust/sandstorm had precluded my visit. The grottoes are located on Yongling County, southwest of Lanzhou city adjacent to the Liujiaxia Reservoir. After driving by taxi for approximately 1.5 hours, we arrived at the Liujiaxia Reservoir where we had a choice of traveling to the grottoes by either a small confined fast boat with limited visibility or a large slow boat which afforded very good sightseeing along the way to the grottoes. Travel time to the grottoes by fast boat was approximately one hour and by the slow boat approximately three hours.

We checked out the fast boat and were told that we would be required to wait for another seven people to fill the boat before we could depart. We then decided to purchase tickets for the slow boat and proceeded to our large slow boat. The boat had several interior seating areas and four open area seats at the bow – Helen and I decided to sit in the bow area. After a couple of hours, we began to encounter some light rain and our seating area was becoming wet. We moved to the interior seating areas but the cigarette smoke was increasingly becoming unbearable. Helen and I were then invited to travel in the wheelhouse with the Captain of the boat which was much better.

Upon arrival at the docking area, we disembarked from the boat and hiked to the Bingling Grottoes. The grottoes were situated on opposite sides of a small stream and had many small caves with many ornately carved Buddha statues, one very large Buddha statue, and a temple displaying some artifacts from the grottoes. The large Buddha stature has recently been restored and stands 27 meters high in Niche 171. We hiked through the grotto site in light drizzle and spent approximately one hour there. The wooden plank way to access higher grottoes was closed to the public during our visit. There was also a small museum near the grotto entrance that we did not have time to visit.

The return boat ride back to the dock where we first boarded the boat took nearly another three hours. Fortunately, we were once again invited to travel in the wheelhouse with the Captain. The taxi trip back to Lanzhou was uneventful and we arrived back at Lanzhou after dark. We passed the famous Zhongshan Bridge across the Yellow River on our way back to the hotel. The bridge is now for pedestrians only and was colorfully illuminated.

On 21 August, we went to the train station at Lanzhou to buy tickets for the train to Tianshui. The trains to Tianshui were booked very full and Helen was able to book two berths on a sleeper car which opened up as she was trying to purchase tickets. Our upper berths were at the top of three high berths and very close to the ceiling of the sleeper car. There were also small fold-down seats in the aisle adjacent to small tables attached to the wall.

The train trip to Tianshui took about five hours. I began the trip sitting on one of the fold-down seats and later climbed up the ladder and crawled into my berth. It was very close to the ceiling and the temperature was very hot. I soon returned to one of the fold-down seats where I remained for the duration of the journey to Tianshui.

After arriving at our hotel in Tianshui, I downloaded my Lanzhou photos while Helen left to find a suitable taxi for our journey to visit the Maji Mountain Grottoes the following day and to find a local restaurant for dinner. Helen found a popular local noodle restaurant nearby the hotel where we had dinner.

On the morning of 22 August, the taxi that Helen hired the night before arrived at the hotel on schedule. The drive to the Majishan Grottoes took about one hour. Since the parking lot was a considerable distance from the entrance to the grottoes, we took the battery powered shuttle bus from the parking lot to the shuttle bus stop. From there, we then rode two horses for the continuing uphill trek to the entrance of the grottoes. After riding the horses, we hiked to a scenic spot opposite Maji Mountain (Majishan) where we photographed the mountain, the grottoes, and the elaborate overhanging plank pedestrian walkways on the cliff side of the mountain.

According to the literature, construction of Majishan Grottoes began in 384 AD and gradually became one of the large-scale grotto groups in China through continuous chiseling and reconstruction during more than ten dynasties. The locations of most of the grottoes are chiseled into the eastern and western cliffs of the mountain from 30 meters to 80 meters above the ground. People can only access the grottoes via the overhanging plank walkways which extend for approximately 1,300 meters along the faces of the cliffs. There are 194 grottoes, including more than 7,200 clay and stone statues and frescoes dating from the 4th to the 19th centuries. The heights of the statues range from 20 centimeters to 15 meters.

We continued on to the entrance of the grottoes opposite a temple complex which was not open to the public. There was also a Majishan Botanical Garden which we did not visit. After paying the entrance fee, we hiked along the pedestrian walkway attached to the side of the mountain cliffs and viewed all of the grottoes that were accessible. The rock cut grottoes and statues were magnificent. Depending upon the literature, Majishan Grottoes are ranked among the top four grotto sites in China with the other three sites being Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes near Datong, and the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang. I personally liked the Baodingshan Grottoes near Dazu much better than the Mogao Grottoes.

After visiting the Majishan grottoes, we ate lunch near the entrance and then returned to Tianshui. Since the train station was on the way back to Tianshui, we stopped to purchase train tickets for a train the following day from Tiuanshui to Luoyang. Once again the trains were nearly booked full and we had to settle for two hard seat tickets on the train for the nearly 12 hour trip to Luoyang. Helen was told by the agent that only hard seat tickets were available for sale at Tianshui but that we could have the conductor upgrade our tickets once we boarded the train.

Our next stop was at the Central Square in Tinshui to visit the Fu Xi Temple. The square was very large and totally pedestrian with many artisan shops. We walked around the square and visited the Fu Xi Temple. On the recommendation of our taxi driver, we went from the Central Square to the Tianshui Minsu Museum where we wandered among old city buildings, courtyards, and the museum cultural displays. This museum was very interesting and was not highlighted as a tourist attraction in Tianshui.

On Saturday morning, 23 August, we went to the train station for our hard seat train journey from Tianshui to Luoyang. Our tickets were for Coach No. 12 and there were no seat assignments. The Coach No. 12 was packed with people standing in the aisle with all of the storage space above the seats fully occupied. It appeared to me that it was going to be a very long 12 hour trip to Luoyang in Henan Province. After the train departed the station, Helen set off to find the conductor to see about upgrading our tickets as the ticket agent had suggested to her. While she was looking for the conductor, two men who wanted to go smoke in the smoking area offered their seats to me while they were away.

After what seemed to be a long time, Helen returned and told me to bring the luggage and go with her to the dining car. The dining car was Coach No. 11 and, although it was closed to the public, the conductor let us ride in the dining car in very nice seats with a dining table. The dining car was nearly empty with the exception of a couple of other passengers and several crewmembers of the train. I don’t know what Helen told the conductor but the conductor allowed us to ride all the way to Xian at no additional charge – what a lucky break for us! When the dining car opened for service near Xian, we ordered a very nice dinner. Beyond Xian, the train opened the dining car to passengers for an additional charge which we were happy to pay – we kept our dining car seats all the way to Luoyang. Since I had visited Xian on prior trips to China, we did not stop at Xian.

We arrived at Luoyang at midnight and immediately went to the ticket office at the train station to purchase tickets on the very high speed (bullet) train from Luoyang to Xian for 26 August 26. Since there was only one very high speed train from Luoyang to Xian daily, we wanted to make sure that we were able to advance purchase tickets for the train. Fortunately we were able to purchase two second class tickets for the train and were advised that the very high speed train operated out of a different special train station in Luoyang.

After checking into the Hua-Yang Plaza Hotel, I tried but was unable to book a non-stop Air China flight from Xian to Chengdu for 26 August on the Internet. Helen was able to hire a taxi for two day trips beginning in the morning. This hotel turned out to be one of the finest hotels that I have ever stayed at in China – they had a no tipping policy and the hotel service was just superb. After breakfast I arranged for one of the hotel employees to purchase the tickets for the non-stop Air China flight from Xian to Chengdu while we were on our daytrip – we picked up the tickets when we returned to the hotel. On the morning of 24 August, we began our day trip by driving to the Longmen Grottoes which were about an hour from Luoyang city. The Longmen Grottoes are magnificent rock cut caves that are situated for a linear distance of one kilometer along both the east and west side of the Yi River. The grottoes were carved into the cliffs of the Xiangshan and Longmen mountains. According to the literature, there are as many as 100,000 statues within the 1,400 caves ranging from 1 inch (25mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. The grottoes date from 493 AD and in 2000 the site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Xiangshan Temple is on Xiangshan Mountain above the east side of the Yi River opposite the north end of the west side Longmen Grottoes and provides stunning views of the west side grottoes.

We hiked from the taxi parking area for nearly one kilometer to the entrance to the grottoes. After paying the entrance fee, we hiked along the river and explored the grottoes along the western side of the river before using the north footbridge to cross the river to explore the grottoes and the temple along the eastern side of the river.

On the way back to Luoyang, we visited the Museum of the Emperor’s Chariot Drawn by Six Horses. It is a museum with the royal tombs and utensils used by the royal family of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). The main exhibition zone includes two large attendant pits on the original archaeological sites, of which the 42.6 meters long and 7.4 meters wide pit with the “Emperor’s Chariot Dawn by Six Horses” contains 26 chariots and the skeletons of 70 horses. The chariots were drawn by either two, four, or six horses which represented how the chariots were used during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Before returning to the hotel, we also visited the White Horse Temple. The temple complex was very beautiful and I wish that I had been able to spend more time there. Most notable were the two horse sculptures – although these frequently appear to be white in tourism photos, they were actually a natural stone color.

The following day, 25 August, we drove to the Songshan Mountain Scenic Area where we were able to visit the Shaolin Temple and the Pagada Forest, as well as hike along a portion of the cliff-side Sanhuang Plank Way of Mount Song (Songshan).

The Shaolin Temple was originally built in 495 AD and has a long history as a very important temple. It is also well known for Chen sect and martial arts. During the Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD), the Shaolin martial arts took shape and during the Yuan Dynasty (1227-1368 AD), the Shaolin Temple became a world-renowned temple. The Forest of Stupas, also referred to as the Pagoda Forest, is the graveyard of the Shaolin Temple with tombs of eminent monks. With a total of 232 ancient stupas, the Forest of Stupas is the largest of its kind in China.

Since the Shaolin Temple is several kilometers from the entrance to the scenic area, we rode the battery powered bus to the temple. After visiting the temple complex, we again took the bus to the stop for the Forest of Stupas and the cableway stations that serve two different areas of Mount Song. One cableway was a short trip to a scenic spot on Mount Song. The second cableway was a longer trip to a summit connecting to the trail leading to the 3,000 meter long cliff-side Sanhuang Plank Way. The hanging foot path around the cliffs of Songshan lead to a suspension bridge that connects to a mountain top temple. Songshan is the center-most of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China. The plank way foot path went both up and down as it traveled along the cliffs of Songshan. The views from the plank way were stunning, and we ran out of time before we were able to reach the suspension bridge and the temple. Our only regret was that we didn’t take the Songshan cableway and hike all the way to the suspension bridge and temple before visiting the Shaolin Temple. At least I have now hiked on three of the five sacred Taoist mountains during my travels to China. After a brief visit to the Forest of Stupas, we returned to our taxi and drove back to the hotel.

On the morning of Tuesday, 26 August, we took the very high speed train to Xian and a taxi to the Xian airport. The stations for the high speed trains are brand new and amazing. The train platforms all have escalators and lifts, and they match up with the train coaches so that passengers just walk on and off of the train coaches. The trains are also very nice and, given the opportunity in the future, I will always take a very high speed train for future rail travel if one is an available option for me. After a lengthy layover at the Xian airport, we boarded our delayed flight to Chengdu.

We decided to visit the Yongling Mausoleum Museum and the adjacent park/garden on Wednesday, 27 August. Although we found the mausoleum museum closed for renovation, the adjacent park and garden were very nice. In addition, we visited a very nice sculpture of the tomb with statues of musicians that was situated on a corner adjacent to the mausoleum museum and park. The following day, we visited the Sichuan Museum – Chengdu and a portion of Huanhua Park nearby the entrance to the Cottage of DuFu.

On the morning of 29 August, we took a taxi to the Chengdu airport where Helen departed for Dunhuang and I boarded my flight to San Francisco and then back home to Los Angeles. Between my April trip and this trip, I had finally completed traveling the Silk Road eastbound from Dunhuang to Luoyang.

April 2014
China

Travel Notes

I arrived at Xian, China, on Sunday, 13 April 2014 at about 9:30 PM. After clearing immigration, I exited the terminal and located the taxi stand. After waiting in the queue, I gave my hotel voucher to the person in charge and he in turn gave the voucher to the taxi driver. The driver nodded that he knew the hotel and we departed the taxi stand area. After driving a short distance, the driver asked for my voucher and then began calling the hotel on his mobile phone. Finally he returned to the taxi stand and the person in charge gave verbal directions to him. We set out a second time and, after a series of phone calls, we finally arrived at the hotel. The only problem was that the building was completely dark. The taxi driver called again and after a short conversation with someone, he drove around the building to another building which was the hotel and the lobby entrance. I paid the driver and entered the hotel lobby.

The lady receptionist did not speak any English and nobody else in the hotel could speak any English. I gave her my prepaid voucher and she located my reservation. She then began asking me several questions in Chinese and a crowd of curious Chinese people chimed in with hand signals to no avail. Finally the receptionist used some translator software on her desktop computer which worked well. She needed to know my flight number and departure time for the following day. I gave her my flight information and she arranged for my complimentary airport transfer for 10 AM. I was then taken to my room. The hotel was rated three stars, but I am sure that it was no better than a one star hotel.

Although I was up early Monday morning, I decided that I would wait to eat breakfast at the airport. The phone in my room rang at about 9:30 AM and the call was a recording in Chinese. I left the room and when I arrived in the lobby, I was directed to a shuttle van waiting outside. Through sign language, I ascertained that it was my airport transfer. The driver did not speak English and, after a series of several stops to pick up and drop off people, we finally arrived at the Xian Airport domestic terminal. I went to the China Eastern ticket counter and the agent located my electronic ticket order and directed me to the check-in counter where I received my boarding pass for my flight to Dunhuang.

After a wonderful breakfast of beef and noodles, pickled cucumbers, fruit and coffee, I went to the gate and boarded my flight. Upon landing at Dunhuang, I located an ATM machine to obtain additional Chinese Yuan and went to the taxi stand. Although the taxi driver did not speak any English, he looked at my hotel voucher and took me directly to my Dunhuang hotel. Before I got out of the taxi, he handed me his taxi card and called a lady who spoke very good English. She told me the amount of my fare and asked me if I wanted to do some sightseeing in the Dunhuang area. She became the interpreter between me and the driver. Her name was Helen and his name was Ten. They said that he would pick me up at the hotel the following morning at 8 AM, and she agreed to come along as well. I now felt very good that perhaps I ended up with a driver and an English speaking person as well – I would not know until Tuesday morning if they both would actually show up for sightseeing.

On Tuesday morning, 15 April, both Mr. Ten and Helen arrived at the hotel right on time. During the day, Helen told me that she was also a Chinese registered tour guide. After greeting them, we drove to Mogao Caves, also called Mogao Grottoes. The grottoes are located along the vertical face of a mountain. These caves are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site and have had a great amount of reconstruction at the side of the mountain where entrances to the caves are located. No photography is allowed within a fence constructed along the side of the mountain where the gates for ticketed visitors are located. Locked doors have been installed at each cave entrance and everyone visiting the Mogao Grottoes must be accompanied by a guide. We had to wait for nearly 30 minutes for the required English speaking guide. Each guide takes a small group of visitors to view a few of the caves – the guide unlocks and opens the door to each cave visited. In addition, the statues within the caves are made from wood and straw then covered with clay and then painted – the caves in India and further east in China have statues carved from solid rock.

Although there are several hundred caves at Mogao, there are at least two caves that I believe all visitors are shown. One is Cave 17 which is the famous Library Cave where many ancient manuscripts were discovered. The second is Cave 96 which is the cave with the a very tall statue of Buddha and the one which is shown in all of the tourism photos of Mogao Grottoes. We were shown caves 29, 16, 17, 427, 428, 259, 237, 96, 172, and 148 which has a large reclining Buddha statue. Since the rock-cut caves in India and the grottoes at Dazu and Datong in China that I have visited were still open and the visitors could view and photograph the interior of nearly all of the caves, I was very disappointed with my visit to Mogao. I had traveled nearly half way around the world to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Mogao Caves only to be shown the interior of ten caves and denied any photographs. I purchased a book on Dunhuang tourist sites which has murals from many caves that I probably never entered.

Our second stop was at the Wesrn-Jin Dynasty Tombs which were nearby the Mogao Caves. There were two tombs in the area that had recently been excavated. They were accessed down a steep stairway deep underground and had chambers that included the main tomb, kitchen chamber, and toilet area chamber. The tombs had painted tiles within the brickwork walls of the tombs. The tombs were much more interesting than the Mogao Caves.

We drove back to Dunhuang city and past the Dunhuang Ancient City Ruins and then visited the White Horse Pagoda. Our next stop was at the new Dunhuang Museum which was excellent even though all of the planned exhibits were not yet completed.

Our last stop of the day was at Mingsha Mountain which is a huge mountain of sand formed by the Gobi Desert winds. Helen and I hired a yellow four wheel drive vehicle and were driven across the sand dunes to a place high on the mountain well above the entrance area. We then hiked up the side of the mountain on a lattice-work path of welded rebar to the crest of the mountain. This is the common meeting place for people who ride camels or small ATV type vehicles. Some people also hike up the mountain through the sand. After admiring the view from the crest, we rode back down to the entrance. We then visited Crescent Moon Spring which was another hike from the main entrance. Crescent Moon Spring, also referred to as Crescent Lake, was interesting and is considered a not-to-be-missed site when visiting Dunhuang.

On Wednesday, we drove west to the Dunhang Ancient City movie set just west of Dunhuang. The walled city was constructed to be like an ancient city where movies could be filmed. Several relatively famous films have been shot at this location including one Korean film. It was a very interesting place to see for a short visit.

Our next stop was at the West Ten Thousand Buddha Caves. The tourism map photos depict the caves before major reconstruction was completed to place the ubiquitous locked doors in front of each cave. Once again no photos were allowed within the caves and we were shown caves 3 through 7.

We then drove past the Sleeping Buddha Mountain en route to Yangguan Pass. The main attraction at Yangguan Pass is the surviving beacon tower. We walked through what appeared to be a reconstructed ancient city area and hired a small electric bus to take us up the mountain closer to the beacon tower. We continued on foot to visit the beacon tower and additional structures built primarily as viewpoints across the Gobi and for the beacon tower.

On Thursday morning, we drove northwest to the Helang City ancient city ruins which is also known as Big Fangpan Castle. A beacon tower could be seen on a hill near Helang City but the access road toward the tower was closed. We continued on to the site of Yumeng Pass where the remaining base of a beacon tower is situated adjacent to the Small Fangpan Castle structure that is shown in all of the tourist photos as Yumeng Pass.

Our next stop was at the ruins of the Han Dynasty Great Wall. Portions of the remaining wall extended for a great distance and a beacon tower still remained on a hilltop to the west. This was a very photogenic stop and was probably the highlight of my visit to the Dunhuang area.

Our final stop for the day was at the Yadan National Geological Landform Park. It has unique geological formations shaped primarily by the Gobi Desert winds. It is a large area and we were transported by bus to several stops where we could take short hikes among the landform structures. We were there mid-afternoon but Yadan should be visited at sunrise or sunset in order to see the colors of the landforms at their best.

On Friday, 18 April, we departed Dunhuang at 7:30 AM to drive to Jiayuguan. We took a 70 km detour to visit the Yulin Grottoes. The drive took us over a mountain range to a gorge area formed by a river with cliff-side caves. The geological landscape somewhat reminded me of the famous Ajanta rock-cut caves in India. There were cliff-side caves on both sides of the river and, true to form in this region of Gansu Province, the faces of the cliffs had been reconstructed with doors at the cave entrances providing access to the public. A few unrestored but inaccessible caves could also be seen in the distance. We were once again required to have a guide who showed caves 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 6. The statues in Cave 11 were unique to any that I had seen previously, but no matter how hard I pleaded with our guide, no photos were allowed. The saving grace of the visit to Yulin was the landscape and the statues in Cave 11.

The drive to Jiayuguan was very long and we arrived at my hotel in Jiayuguan at 5:00 PM. Fortunately for me, the people in the hotel lobby spoke passable English and I was able to arrange for a taxi for local sightseeing through the hotel. In addition, I received an email from my friend Sunny who I met while traveling in Sanliurfa, Turkey. She informed me that she would arrive from Taiwan the following day for work near Jiayguan. She and a colleague from her work planned to meet up with me on Sunday, 20 April, for a day trip to the Wenshu Mountain Grottoes.

On Saturday morning I had the hotel arrange for a taxi to take me to the Jaiyuguan Pass to visit the Jiayuguan Fort and the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty extending one side of the fort to the First Beacon Tower and from the other side of the fort to the Cantliever Wall or Overhanging Wall on the north slope of Heishan Mountain. My taxi driver’s name was Pin Pin and, although she spoke no English, the hotel staff told her where I wanted to go and negotiated the price for my trip.

Pin Pin and I left the hotel at approximately 10:00 AM and arrived at the Overhanging Great Wall. This portion of the Great Wall falls steeply down from the mountain ridge and blocks the Shiguan Gorge. I hiked up the wall to the top and hiked down a pathway adjacent to the wall. The views of the Gobi Desert from the top were magnificent. A second portion of the wall extends from the south side of the Shiguan Gorge to the Jiayuguan Fort. A third portion of the wall intersects the second portion several hundred meters south of the gorge and ascends up the ridge of another mountain in similar fashion to the Overhanging Wall. A pagoda and temple complex with Tibetan prayer flags is located west of the Overhanging Great Wall part way up Heishan Mountain.

Our second stop was at the First Beacon Tower which formed the end of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. It is situated on top of a cliff 87 meters high above the north bank of the Taolai River. In the interest of time, I decided not to cross the river via a suspension footbridge from an area north of the beacon tower. However, Pin Pin insisted that I visit the underground display area and viewpoint above the river. Once I arrived at the overhanging viewing platform, I understood her insistence. The platform afforded a wonderful photo opportunity of the cliff-side and the end of the First Beacon Tower. She even accompanied me to the viewpoint and through the exhibit areas.

Our last stop was at the Jiayuguan Fort. It is located at the western extremity of the Great Wall and dominated the plain that separated two mountain ranges. It was called the “Impregnable Defile Under Heaven.” It had enormous strategic importance as it controlled the only military and trade link between China and the deserts of Central Asia. It was a compound surrounded on three sides by the Great Wall. I climbed to the top of the Great Wall at the west end of the fort and also to the top of the accessible portions of the walls of the fort. The fort is a magnificent structure and the views from the top of the walls are superb.

On Sunday morning, 20 April, Sunny and her colleague, Jessie, met me at my hotel for our day trip to the Wenshu Mountain Temples and Grottoes. Sunny had already hired a taxi for the trip to the grottoes. Upon arriving at Wenshu, we discovered that there was a China military facility at the base of the mountain adjacent to the Wenshu Temple facilities. We had to wait for about thirty minutes for the military to complete some sort of exercises and open the road for us to drive to the temple and grottoes entrance. In addition, any photos depicting any portion of the military facility were prohibited and we were accompanied by a soldier who monitored the photographs taken by us.

There are many Tibetian Buddha temples and a pagoda situated at several mountain-side locations. The local occupants at the temples all welcomed us to visit and photograph the individual temples. The Wenshu Mountain Grottoes are carved within a cliff of Wenshu Mountain. The literature describes the grottoes as containing magnificent carved interiors and colorful murals on the ceilings of the caves. They remained unrestored and were closed to the public because workers are reconstructing the cliff of the mountain with concrete. I presume that the cliff-side reconstruction will be similar to the reconstructions at the Mogao, West Thousand Buddha, and Yulin Grottoes with doors covering the individual caves, public access limited to a handful of caves, and photography most likely prohibited.

We hiked up the mountains to the temples and to a mountain top viewing platform where we were able to photograph the un-restored grottoes in the distance. We also watched as construction workers mixed concrete that was being used in the on-going cliff side reconstruction.

After we returned to Jiayuguan, we ate lunch and then toured the Zixuan Vinyard. The vineyard is one of the largest in China and the building housing the kegs of wine is also one of the largest in China. The vineyard also has a section of VIP barrels owned by famous people.

Our next stop was a visit to Jiuquan, a small city nearby to Jiayuguan, where Sunny and Jessie were staying for their consulting job. Sunny wanted to visit the Jiuquan Bell Tower but it was closed. While waiting for the restaurant to open for dinner, we walked around the small downtown where Sunny and Jessie purchased some fruit at a fruit market.

We had a wonderful lamb dinner and then we all took the local bus to Jiayuguan. After arriving at Jiayuguan, we said good-bye. They took the bus back to Jiuquan and I took a taxi to my Jiayuguan hotel. It was a wonderful day with Sunny and Jessie and amazing that we could actually meet up for a visit in China.

I realized that I would need to revise my planned itinerary to delete some of the places that I had originally wanted to visit. I decided to eliminate Tianshul and the Maiji Mountain Grottoes and fly from Lanzhou to Chongqing on 26 April. In addition, given the difficulty of traveling in Gansu without being able to speak Chinese, I was able to hire Helen from Dunhuang to join me at Zhangye to be my guide for sightseeing at Zhangye and at Lanzhou.

On Monday, 21 April, I took the train from Jiayuguan to Zhangye. Helen joined me at Zhangye and she was able to arrange for an upscale taxi to take us on two separate day trips. The first day trip would be to visit the Zhangye Danxia Landform, also known as the “Rainbow Mountains,” and some local attractions. The second day trip would be to visit the Mati Temple Grottoes and the Zhangye Big Buddha.

On Tuesday morning, the taxi driver met us at about 5:00 AM for the drive to the Zhangye Danxia Landform. After waiting for the ticket office to open, we were directed to a tour bus that took us to a viewing point for the sunrise over the mountains. As the sun rose above the horizon, the colors of the mountains became vibrant. Several men from Italy were also on the bus with us. One man named Francesco hiked to an adjacent peak and began jumping up into the air as his friend took photos. One of my favorite photos is of Francesco being photographed while jumping.

The coloration reminded me of some areas of the southwestern United States, but the features of the mountains appeared to be unique. After several more stops, the bus returned us to the main entrance. On the way back to Zhangye, we drove through Zhangye New City being constructed adjacent to Zhangye as an ecologically friendly city by incorporating the Heihe River Wetland. We also visited the Zhangye Wetland Museum which just recently opened and was very interesting.

The following morning we visited the Mati Temple Grottoes. My Gansu tour book contained a very interesting photo from the grottoes but the taxi driver did not seem to recognize it. Just after we entered the main Mati Temple gate, Helen noticed the grottoes depicted in my photo were on the right side of the car. We stopped the car and I proceeded to explore the grottoes. They were unusual in that many appeared to be unique face-like sculptures carved into individual grottoes. The taxi driver told Helen that, although he had been to the Mati Temple Grottoes, he had never seen these grottoes before due to obstruction by trees in front of the grottoes. Although the taxi driver wanted to go to another temple area further up the mountain with the promise of returning here later, I decided to complete our visit here while we had good light for photos.

Our next stop was at a Tibetan temple complex located adjacent to the grottoes where we first stopped. It was very interesting with temples built both at ground level as well as on the mountain cliff side. The uppermost temple is accessed by a tunnel stairway carved within the mountain from an adjacent temple. The temples were very interesting and wonderful for photos. In order to keep track of these temples and grottoes, I decided to caption them as the Lower Mati Temple Grottoes.

We continued on to the main Mati Temple Grottoes which were at a higher altitude. There are many grottoes at the higher main temple site although many have not been reconstructed and are not accessible to the public. I decided to caption these temple grottoes as the Upper Mati Temple Grottoes.

En route to the upper temple grottoes, we stopped at a viewing point with three stupas and Tibetan prayer flags. The viewing point provided a spectacular view of the Upper Mati Grottoes. An even higher temple is situated some distance from the main temple area and I hiked to the higher temple. Several unrestored large caves had Buddha statues and murals. The large multi-storied temple that is featured in most tourist literature has internal carved stairways that provide access to most of the multi-level individual temples. Photography within selected niches of the multi-storied temple is prohibited.

After returning to Zhangye, we visited the Zhangye Buddha Temple. The temple building that houses the big Buddha is very photogenic. Photography within the temple and of the big Buddha is prohibited.

Since Helen needed to be back at work in Dunhuang on Saturday, 26 April, we decided take the overnight train to Lanzhou and try to take a day trip to the Bingling Grottoes nearby Lanzhou. During the night, a huge Gobi Desert dust and sand storm materialized. By the time we went to the train station, the visibility was very poor. Our train to Lanzhou was running nearly an hour late but at least it was not one of the cancelled trains.

We arrived at Lanzhou at about 9:00 AM and the dust and sand storm had also reached Lanzhou. In the interest of good common sense, I cancelled our plans for any sightseeing due to the weather. Instead of sightseeing, I worked on downloading some of my travel photos.

It rained and snowed during the night at Lanzhou and by the morning of 25 April, we woke up to accumulated snow on the ground. The precipitation stopped, the weather improved, and Helen traveled back to Dunhuang. I decided that I would go to see the Lanzhou Waterwheel Park. When I checked with the hotel concierge, I discovered that the waterwheel park was relatively close to the hotel. I walked across a bridge over the Yellow River to the Lanzhou Waterwheel Park. It may well be the most popular local attraction in Lanzhou. The waterwheels delivered water from the river to overhead wooden aqua ducts for operating industrial functions. The roundtrip walk took about two hours and completed my revised Silk Road sightseeing.

I flew from Lanzhou to Chongqing on Saturday, 26 April. I had visited Chongqing during April 2013, and I brought my local Chongqing city map along with me. I booked a room at the same Holiday Inn Express hotel where I stayed previously. I had used the Chongqing city map to show taxi drivers how to take me to my hotel. Upon arrival at the airport, I took the next available local taxi in the queue and gave my hotel address and my map to the driver. He indicated that he knew where to take me. After trying to deliver me to two incorrect hotels, he finally called someone who spoke English as an interpreter. After using the interpreter, we set off again to find my hotel. When I started to recognize the scenery from my prior visit, I pointed to places where the driver should turn and we arrived right in front of my hotel – all is well that ends well.

Peng, the Air China flight attendant who I met a year ago, and her husband, Thong, picked me up at my hotel on Sunday, 27 April, to go to the Dezhuang Hot Pot restaurant for lunch. Not only did they pick me up in their car but they also brought some gifts for me. The renowned Chongqing hot pot lunch was wonderful. During lunch, I noticed the Yangtze River Cableway while looking out of the window of the restaurant and we decided to ride on it later.

After lunch we drove to Foreigner Street where we met up with Peng’s friend, Summer. Summer is also an Air China flight attendant. We walked around the amusement park area. We were hopeful that we could go for a boat ride or train ride. However, since it was a Sunday afternoon, there were too many families and long lines for us to go for a ride. We decided to go for a ride on the cableway instead.

We rode the cableway northbound across the Yangtze River and later back southbound across the river. Our next stop was at the Grand View Garden. It is a complex high on a mountain with many restaurants and magnificent views. We decided to have dinner at the Flower in Bowl restaurant. The meal was wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the river snails. After dinner they took me back to my hotel and planned to meet me again the following day.

Peng and Thong picked me up on Monday to go visit the Chongqing Museum, originally named the Southwest Museum, that was built in 1951. I tried to visit this museum last year when I was in Chongqing. Although this museum was listed in my Chongqing Travel Guide published by the China National Tourism Authority, we were informed that it had been closed and that the relics and books had been moved to the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. Since the museum was no longer there, we decided to eat lunch at a local neighborhood restaurant.

After lunch we visited the Exhibition Hall at the former residence of Soong Ching Ling. Mme. Soong Ching Ling lived here from 1942 to 1945, and it once served as the Central Committee of the China Defense League during the War of Resistance against Japan.

Our next stop was at the Republic Studio in Longxing Old Town. It is a town built for a movie set and people are encouraged to start small businesses in the buildings. We enjoyed exploring the old town and had dessert at an ice cream shop before returning to Chongqing. Back at Chongqing, Peng and Thong took me to their home for tea. After tea, we went to one of their favorite restaurants for a fresh grilled fish dinner.

Thong’s grandmother called him and asked him to come to visit her the following day. Although they wanted to spend another day sightseeing with me, I felt is was more important for them to spend the following day with his grandmother. When we returned to my hotel, I thanked them very much for spending two days showing me around Chongqing and we said good-bye.

I departed China on Wednesday, 30 April, on a flight to Bangkok. On the flight to Bangkok, I reflected on just how wonderful my trip to Gansu Province and Chongqing had been. I was so lucky to find Helen and Mr. Ten from Dunhuang, to meet up with Sunny at Jiayguan, to hire Helen as my guide for Zhangye and Lanzhou, and finally to spend the wonderful time with Peng, Thong, and Summer at Chongqing. What a marvelous trip it was indeed!

February 2014
Norway

Travel Notes

After researching a possible trip to Norway to see the Northern lights, I was able to arrange an individual, unescorted tour through Fjord Travel. The trip would originate in Oslo with a train trip across the mountains to Trondheim. We would board a Hurtigruten ferry ship and sail north along the coast of Norway and around the North Cape to Kirkenes. Excursions would include a dog-sledding trip at Bodø, an excursion to the North Cape, and a snowmobile safari at Kirkenes. In addition, we would spend one additional night at the Kirkenes Snow Hotel before flying back to Oslo.

Jan and I arrived at Oslo, Norway, on Thursday, 20 February, at about 10:00 AM. After clearing immigration, I obtained some Norway Krone at an ATM machine before we exited the terminal and located the SAS airport bus. The SAS airport bus took us to within one block of the Thon Hotel Bristol in the Oslo city center. We had booked two additional nights at the hotel prior to starting our Fjord Travel tour in order to be able to spend a couple of days in Oslo.

We spent most of Thursday afternoon resting at the hotel and researching sights that we wanted to visit in Oslo. We had a wonderful dinner at the Bristol Grill in the hotel where we got our first introduction to just how expensive most things are in Norway. Jan looked on the Internet and Norway is currently the most expensive country in the world according to the “Big Mac Index.” Most convenience type stores in Norway have ATM machines.

Norway has a senior discount program and the discount is granted not only to the qualifying senior person but also to the people who are accompanying him/her. Since I qualified for the senior discount, we saved a considerable amount of money when we traveled by bus and visited local sightseeing attractions.

On Friday morning, after a magnificent buffet breakfast at the hotel, we obtained information at the hotel front desk on riding the bus to the National Theater stop and taking the No. 30 bus to the nautical museums. We walked to the bus stop and took the bus to the stop for the Kon-Tiki Museum, the Fram Museum and the Maritime Museum.

We first visited the Fram Museum which houses the FRAM, the most famous ship in polar history. It is known for the expeditions to the North and South Poles and can be toured by visitors to the museum. In an adjacent building, connected by an underground tunnel, the museum also houses GJOA, the first ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. The museum exhibits document polar exploration expeditions and it has spectacular models of FRAM icebound aircraft and airships, a theater, and a polar activity center.

Our next stop was at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. It emphasizes ship building, maritime history, art, and archaeology. We went from here to the Kon-Tiki Museum where the original KON-TIKI balsa wood raft is on display. Thor Heyerdahl gained worldwide fame when he crossed the Pacific from Peru to French Polynesia on KON-TIKI in 1947. The film about the expedition, which won an Oscar in 1951, is screened every day at noon. Heyerdahl also had spectacular expeditions on the reed boats Ra and Tigris. The vessel Ra II is also on display at the museum. Ra II was a reed boat that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados in 1970. In addition, the museum has a very nice exhibit about Easter Island.

We re-boarded bus No. 30 and went to the Viking Ship Museum. This museum houses three Viking ships: the Gokstad, the Oseberg, and the Tune. These ships were discovered in three burial mounds along the Oslo fjord. They had been buried more than 1,000 years ago to serve as vessels for their royal owners’ final journey to the realm of the dead. The exhibition also shows skeletons from the ships, the funeral carriage, sledges, and other artifacts from the graves.

On Saturday morning, we walked to the Royal Palace. The palace was closed to the public but the palace grounds were very nice. We continued walking to the Cultural History Museum. This museum opened in 1904 and documents 9,000 years of Norwegian history with displays of Bronze Age burial sites and Viking weapons, jewelry, and handicrafts. The museum also houses medieval church art, gold artifacts, and a coin cabinet displaying Norway’s coin history. Other exhibitions included hunting and fishing in the Arctic, ancient Egypt, Samuari swords, and American Indians.

We continued walking to the Oslo Cathedral and then on to the Akershus Fortress and Castle. The Oslo Cathedral is the main church of the Oslo diocese, established in 1076. The current building is Oslo’s third cathedral and was consecrated during 1697. It is Norway’s official church with the Palace, the Parliament, and government buildings located within its parish boundaries. Many national, parliamentary, and royal events have been celebrated there.

The Akershus Fortress and Castle is a medieval castle that was built to protect Oslo. Initial construction on the castle began in the late 1290s. The fortress was first used in battle in 1308, when it was besieged by the Swedish duke Eric of Sodermanland. The main building has undergone restoration and it has been used for official events and dinners for dignitaries and foreign heads of state. The Akershus fortress is still a military area but is open to the public at certain times.

We arrived at the southeastern entrance to the fortress just in time to witness the changing of the guard. We then walked around the south end of the fortress and north along the western side to the entrance of the castle building. The castle is open only on certain days and we were very fortunate that it was open when we arrived. We took an audio tour of the castle and were able to see the government representation rooms, the castle church, the royal mausoleum, and the dungeon. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense and Defense Staff Norway have a joint modern headquarters in the eastern part of the fortress.

As we departed the main castle building, we noticed that Norway’s Resistance Museum was also within the fortress. We toured the Resistance museum and were impressed with the exhibits and documentation of Norway’s resistance efforts during the occupation of Norway by the German Nazis during World War II. After the resistance museum, we walked back to our hotel.

Since we had an early train to Trondheim on Saturday morning, the hotel had packed a breakfast-to-go for us and ordered a taxi to the Central Train Station. It was a short taxi ride and, after asking directions, we found the track for our train to Trondheim. We had a reservation reference number from Fjord travel for coach 3, seats 143 and 144, on the NSB train with an 8:02 departure time. We also had instructions to board the train and give the reference number to the conductor who would then provide us with our tickets. When the conductor came to us after the train had departed the station, he had our train tickets with him.

The seven-hour train ride to Trondheim was through the Dovrefjell Mountain plateau which is also a national park. The Dovre mountain range is also important in Norwegian folk tales and is the home of “Dovregubben,” a troll king. Upon arrival at Trondheim, we took a taxi to the Rica Nidelven Hotel – the taxi trip was so short, we could have walked to the hotel with our luggage. We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring downtown Trondheim.

After a marvelous buffet breakfast at the Rica hotel on Monday, 24 February, we walked to the dock where the Hurtigruten Coastal Steamer ship M/S Nordkapp was docked. Although the ship was within walking distance, we decided to take a taxi with our luggage from the hotel to board the ship. The ship is a ferry, with a deck for cars, but the cabins and dining room are as nice as most cruise ships.

Once aboard M/S Nordkapp, we were assigned to a cabin near the bow and, when we arrived at the cabin, the electronic lock on the cabin door would not work. One of the staff members of the ship used her master key to access the cabin and we were dismayed by the tiny and dingy cabin. The staff member said that since the electronic lock was broken, we would be assigned another cabin. Back at the reception desk, the lady said that the only other cabin that was available all the way to Kirkenes was near the stern of the ship and might have some engine noise and vibration. After seeing the first cabin, we said that we would take the aft cabin in spite of the potential noise. Once we arrived at the aft cabin, we were delighted to find that it was a spacious three person cabin with large windows and plenty of storage space for our luggage.

Our aft cabin was directly below the dining room and was only minimally noisy when the ship’s thrusters were being used when docking at or departing a pier. It was also very convenient to the aft lift on the ship. The daily meals consisted of wonderful open-seating breakfast and lunch buffets and a three course dinner at an assigned table. We were told that the M/S Nordkapp was one of the newer Hurtigruten ships, and we were very pleased with all aspects of our cruise to Kirkenes once we received the aft cabin.

Shortly after departing Trondheim, we passed Monk Island and later in the afternoon passed Kjeungskjær Lighthouse. This lighthouse from 1880 is regarded as one of the most beautiful lighthouses along the coast. Since we were having good weather, the Captain decided to sail through Stokk Sound a narrow and picturesque passage. Our first stop was for thirty minutes at Rørvik between 8:45 and 9:15 PM.

We continued sailing north and crossed the Arctic Circle at about 7:10 AM on February 25 where there is an island with an Arctic Circle marker. Some passengers celebrated with “Arctic Circle champagne” which they purchased for the occasion. After passing the village of Ørnes, our next port was a 4½ hour stop at Bodø before continuing north to Stamsund and on to Svolvær. At approximately 11:15 PM, we sailed to the entrance of the Trollfjord where the ship attempted to illuminate the surface of the sheer mountain with a spotlight. The mouth of the Trollfjord is only 100 meters wide and the mountains surrounding it are between 600 and 1,100 meters high.

After sailing through the night, we arrived at Harstad at 6:45 AM on Wednesday for an hour and a quarter stopover. The sunrise over Harstad was very beautiful as we approached the city. After departing Harstad, we passed the Trondenes Church which is the northernmost medieval stone church in the world. After a short stop at Finnsnes, we continued north to Tromsø.

We arrived at Tromsø at 2:30 PM for a four hour visit. Our tour included a dog sledding excursion where we were taken by bus to the dog sledding facility. There were so many people for this excursion that we were broken up into three groups. The advertised excursion began with a dog sledding ride followed by warming up in a Sami tent with an open fire and a hot beverage. It also included a lecture about dog sledding and the dogs themselves. Our group started in the Sami tent with cake and hot coffee then out to visit the dogs and receive the lecture. Our final event was the actual dog sledding ride before returning to the ship.

After dinner, we got our first chance to observe the Northern Lights. They were not brilliant but were readily visible. As we continued north, we made a short stopover at Skjervøy at 10:30 PM.

On Thursday morning, we arrived at Hammerfest for a fifteen minute stopover and at Havøysund for a thirty minute stopover en route to a 3½ hour stop at Honningsvåg at 11:15 AM. Honningsvåg is the main port for the North Cape which is the northernmost point on the European continent. Our tour included a North Cape excursion where a bus took us from the ship across the 71^st parallel to the North Cape. The landscape between the port and the North Cape is spectacular, with the North Cape plateau rising 307 meters almost vertically above the Arctic Ocean.

After arriving at the North Cape, we visited the Children of the Earth Monument. The Children of the Earth project began in 1988 when seven children, selected at random from different parts of the world, were flown to the North Cape. Each child made a clay relief which was enlarged, cast in bronze, and erected in 1989. A statue of a mother and child was also erected in 1989 to complete the project.

We visited the North Cape Hall visitor center and the North Cape monument. We also watched the marvelous 180° panoramic film about Finmark and the North Cape in the North Cape Hall.

As we continued sailing eastward, we passed the Finnkjerka (Finn church), a unique rock formation at the entrance to a calm bay called Kjøllefjord. After passing Finn church rock, the ship’s crew offered a special Finn church celebration drink to the passengers and displayed several king crabs that had been caught earlier in the day. After a one hour stopover at Kjølleford and a 45 minute stopover at Berievåg, the weather conditions at Berievåg provided us another opportunity to see the Northern Lights.

We continued sailing southeast along the coast for a thirty minute stopover at Vadsø before arriving at Kirkenes at 9:00 AM on Friday, 28 February. Since our tour included a snowmobile safari excursion and one night at the Kirkenes Snow Hotel, we disembarked with our luggage and boarded a mini-bus to go on the snowmobile excursion. Upon arrival at the snowmobile facility, we were outfitted with thermal suits, heavy boots, helmets, and gloves before being briefed on the snowmobiles and the rules of operation. The snowmobiles had heaters that heated the handlebars as well as the area near our feet. The safari was along a frozen section of a fjord with hot beverages and dried reindeer meat served in a Sami tent. Our hosts also put on a native Sami show for our benefit.

When the snowmobile safari concluded, we were transported to the Thon Hotel Kirkenes where we stored our luggage, packed a small overnight bag, and waited for pickup by personnel of the Kirkenes Snow Hotel. We ate lunch and made use of the public computer at the Thon hotel to check-in for our SAS flight to Oslo and print our boarding passes.

The mini-bus from the Kirkenes Snow Hotel picked us up around 6:00 PM and transported us to the hotel. Upon arrival at the snow hotel, we were taken to a large Sami structure where we were briefed on the snow hotel and where each person cooked a reindeer sausage over the open fire. We then went to the snow hotel lobby area with ice tables and a round ice bar in the center where we received additional briefings and our hotel room assignments. We were assigned to Room No. 4. The rooms are connected to the lobby area by a long snow hallway with rooms located on both sides of the hallway. After locating our room, we went to the large heated service building where the use of the sleeping bags, internal sheets, sleeping caps, and additional dry socks were demonstrated. After the demonstrations, we went to the dining area where we were served dinner. After dinner we went to the service building lounge area to wait until we were ready to get our sleeping gear and go to our rooms for the night.

The hotel is reconstructed every year and is made by inflating large balloons and then blowing freshly made snow from the nearby lake over the balloons. After the snow on the balloons is several feet thick and allowed to set up, the balloons are deflated and the interior walls are carved. There are holes in the top of the internal chambers and rooms, and the rooms have only curtains at the doorways to permit air circulation within the snow structure. The temperature within the snow hotel is maintained at approximately -5° C (23° F). The snow hotel also provides saunas and showers in the service building for the guests.

I was very tired and fell asleep in a chair in the service building lounge area early in the evening. We went to bed in our snow hotel room at about 11 PM. Jan was having some difficulty breathing enough oxygen and returned to the service building around 3 AM to sleep on a sofa. I woke up several times between 4 and 5 AM because I was extremely hot in the sleeping bag and very thirsty. I finally got up at around 5 AM and went to the service building lounge area to get some coffee and wait for breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked around the grounds and visited the dog sledding dogs and the reindeer. One building adjacent to the Sami structure had a sign above the door that read “Kirkenes Snow Hotel – The World’s 25 Best New Adventures for 2008 by National Geographic.”

We were taken by bus back to the Thon Hotel Kirkenes where we repacked our luggage and called a taxi to take us to the airport to catch our SAS flight to Oslo. The flight to Oslo was uneventful, and we took the SAS airport bus back to the Thon Bristol Hotel for our last night in Norway. We had a wonderful dinner at the Bristol Grill restaurant and one last buffet breakfast at the hotel before taking the bus back to the Oslo airport. We departed Oslo on Sunday, March 2nd, on our flights back home to California.

See pictures from Norway

January 2014
West Bengal and Sikkim, India

Travel Notes

After researching a possible trip to West Bengal and Sikkim, India, for early 2014, I contacted my friend, Lily Zaho, in Australia to ask her what travel group she used for her India trip. I met her in Kajuraho, India, in 2013 while she was also doing independent travel across northern India and then on to Nepal. She said that she used the Caper Travel Company and sent me their email address. I contacted Caper Travel and we worked out a travel itinerary for a trip from Kolkata to Darjeeling and beyond into Sikkim, India.

I arrived at Kolkata, India, on Sunday, 10 January, at about 11:00 PM. After clearing immigration, I exited the terminal and located the representative from Hi-Life Tours holding a sign with my name. After a short introduction, we drove to the Fortune Park Panchwati Hotel.

After a very early breakfast on Saturday, 11 January, I went to the Kolkata airport for a domestic Spice Jet flight to Bagdogra, India. Upon arriving at Bagdora, I was introduced to Mr. Prakash who would be my driver to Darjeeling and to Gangkok. The drive to Darjeeling from Bagdogra typically takes between three to four hours through the lower Himalayas. The narrow winding mountain roads to Darjeeling range from good to very poor. We arrived at Darjeeling after dark and I checked into the Elgin Darjeeling hotel for two nights.

I requested a 4:00 AM wake up call for Sunday, 12 January, and met Prakash at 4:15 AM to drive to Tiger Hill to observe the sunrise over the Himalayas. Tiger Hill is famous for magnificent views of Mount Kanchenjunga, Mount Everest, and other eastern Himalayan peaks at sunrise. Although the temperature was below freezing, more than two hundred people braved the cold to view the sunrise. Our views during the sunrise were pretty good and certainly worth getting up early.

On the way back to the hotel for breakfast, we stopped at the Yiga Choling Old Ghoom Monastery. It is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the Darjeeling area built in the year 1850. It is about 8 km from Darjeeling and is at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet. From here we drove back to the hotel where I ate breakfast before continuing my Darjeeling sightseeing.

After breakfast, we set out to go to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and ran into traffic gridlock due to road closures for the Darjeeling Police Marathon which was in progress. We were delayed for nearly forty minutes and when the road was re-opened we were driving in traffic beside some of the slower runners in the marathon. While we were stopped in traffic en route to the HMI, I gave some water to one lady runner who asked me for some water.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was created by Tenzing Norgay and is situated within the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park. Tenzing Norgay is the Sherpa who conquered Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. Since the traffic was in a near gridlock state, Prakash parked the car and I hiked up the steep road with switchbacks to the entrance of the zoological park. The zoo was very nice and I got an opportunity to see many animals including Himalayan wolves, yak, blue sheep, and Himalayan thar as I walked to the HMI. No photography is permitted within the HMI museum and the displays of mountain climbing equipment are superb.

After hiking back down to our car, we continued to the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center which is also known as the Tibetan Handicraft Center. It is situated high up a mountain and is accessed by a very narrow and very poor winding mountain road. We were fortunate that we did not encounter any oncoming vehicles while on this road. Once we arrived at the refugee center, we discovered that it is closed on Sundays. I strolled around the center and noticed that it was very similar to the Tibetan refugee center that I visited at Pokara, Nepal, several years ago.

Our last two stops for the day were at two more Buddhist monasteries. The first was the Dunggon Samten Choling Monastery and the second was the Drux Thupten Sangag Choling Monastery. They are both situated along the road from Darjeeling to Ghoom.

During the evening, I tried to walk to Observation Hill which the hotel staff told me was a short distance up the hill from my hotel. It was dusk and almost dark when I left the hotel and I am not sure whether I ever found Observatory Hill. In any event, I passed Saint Andrew’s Church and the Ranga Mancha which was closed to the public during renovation activities. Full darkness set in and I abandoned my quest and returned to the hotel for dinner.

On Monday morning, the hotel opened the restaurant early for me to get a hot breakfast so that I could meet Prakash at 7:00 AM to go to the Darjeeling railroad station. I had a ticket for the 8:00 AM departure on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railroad (DHR) which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The DHR is commonly referred to as the “Toy Train” and is operated between Darjeeling and Ghoom (also spelled Ghum) for tourists to experience a part of Himalayan history. It is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway originally built between 1879 and 1881 that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. Its elevation varies from 100 meters (328 ft) at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 meters (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling. Daily tourist trains run between Darjeeling and Ghum (India’s highest railway station).

After some confusion, the Station Manager arrived and assured me that the train would be operating and the departure time would be delayed for about fifteen minutes. I was the only paying passenger on the train and the conductor made a special effort to show me which seat he considered to be the best. The ride to Ghoom took about an hour with a ten minute stop at the Gurkha, a War Memorial honoring Nepalese Soldiers. During the short stop at the Gurkha War Memorial in the center of the Batasia Loop Garden, I met a couple in traditional Neplalese dress and the lady posed with me for a photo beside the train.

The train operates as a round trip from Darjeeling to Ghoom with a one half hour stop at Ghoom to visit the Ghoom Toy Train museum. In addition to interior exhibits, the museum displays some old railroad cars and an old steam locomotive. Since Ghoom is on the way to Gangtok, after touring the museum, I met Prakesh to drive to Gangtok and we said good-bye to the conductor.

Gangtok is located about 90 km to the east of Darjeeling. The drive to Gangtok from Ghoom is a very interesting journey across the lower Himalaya Mountains. The roads were narrow and ranged from good to very poor. They are very scenic with many very tight switchbacks and crossed mountains and at times followed rivers. At one point, I noticed a sign showing the altitude of 6,280 feet.

We stopped for a little while at Lamahatta which is where a beautiful large Tibetan garden is located. One of the local residents took a couple of photos of me in front of the garden. Farther along we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the confluence of the Rungeet River and the Teesta River. Later we would eventually cross the Teesta River just below the confluence. Before reaching the confluence we saw very few large trucks on Highway 12 from Ghoom but beyond the confluence we encountered many large trucks on Highway 31A to Gangtok.

As we approached the checkpoint into Sikkim at Rangpo, a border official requested my passport and then directed us to an office to fill out the paperwork for the special permit needed to travel in the state of Sikkim. The Sikkim Government required photocopies of my passport and India tourist visa plus one passport photograph before filling out the permit application. Next we were directed to go to another building where officials reviewed my documentation and finally placed a Sikkim stamp in my passport and on my copy of the entry permit. With the proper documentation we were allowed to continue our journey for another forty kilometers to Gangtok. The state of Sikkim became the 22nd state of India on May 15, 1975.

I checked into the Elgin Nor-Khill hotel at Gangtok for two nights. Built by the King of Sikkim in 1932 around a beautiful garden, the Nor-Khill served as his royal guesthouse for receiving Heads of states and dignitaries. It is now a luxury hotel that continues to be frequented by many famous people.

Gangtok was a small hamlet until the Echey Monastery was built during 1840 and made it a pilgrimage center. It also became a major stopover between Tibet and British India at the end of the 19th century.

On Tuesday morning, I was provided with a new Sikkim tour registered driver for my local sightseeing because Prakesh was not allowed to do local sightseeing driving in Gangtok. I met my new driver and we went over my itinerary for the day before driving to the Echey Monastery. The current Echey Monastery was built in 1901 under the reign of Sidkeong Tulku and follows the Nyingmpa Order. Photography within the monastery proper is prohibited and the murals within are exquisite.

After leaving the monastery, we went to the Himalayan Zoological park which is located high upon a mountain. In addition to identification signs on many of the plants and trees, the zoo has many animals in natural habitat enclosures. I viewed a Himalayan black bear, a clouded leopard, and some of the birds. Since I had just been to the Darjeeling zoo, I chose not to spend very much time here.

We went from the zoo to Ganeshtok which is a very popular small Hindu temple that commands a fantastic viewpoint of Gangtok and the surrounding mountains. The Government Institute of Cottage Industries (GICI) was to be our next stop but since today was a government holiday, it was closed. The Namgyal Research Institute of Tibetology was also closed because of the holiday.

We continued on to the Palace of the Chogyal and my driver finally found someone to let us enter the grounds. The Tsuklakhang is located here and is the place where royal marriages and coronation ceremonies took place. Unfortunately, the Tsuklakhang was not open for me to be able to view the impressive collection of scriptures and images of Buddha contained within. I met a couple of young boys who took me to a pasture where a horse was grazing. When the horse began walking toward us, the boys said he was wild and they ran behind the doorway to the pasture. The horse appeared to be gentle and walked up to me for affection. After patting and rubbing him, I rejoined the boys who seemed to be in awe of my encounter with the horse. On the way out of the palace, I passed two young ladies sitting in the sunshine with a small baby. I gave one US dollar to the baby for good luck.

We continued on to the Do Drul Chorten where two large stupas are located. The Dul-dul-Chorten Stupa was built to commemorate the victory of good over evil. The Jhang Club Chorten Stupa was built to perpetuate the memory of a great spiritualist of today.

On our way to the Lal Bazaar, we stopped at the Sikkim Legislative Assembly complex and an entrance to the Nan Nand scenic viewpoint located across the road from the legislative assembly. The Nan Nand area was very beautiful with a multitude of Tibetan prayer flags among the tall trees. After walking through the Lal Bazaar area, we returned to the hotel and I said good-bye to my driver.

I met Prakesh at 7:00 AM on Wednesday morning to drive back to Badogra and catch my Spice jet flight to Kolkata. Our first stop was at the Sikkim Border Station to return my Sikkim Travel Permit prior to departing Sikkim. Our journey to Badogra would be mostly along Highway 31A to Sevoke and Highway 31C to Siliguri. Our second stop was at a viewpoint for the confluence of the Rungeet and Teesta rivers. As we continued southbound toward Badogra the road mostly followed the Teesta river and the road conditions varied from good to terrible, coupled with considerable large commercial truck traffic.

After crossing the railroad at Senoke, we exited the lower Himalaya mountains and entered mostly flatland terrain. After driving through Siliguri, the Badogra airport was a short distance in heavy traffic. My flight to Kolkata was uneventful and my driver was waiting for me at the domestic arrivals exit. The drive to the Fortune Park Panchwati Hotel took nearly one hour from the airport.

I met my driver in the morning of Thursday, 16 January, for a local tour of Kolkata. After crossing the Vidyasagar Setu Bridge into Kolkata City, we drove to the famous Kalighat Temple. There was a festival in progress. My driver accompanied me to the temple where there were throngs of people queued up waiting for an opportunity to enter the temple. While I was taking some photos of the crowds outside of the temple, a man who is a Brahman priest approached me. He said that I should follow him to a private entrance into the temple for foreigners. Although my driver appeared to be skeptical of the priest, I decided to go with him while my driver waited for me.

The priest took me to a side door to the temple and a security guard gave us access into the temple. The priest gave me a guided tour through the temple among the packed pushing and shoving crowds while warning me to be aware of pickpockets. He pointed out the temple building where animals were sacrificed. He said a sheep is sacrificed every day and the meat is cooked in the temple kitchen along with rice to provide lunch for poor people. Photography is prohibited within the temple in all areas except for the area containing the sacred bathing ghat referred to as the Kundupukur. Within the bathing ghat, the priest took a couple of photos of me at the white marble statue of a meditating Lord Shiva. I left a donation at the statue to buy rice to feed the poor before we exited the temple. We located my driver among the crowd outside the temple, and I thanked the priest for his help in making it possible to enter the temple.

South Kolkata was interesting with some tree lined streets and some side streets which appeared to be narrow and very dirty. In addition, the traffic in Kolkata was among some if the worst that I have ever experienced. It is common for people to shut down their vehicles in stopped traffic waiting for indeterminate periods of time while traffic police direct traffic at intersections. The street car rail trolley system is interesting and some trolley cars appeared to be very old.

Our second stop in Kolkata was at the Birla Temple. Since photography within the temple was prohibited, I opted to only photograph the temple exterior and to pass on visiting the interior.

En route to Kolkata Town Hall, we visited Mother House which contains Mother Teresa’s grave. We also visited St. John’s Church, a protected monument, where the caretaker turned on the lights in the church for me to take some photos. Our final two stops were at the St. Paul’s Cathedral and Victoria Memorial Hall.

Back at my hotel, I ate lunch and downloaded some photos while waiting for my very late checkout. My drive met me at 7:30 PM to go to the Kolkata airport to catch my midnight flight to Bangkok. There was moderate fog and the drive to the airport in the heavy traffic after dark was somewhat tricky. I was happy to have had a very good driver. Most flights within India are usually late arriving and departing, and my flight to Bangkok was late departing. En route to Bangkok, I reflected on what a good trip I had just completed.

October 2013
Batam, Indonesia

Travel Notes

I had been told that many people from Singapore go to Batam Island, Indonesia for short weekend trips and I decided to also visit Batam Island during my October 2013 trip to Asia. Since I already had airline tickets to Bangkok, I continued on from Bangkok to Singapore. Batam Island is approximately 12 miles south of Singapore and easily accessible by ferry.

The island of Batam is a part of the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, and is one of 3,200 islands in the province. Since Batam became part of a Special Economic Zone with Singapore in 2006, it has experienced high population growth rates. As a free trade zone, Batam has also become a major harbor and industrial zone and is the site of many factories operated by foreign companies. In addition, as a free trade zone, Batam also attracts tourists who are interested shopping for bargain prices.

On Sunday afternoon, 13 October, I took the Batam Ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in Singapore to the NongsaPura International Ferry Terminal at Batam Island, Indonesia. After disembarking from the ferry, I saw a man who was a representative of the Batam Bay View Resort. Since I had a reservation for that hotel, I approached him and gave him my confirmed reservation voucher. Although he was there to meet another couple, he immediately volunteered to assist me with my visa on arrival and then transported us to the hotel in the hotel courtesy bus.

Batam Bay View Resort is situated at a point with views across a bay toward Nagoya city to the west and across the Singapore Strait to Singapore. Nearly every room in the hotel has an ocean view. Although the resort location is close to the Nongsa International Ferry Terminal, it is more than 30 minutes by taxi to Nogoya, the largest city on Batam. There are other resorts and several very nice golf courses nearby.

After I settled into my room, I went for a walk to become familiar with the main buildings and to explore the resort grounds. There were not many people at the resort, and I enjoyed the scenery and the view across the strait to the Singapore skyline. Later I stopped by the Concierge Desk where I met Mr. Harrys Munandar. We talked about travel in general and about sights to see while at Batam.

He told me that the resort is normally crowed only on the weekends. He also said that most of the tourists come from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea. In addition, he said that most tourists come to Batam for a weekend of duty-free shopping and playing golf. I told him that I normally hire a car and driver for local sightseeing, and he said that he thought it would be possible to hire a taxi for a day once I figured out where I wanted to go and that he would accompany me as a guide. We exchanged mobile phone numbers and I booked a local city tour for the following day to get a closer look at Batam Island.

The city tour was primarily a tour for tourist shopping and some limited local sightseeing. Three other people joined me on the tour and our first stop was at a chocolate store. Other stores consisted of a spice store, several outlet stores, and a large shopping mall. Sightseeing stops included the Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Temple, the Batam Go Kart Center, and Batam Miniature House Indonesia. In addition, we ate lunch at the Golden Prawn restaurant.

The Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Temple is one of the largest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia and is reported to be the number one tourist attraction in Batam. It is located in the Batam Center area of Batam. The main chamber consists of statues of Buddha, and the side chambers feature Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) and Guan Gong deities. The temple was beautiful and had unique white statues in the large area in front of the temple.

A young couple on my tour wanted to drive Go Karts at the Batam Go Kart Center. After watching them beginning to drive the go karts, I noticed a poster advertising Batam Miniature House Indonesia. The tour guide said that it was very close and I went there while the folks continued to drive the go karts. Batam Miniature House Indonesia is a park that features replicas of 33 traditional houses from 33 provinces in Indonesia. The park has a long winding path with the 33 houses spread out at many places. The houses are made from cement and have a height of around 1.5 meters. They come from various provinces starting from Ache, Bali, Bangka-Belitung, and continuing until Maluka and Papua. I was really impressed with this park and would rate it as a must visit place when traveling to Batam Island.

We stopped for lunch at the Golden Prawn Restaurant which is advertised as one of the best seafood restaurants on Batam. We enjoyed a large multi-course seafood lunch before continuing our tour. The restaurant was huge and was not at all crowded. Although the food was good, I believe that the Amazon Restaurant adjacent to the Nongsa International Ferry Terminal served better seafood.

After returning to the hotel, I met with Harrys and we discussed a day of Batam Island sightseeing. Harrys said that he would rent a car and would drive me as well as be my guide for a full day trip. Since Harrys was a long time resident of Batam and had spent much of his life there, I knew that this arrangement would be perfect.

Harrys met me at the hotel with a late model rental SUV for our sightseeing day trip at about 9 AM. I left the itinerary of where we would visit up to him and he made sure that I received a very comprehensive sightseeing tour of Batam.

We drove first to the Kabil Industrial Park and then past the LNG Power Grid facility to the Telaga-Bunggur domestic port where he pointed out the Port Master Building. We continued on to the nearby picturesque Kampung Tua – Old Chinese Village, where we observed the Navy Post, a Chinese temple, and the Landlord’s House.

We continued on to the very large and beautiful Mesjid Raya Mosque, which we walked through. From the mosque we walked across the road to see the Mayor’s House, the Senate House, Harris Hotel, the Mega Mall, and then took some photos of the white “WELCOME TO BATAM” sign on the side of a small nearby hillside. Mr. Harrys commented that the sign is the Batam equivalent of the famous white “HOLLYWOOD” sign in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Our next stop was at the Toa Bek Kong Bio old Chinese temple. This is also a very picturesque temple and well worth a visit. Continuing on to the Nagoya business center, we stopped at the Yong Kee Istimewa Restaurant for lunch. Mr. Harrys said that this is the best local restaurant in Batam to get Batam noodles for lunch. We both had the Batam noodles, which were delicious.

After lunch, we drove past a Christian church with a gold dome that looked like it could be a mosque from a distance. We also stopped by Harrys’ motorcycle shop where he keeps the bikes that he races in competition and then visited the Tahu Saluyu Factory which makes tofu every day. It is owned and operated by Mr. Harrys’ mother. I was given two packages of freshly made tofu to take back to my hotel for the chef to prepare for me.

We drove to the KTM Resort in the Sakubang District to see the large statue of Buddha before continuing on to Sakumbang Lake which Mr. Harrys referred to as his “favorite make-out place.” Our next stop was at the Mata Lucuing mini zoo which was an interesting walk through the forest with a few animals and birds in captivity. As we continued driving toward the Barelang Bridge, we drove through the local second-hand market and past the Temiang Cemetery which was home to both Christian and Muslim gravesites.

South of Batam are several small islands that are connected by a chain of six bridges that are collectively called Barelang Bridge. In addition, “Barelang” refers to the islands themselves. Bridge No. 1, Tengku Fisabilillah, connects Batam and Tonton Island and is 642 meters long. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two pylons 118 meters high and a main span of 350 meters. It is also the most popular of the six bridges and is the one photographed for tourism brochures. Bridge No. 2 connects Tonton and Nipah Islands. Bridge No. 3 connects Nipah and Setoko Islands. Bridge No. 4 connects Setoko and Rempang Islands. Bridge No. 5 connects Rempang and Galang Islands. Bridge No. 6 connects Galang and Galang Baru Islands.

The high pylons of the Tengku Fisabilillah bridge came into view above the hills well before we arrived at the entrance to the bridge. As we crossed the bridge it reminded me a little of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA. We stopped on Bridge No. 2 to take some photos of the Tengku Fisabilillah bridge before continuing the drive South.

After crossing Bridge No. 5 to Galang Island, we visited the Galang Refugee Camp. The Galang Refugee Camp accommodated Indochinese refugees from 1979 until 1996. Approximately 250,000 refugees passed through this camp. The camp had two sections: Camp One and Camp Two. Camp One was for newly arrived refugees, those who had not yet been approved for resettlement in the United Stares or another third country settlement. After approval, refugees were transferred to Camp Two where they received instructions in English as well as cultural information regarding life in the main resettlement countries. Camp Two also housed Cambodians who had been camped and approved in Thailand. Policing was done by the Indonesian Police, while caseworkers and legal officers from participating countries and the United Nations came in as needed.

After crossing Bridge No. 5, we arrived at the refugee camp during the late afternoon. The sign at the entrance to the Galang Refugee Camp refers to the camp as Camp Vietnam Galang Island. As we drove through the camp I was amazed at the large area encompassed by Camp Vietnam. In addition to the buildings and a refugee graveyard, some of the boats used to transport refugees were on display. There is also a small museum in one of the administration buildings. We arrived at the museum just as it was about to close and the caretakers kept it open for us to tour the museum. This is an interesting place to visit, and I wished that I had more time to walk around the camp.

Instead of going on to Bridge No. 6, we drove west across large hills to the Mirota Resort located on a beach to watch the sunset. Mr. Harrys said that before a change in the governing officials, this area was to become home to a large casino, which is why the resort was built. After a new Government official arrived, however, he cancelled the casino plans and this resort now continues to struggle; it has no restaurant, but very nice sunsets.

Dusk arrived as we began our journey back to Batam Island. Along the way, we passed fresh water fish farms and stopped at one farm to look at some Dragon Fruit plants. As we approached the Tengku Fisabilillah bridge, Harrys stopped and we each purchased an ear of freshly grilled sweet corn with a spicy sauce. We stopped in the middle of the bridge and ate our ears of corn before continuing to Batam.

As we approached the city, Harrys took me to Satay Paradise where I ate lamb satay for dinner while he had the chicken satay. After dinner, I noticed a shop that sells perfume refills – a first for me.

Before returning to the hotel, we visited the Waterfront City area, the night market, the Regatta Kids Park, and the Nagoya Entertainment District, which Mr Harrys referred to as “white guys’ village.” As we got close to the hotel, we stopped at a Chinese Cemetery on top of a high hill and looked at the view of Batam at night including the illuminated white “WELCOME TO BATAM” hillside sign. Our last stop of the night was in an old village where there is only one house that is constructed on stilts, and I took my last photo of the full day trip with Mr. Harrys.

After returning to the hotel at about 9:30 PM, I placed the tofu in the refrigerator in my room and all I could say was “WOW, what a great day trip we had!” The following day, Harrys came to my room and we went through my photos from the day before to properly identify each photo. That evening, the chef at the hotel dining room cooked the freshly made tofu from Mr. Harrys’ mom’s factory, and it was very good.

Meeting Harrys was the highlight of my trip to Batam, and I continue to keep in touch with him. He was trained as a chef and served as a chef on cruise ships. He returned to Batam and has a travel website for adventure travel in addition to being the concierge at the Batam Bay View Resort. His email address is h.r.harrysmunandar@gmail.com.

Harrys arranged for my ferry return ticket boarding pass to Singapore and accompanied me to the Nongsa International Ferry Terminal on the morning that I departed Batam Island to return by ferry to Singapore to catch my flight to Bangkok.

See pictures from Batam

October 2013
Cambodia

Travel Notes

Once I arrived at Bangkok on my flight from Singapore during the afternoon of 19 October, I needed to figure out where I wanted to go while I was still in Asia. I had originally planned to go to Pakse, Laos, and points south including the archaeological ruins nearby and the waterfalls on the Mekong River. But while I was at Batam Island, Indonesia, a plane operated by Laos Airline crashed into the Mekong River just north of Pakse. Consequently, I decided that Pakse would be overcrowded with people investigating the airplane accident and not a good place to visit at this time.

While spending two nights near Bangkok International Airport, I finally decided to go to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I had met a man on my flight from Bangkok to Singapore who said that Phnom Penh was a good tourist destination and that the Riverfront area of the city was quite nice. I booked both my flights from Bangkok to Phnom Penh and an inexpensive hotel in the Riverfront area on the Internet.

I flew to Phnom Penh on Monday, 21 October. After obtaining my visa on arrival at the airport and clearing immigration, I took a taxi to the Queens Wood hotel in the Riverfront area. The taxi was a nice Toyota Camry with good air conditioning, and the driver said that he always uses this particular taxi. During the taxi ride to the hotel, I asked him about day trips out of Phnom Penh that were listed on a brochure in the taxi. He described one to Chiso Mountain with a stopover at the Killing Fields on the way back to Phnom Penh that appealed to me, and I reserved that daytrip with him for later in the week. When we arrived at the hotel, he gave me his card with his phone number and then waited until I checked in so that he could also contact me at the hotel.

The hotel could use a facelift but would be adequate during my stay in Phnom Penh. It had a breakfast room restaurant off the ground floor lobby where a simple buffet breakfast was served daily. It also had a restaurant on the eighth floor with a nice view overlooking the city. My room was a corner room with a large double bed, thermostat controlled air conditioning, a refrigerator, a hot water kettle, WiFi, en suite facilities, and an in-room safe. It also had good city views from the two corner windows.

After settling into my room, I went for a walk to explore the neighborhood and to purchase some extra water for my refrigerator. I walked through a large local market area near the hotel and then explored the Riverfront area from the Night Market to 178 Street. The man on the flight to Singapore was correct when he said that this area of Phnom Penh was very nice. The Riverfront area occupies a portion of the Daun Penh District of Phnom Penh adjacent to the Ton Le Sap River near where it joins the Mekong River. It extends west from the river into the city for approximately three city blocks. There is a spacious public area between the river and Preah Sisowath Quay, the main street adjacent to the buildings facing the river, and it is popular with people both during the day and after dark. Numerous nice hotels, restaurants, and shops are located here.

I spent Tuesday morning walking for several kilometers and exploring the area along the river from the Night Market to the Samdech Chuon Nath statue. I admired the architecture of the Royal Palace, temples, monuments, and many of the public and private buildings. The Dorngkeur God Prayong complex is adjacent to the river opposite the Royal Palace Park. It is beautiful, and there were people paying to set caged birds free – some of the literature states that the birds are trained to fly back to their cages. I also walked through several parks and greenbelt areas that included the Royal Palace Park and Kron Ngoy Gardens. It is nice to find an area where you can enjoy walking both during the day and at night.

After lunch, I spent time at the Wat Ounalom temple while I waited for the Royal Palace afternoon tour to open. The Royal Palace complex which includes the Silver Pagoda, is spectacular and should not be missed when visiting Phnom Penh. The Silver Pagoda, officially known as Preah Vihear Prea Keo Morakot, is the official temple of the king of Cambodia and contains many national treasures of Cambodia. Among the treasures are gold and jeweled Buddha statues, including the 17th century baccarat crystal Buddha, the “Emerald Buddha of Cambodia,” and the life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9,584 diamonds. The largest diamond is 25 carats and the gold Buddha weighs 90kg.

I met my driver for my Wednesday daytrip to Chiso Mountain. On the way to the mountain, I was able to get a close look at other areas of Phnom Penh which were much more typical of an ordinary Southeast Asian city. My driver informed me that there were on-going demonstrations by people protesting the recent Government elections. After passing several security checkpoints, we were forced to detour along tiny one-lane roads. Security forces had closed the main highway to deter country-side people from traveling to Phnom Penh presumably to participate in the political protests. After circumventing the checkpoint roadblock, we returned to the main highway and continued on to Chiso Mountain.

My driver told me that the villagers near Chiso Mountain specialized in cooking fresh chickens and recommended that we eat lunch there. I told him that I would like my chicken grilled, and he said that he would order lunch while I went sightseeing. I had requested that he purchase water before he picked me up because Cambodians can purchase water much cheaper than foreigners. People hiring a car and driver in Cambodia should always have the driver purchase the water for the trip.

Chiso Mountain is located 62 kilometers south of Phnom Penh and is the home of the Phnom Chiso ancient Hindu temple built in the 11th century. Phnom Chiso is located on top of Chiso Mountain and shares the top of the mountain with recent Buddhist temple structures.

According to the literature, most people who visit Phnom Chiso choose the easier climb of about 180 steps via the northern entrance and descend via the southern entrance. My driver took me to the southern entrance stairway with 412 steps and waited while I climbed to the top to visit Phnom Chiso temple. Once I arrived at the top of the mountain, I began exploring the Buddhist temples where I met a young lady who began to show me around. She also took photos of me at various places. Although she could use some refinement of her photography skills, I was very happy to have her accompany me.

Phnom Chiso is the highlight of the 380 meter high mountain. The original name of the temple was Sri Suryaparvata. It was built in the 11th century of laterite and bricks with carved sandstone lintels by the Khemer Empire King Suryavarman I who practiced Brahmanism. It faces to the East with ancient laterite steps descending straight down the side of the mountain to the plain below and toward a building known as Son Reveang, which is now used as a Buddhist place of worship. Beyond Son Reveang is Tonle Om, the baray of the temple. The views from Phnom Chiso are stunning. Although Phnom Chiso is damaged, it is very photogenic and a delight to explore. Now that I have visited Phnom Chiso, I would very much like to explore the plains area to the East of Chiso Mountain on a return visit to Cambodia.

Once I completed my visit to Phnom Chiso and the adjacent temples, I said good-bye to my friend and gave her a nice tip for her guide services. The climb down the southern stairs was uneventful and my driver was waiting for me with lunch. Lunch consisted of a rather small chicken that had been grilled and a large bowl of cooked green beans. We ate lunch at a sheltered structure while we watched local villagers slaughter more chickens – at least, we knew that our grilled chicken was indeed fresh. The lunch was good but it was also grossly overpriced. I would recommend that if someone visits Chiso Mountain, they might want to consider skipping the fresh chicken lunch offering at the southern entrance to the mountain.

After lunch we began the return journey back toward Phnom Penh. We had passed an interesting Buddhist temple complex on our way to Chiso Mountain. It was situated several kilometers to the northwest of Chiso Mountain, and I asked my driver to stop there on our way back to Phnom Penh. Within the Buddhist temple complex is Prasat Neang Khmau, two ancient brick prasats that were built in the Angkorian-era in the 10th century under King Jayavarman IV and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. This temple complex was picturesque and well worth a short visit.

As we continued on the main highway toward Phnom Penh, I noticed that security personnel no longer occupied any of the prior checkpoints along the highway.

Our final stop was at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, which is located roughly 17 km south of Phnom Penh. According to the literature, it is best-known of the more than 300 sites known as the “The Killing Fields” where the Khmer Rouge executed over one million people between 1975 and 1979. It was an orchard and a Chinese graveyard prior to becoming a mass grave site containing more than 8,895 bodies. Most of the original buildings were destroyed by angry Cambodians after the site was discovered following the defeat of the Khmer Rouge by the communist Vietnamese army during 1979. A Buddhist stupa with transparent acrylic sides has been erected to house human skulls and bones exhumed from the mass graves – it contains more than 8,000 human skulls. At one corner of the site, there is a museum that has a video presentation in addition to static exhibits.

Each visitor is provided with a brochure and an individual audio player with earphones. The site includes 19 locations keyed to the audio tour and also has signs in both English and Khmer. In addition, the audio tour also included survivor stories that can be played at any time during the tour. Most of the people brutally executed here had been transported from the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh which today is known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

I spent Thursday morning at the National Museum of Cambodia. This museum has magnificent artifacts from all over Cambodia and is another “must-see” attraction when visiting Phnom Penh. Before entering the museum, I walked around the outer perimeter of the building to see the statues and artifacts on display outside. Photography within the museum is prohibited but a photo pass can be purchased that allows visitors to take photos in the open central courtyard area. I purchased a wonderful book at the museum gift shop that features many of the best museum artifacts.

After a late lunch on Thursday, I returned to my hotel and spent the remainder of the afternoon downloading and editing photos. I also spent some time on the Internet deciding where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see on Friday, my last day in Phnom Penh.

I traveled by “tuk tuk” on Friday from my hotel to Wat Phnom. Wat Phnom stands on the only hill in Phnom Penh and is the tallest religious structure in the city. It was originally built in 1373 and stands 27 meters above the ground. Legend has it that Daun Penh, a wealthy widow, found a large koki tree in the river and inside the tree were four bronze statues of Buddha. Lady Penh constructed a small shrine on top of an artificial hill made by the people living in the village. The structure has been built and rebuilt several times. Wat Phnom is the center of celebration during the Khmer New Year and Pehum Ben.

After visiting Wat Phnom, I went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was known as Office 21 and was called S-21 Prison under the Khmer Rouge from 1975 until 1979. It was originally the Tuol Sleng Primary School and Tuol Svay Prey High School. Office 21 was created under orders of Pol Pot on 17 April 1975 and designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture, and killing after confessions from the detainees were received and documented. The brochure from the museum states that an estimated 20,000 people were imprisoned here. Typical imprisonment lasted two to four months and political prisoners were held between six and seven months. Many of the prisoners from here were transported to the Choeung Ek killing field. The museum has displays of torture techniques employed by the Khmer Rouge, photos and documents of many of the prisoners, photos of the Khmer Rouge leaders, and many other historical photos of Phnom Penh and the killing fields. In retrospect, I believe that it would have been better if I had visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum before visiting the Choeung Ek Genocide Museum.

After leaving the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, I asked my “tuk tuk” driver to go to the traffic circle where the Independence Monument is located and then eastbound along Neak Banh Teuk Park. While driving past the park, we passed a large group of security personnel resting in the park with their riot shields stacked together on the grass. There is another traffic circle at the eastern end of the park where the Samdech Chuon Nath statue is located.

Since this was my last day in Cambodia, I went one last time to the Pop Café Restaurant which was my favorite restaurant in Phnom Penh. It is an authentic Italian restaurant where I noticed a man eating a wonderful looking pizza at a small table in front of the restaurant as I was looking for dinner one evening. The restaurant was very nice and the food was delicious. It is managed by a lady named Davy and a customer volunteered to take a photo of me with Davy and her staff during my last dinner in Cambodia.

I flew to Bangkok the next morning and spent the night near the Bangkok International Airport before catching my early morning flight back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Cambodia

September 2013
Dubai

Travel Notes

After flying all night from Washington, DC, I arrived at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, 12 September 2013, at about 3:30 PM. The main objective of my long weekend trip was to determine if the Dubai International Airport might be a good choice as a place for me to connect to other places in southern Europe, the Middle East, and possibly India.

After clearing Dubai immigration, I located an ATM in the shopping area adjacent to immigration and obtained some local currency, the Emirate Dirham which is commonly referred to as AED or DHS. I proceeded outside of the terminal to the taxi stand to get a local taxi. However, when I reached the podium where the man was directing people to the taxis, he directed me to a man with a Mercedes who took me to my hotel.

I had booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express Jumeirah hotel near Jumeirah Beach. When we arrived at the hotel, I was concerned that the hotel appeared to be situated in an industrial area some distance from a typical downtown location. After checking into my room, I decided to relax and unwind from more than twenty-three hours of flying. The view from my room looked toward the Persian Gulf and the Drydocks World - Dubai facility. The shipyard is the largest facility in the Middle East and is the flagship company of the Dubai World subsidiary Drydocks World. Some of the workers at the shipyard were also staying at the hotel.

When I went to see about finding a restaurant for dinner, the hotel staff directed me to the large hotel restaurant which offered a full buffet dinner for 69 AED, including beverages. The buffet consisted of soup, salad bar, a variety of main dishes from different countries, and deserts. Many of the shipyard workers ate dinner there, and the buffet served different main dishes every evening. I was very happy with the inexpensive buffet dinner and ate there every evening.

The next day was Friday, and I learned that some local tours do not operate on Friday. I spent time on Friday looking at different sightseeing options and met Mr. Waqas Rehman, who was in charge of the tour desk at the hotel representing Asia Pacific Travels & Tourism. I booked a Dubai City tour with him for Saturday. He is also the owner of EMAL Magazine.

The Dubai City tour took about six hours and was very well done. A small van picked me up at my hotel on Saturday morning and drove to Dubai Creek where we joined another group of people in a larger bus. Dubai Creek is a saltwater creek that ends at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. It was dredged to become a harbor for Dubai and it remains the home of smaller port facilities, such as Port Saeed. We continued from Dubai Creek to the Al Fahidi Fort in Bastakia. The fort is over 180 years old and also the home of the Dubai Museum. The museum extends underground and has wonderful exhibits of early times in Dubai.

Our next stop was at the large gold souk where many shops displayed elaborate gold jewelry. One shop displayed an enormous gold ring that is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest golden ring. The current price of gold was posted by carat per gram at locations throughout the gold souk. I was also impressed with the elaborate shoes and clothing for women on display in the gold souk.

We continued on to the Grand Jumeirah Mosque and Jumeriah Beach, where we were able to photograph the famous Burj Al Arab hotel, before continuing to the Madinath Jumeriah resort complex, where we made a quick u-turn in the first entrance driveway. We proceeded to the famous man-made island, The Palm. We stopped for photos at the ocean side of the Atlantis hotel at the far end of The Palm. The Atlantis, The Palm hotel, is frequently referred to as being the only seven-star hotel in the world. There are lunch and dinner tours available for people who want to enter the hotel.

We continued on to Burj Khalife, the tallest structure in the world, standing 2,722 feet tall with more than 160 floors. We were only able to photograph Burj Khalife from a distance. There are also special Burj Khalife tours available for people who want to visit the building.

The city tour made me realize that Dubai City is large and many of the luxury hotels are situated in different sections of the city requiring a car or taxi to go from place to place. After returning to my hotel, I no longer had reservations about the hotel location and enjoyed my stay there. The hotel also granted me a 6:00 PM late checkout for Sunday.

While on the city tour, I received an SMS text message from the tour office that I had requested an Internet booking for an East Coast tour for Sunday, September15. The SMS text confirmed my request and, after returning to my hotel, I formally booked the tour by email. The tour normally required a minimum of two people but, since I was alone, my booking involved paying some additional AED.

On Sunday morning, Rahaman picked me up in a Toyota Fortuner SUV, and we set out to visit the East Coast. The journey to the East Coast began with a golden sand dune landscape that changed to a flat landscape with acacia trees and finally morphed into rugged mountains before reaching the East Coast seaside. After passing through the oasis town of Dhaid, we stopped at the Friday Market, which is now open seven days a week. We continued eastbound through Masafi and stopped at a mountain scenic overlook area near Masafi. We branched off onto the Masafi-Dibbah road and drove northeast to the fishing village of Dibbah, which is adjacent to the border checkpoint with Oman to the north. After walking to the beach at Dibbah, we continued southbound along the Gulf of Oman shoreline and stopped at the town of Khorfkhan, where we had a wonderful lunch at a small local restaurant.

After lunch, we continued southbound to Madha, which is an enclave of Oman. We stopped to buy gasoline for our car at a popular gas station in Madha. Rahaman gave me the receipt for our gas purchase within the Sultanate of Oman. After our brief foray into Oman, we continued southbound to the Al Badiyah Mosque, the oldest known mosque in the UAE. As we approached Fujairah, we passed the enormous oil exporting facility that was built to export oil to Europe. The oil is transported by pipeline across the UAE to this facility. This facility allows the UAE oil to be exported from the Gulf of Oman rather than the Persian Gulf.

Upon arrival at Fujairah, we stopped at the Fujairah Fort. We walked around the outer perimeters of the fort but were not able to enter the fort. Rahaman also took me to visit his sister’s home in Fujairah for tea and banana chips before returning to Dubai City; it was so kind of him to take me there.

The East Coast tour gave me the opportunity to see more of the United Arab Emirates than just the opulence of Dubai City. It also showed me that the individual emirates were not contiguous entities but were disjointed local areas within the UAE. During the East Coast tour, we drove through Dubai Emirate, Sharjah Emirate, Ras al-Khairmah Emirate, Fujairah Emirate, and into the Madha enclave of Oman.

After retuning to my hotel, I packed for traveling, checked out, and ate one last buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant before taking a local taxi to the airport. After checking into my flight and clearing airport security, I settled into my very long flight which departed Dubai at 12:10 AM on Monday, September 16, en route to Washington, DC. It was an interesting long weekend trip, and I look forward to returning to the UAE at some time in the future.

See pictures from Dubai

August 2013
Datong, China

Travel Notes

After flying all night, I arrived at Datong, China, on Sunday, 4 August 2013, at about 8:30 AM. On my flight to Beijing, Peng, a wonderful Air China flight attendant from Chongqing, gave a stuffed Air China baby dragon to me. I viewed the baby dragon to be a good luck charm for my upcoming China travel. When I arrived at Datong, I found a local security person who directed me to a local taxi driver.

Although the taxi driver did not speak English, I gave him the address of my hotel in Datong in Chinese and he took me directly to the hotel. En route to the hotel, he handed me a laminated plastic guide to local Datong tourist attractions. Since several of the attractions were on my list, I pointed to a couple and he pointed to three in a circular motion and wrote 400 Yuan on a scrap of paper. I now had a benchmark for approximate costs for a taxi tour with non-English speaking taxi driver. I took his mobile phone number in case I decided to call him for his services.

I arrived at the Holiday Inn Datong City Center hotel around 9:00 AM and was informed that my room would not be available for another thirty minutes. The hotel guest services manager escorted me to a lounge area in the lobby and, after bringing me a cup of freshly ground coffee, we discussed the possibilities of her lining up a car and driver with an English speaking guide for multiple day trips in the vicinity of Datong, including the Yungang Grottoes and Mount Heng (Hengshan).

She called a local tour person and informed me that the cost of a car with English speaking driver for a full day would be 500 Yuan and an English speaking tour guide would be an additional 200 Yuan. Since I had been traveling all night, I asked her to inform the driver to meet me at the hotel the following morning at 8:00 AM to plan travel for that day and possibly several additional days. I spent the remainder of Sunday resting and exploring the area adjacent to the hotel.

I met with the taxi driver and the hotel guest services manager on Monday morning at 8:00 AM, and I decided to go first to the Yungang Grottoes which are located at the foot of Mount Wushou. The grottoes are described as being the earliest and largest Buddha statue complex preserved in China. According to the literature, the Northern Wei Dynasty was established at the time that the practice of carving Buddha statues in grottoes was being spread eastward from India. In AD 439, Emperor Tai-wu conquered Liangzhou (the area west of the yellow river in present-day Gansu) and many monks, craftsmen, and common people were forced to move to the capital Pingchen (present-day Datong). This helped to spread Buddhism eastward.

When Emperor Wen-cheng came to the throne, he revived the practice of Buddhism. In AD 460, by order of Emperor Wen-cheng, the eminent monk Tanyao, as a supervisor, had five grottoes excavated, called “The Five Grottoes of Tan-yao.” Over the next sixty-years, the gigantic project of Yungang Grotto Complex was completed. It stretched over 15 kilometers from east to west.

The present-day Yungang Grottoes stretch one kilometer from east to west. More than 1,100 grottoes and nitches with 51,000-odd statues have been preserved. There are fifty-three major grottoes. In 1961, The State Council entered the Yungang Grottoes as the focal protection historical relics nationwide. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were named as the “World Cultural Inheritance” by the UNESCO.

My taxi driver’s name was Mr. Wang, and his English was very good. As we drove to the Yungang Grottoes he informed me that, since I was older than 65 years, upon presenting my passport I would be granted free admission to all China tourist attractions excluding transportation services. Upon arrival at the Yungang Grottoes, I presented my passport and was granted free admission. China is one of the only countries that I am aware of that has this policy that includes foreigners.

As I walked toward the grottoes, I first toured the Ling Yan Temple complex. It was a very impressive complex and a bonus for my visit to the grottoes. As I exited the Ling Yan Temple, I visited the ShiGu Cool Spring and walked through the gateway to the footpath to the grottoes. I began my grotto visit at Cave No. 1 and then continued in increasing sequential order as I explored the grottoes. Cave No. 3 is the largest grotto and contains a ten-meter high main Buddha statue with attendant Bodhisattvas on both sides in the back chamber. Cave No. 6 is the best preserved grotto at Yungang but was closed to the public during my visit. Caves 9 to 13 were also closed to the public for maintenance during my visit.

Caves 16 thru 20 are “The Five Grottoes of Tan-yao.” The main statues in these grottoes are respectively 13.6 to 16.8 meters high. According to the literature, the main statues in these five grottoes were carved after the images of the first five emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty – thus they are Buddha figures and human figures as well. Cave 20 was unique among these five caves in that the Buddha statue was exposed to the outside environment whereas the Buddha statues in Caves 16 thru 19 are contained within excavated grottoes behind doorway openings.

I continued exploring the grottoes until I arrived at Cave 41 where I found Caves 41 to 45 to be closed to the public. I then visited the Yungang Museum Exhibition Hall of Northern Wei Dynasty which had very good exhibits. One exhibit highlighted different additional grotto sites in the adjacent Gansu province. I took a photo of that exhibit and later researched those grotto sites on the Internet after returning to my hotel room. I was very interested in visiting the Maiji Mountain Grottoes but they were too far away for a long day trip from Datong – they will go on my short list for future China travel. Instead of going directly to the exit, I returned to the grottoes and walked back along them retracing my visit for a final look at the Yungang Grottoes.

Back at my car, Mr. Wang and I decided to travel farther north to the Outer Great Wall near Zhen Chuan village. This was actually the first time that I realized that there was an Outer Great Wall as well as an Inner Great Wall. The city of Datong is situated between the Inner and Outer Great Walls. The Outer Great Wall served as the “national boundary” and dividing line between the agricultural nationalities and the nomadic nationalities. The Inner Great Wall was the second line of defense.

Although most of the highways in the vicinity of Datong were quite good, the drive to the Outer Great Wall took well over an hour over some really poor areas of highway. The Outer Great Wall was an earthen structure with earthen watchtowers along both sides of the main wall. The remains of the wall were visible coming across the flat land to the east and continuing up and over mountains to the west. A small village was built along the southern portion of a remaining section of the wall. After I walked through the village and along a portion of the wall, I returned to my car for our drive back to my hotel.

On Tuesday morning, August 6, I met Mr. Wang at 7:30 AM to go south to Heng Mountain (Hengshan). The weather forecast called for rain by the afternoon. I was informed that the Hanging Temple that I had planned to visit had been closed for maintenance following some sort of rock slide problem and that I would only be able to view it from a distance. In addition, I was informed that the cableway at Hengshan had also been closed for maintenance. I decided to continue to Hengshan anyway, and we traveled very good highways for our journey.

The Hanging Temple is located on the sheer cliff of the Golden Dragon Gorge at Hengshan Mountain. The temple is 1,500 years old and was built during 471 and 523 of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is considered to be the number one wonder of Hengshan. The gate faces south and there are forty halls, towers, and pavilions in the temple. The temple contains more than 80 statues of bronze, iron, clay, and stone.

As we approached Hengshan, I was able to observe people actually visiting the Hanging Temple. When we arrived at the parking area for the temple, we found that today was the first day that the temple re-opened following the rock slide problem. What a lucky break for me as the morning sun pattern was perfect for photos of the temple. I hiked up to the temple and through the temple while meeting many Chinese people who wanted photos with me. During my visit to the temple, the clouds began forming and it began to look like rain might be imminent.

Despite the clouds, after visiting the Hanging Temple, I decided to continue on to the cableway to verify that it was still closed for maintenance. Much to our surprise, we found the cableway to be operating. Today was also the first day that the cableway had re-opened after maintenance. Mr. Wang could hardly believe just how lucky I had been with both the Hanging Temple and the Hengshan Cableway. I attribute part of my luck to the Air China Baby Dragon that Peng had given to me on my Air China flight to Beijing. Hengshan is the northern-most of China’s five sacred mountains. I hiked Haushan, the western-most of the five sacred mountains, about a year ago. Hengshan will be my second sacred mountain in China.

As we drove up the mountain road to the Hengshan Square parking area, the clouds began to dissipate and we once again had bright sunshine. I took the cableway about half-way up the mountain to the Hengshan station and began hiking around Hengshan to enjoy the stunning views and visit many of the structures, palaces, and temples on the mountain. After hiking around Hengshan to the Sister-in-Law Cliff and the Deyi Nunnery temple, I returned to the cableway for the ride back down to visit a temple adjacent to the parking area.

With bright sunshine prevailing, we decided to visit the Sakya Pagoda in Yingxian County which was built during the second year of the Liao Dynasty. The tourist literature describes Sakya Pagoda as the largest pure wood construction still existing in the world. The pagoda is 67.31 meters high and weighs more than 7,000 tons. There are more than 40 murals and statues within the pagoda, and interior photography is prohibited.

After such good luck with the weather, the Hanging Temple, and the Hengshan cableway, I decided to take the following day, Wednesday, as a relaxing day at the hotel to work on editing photos. This turned out to be another lucky decision as it rained all day Wednesday. I arranged for Mr. Wang to meet me on Thursday morning for some Datong City local sightseeing.

Datong City has had a history of coal mining for several hundred years and has recently been taking steps to improve the air and environmental quality of the city. Many industries are moving or have already relocated to industrial parks away from Datong City. It appeared to me that coal production activities, including associated coal trucking and coal rail hauling, are being cut back with an emphasis on environmental quality and green energy. Mr. Wang explained to me that what appeared to be a modern nuclear power plant complex was actually producing electricity by coal and there was not a trace of smoke in the air. There is also an emphasis on solar and wind turbine production for electricity. In any event, I was surprised that the Datong City air quality was quite good.

Datong City has also embarked on the construction of a new wall around the old city area of Datong, complete with and exterior moat. Remnants of what appeared to be portions of the old earthen city wall still remain near the new city wall construction. Many new low rise buildings have been constructed facing new wide streets. Portions of the old city residential areas remain in areas behind the new low rise buildings. Outside the city walled area is the area of the new city with high rise office and residential buildings.

Mr. Wang met me Thursday morning, and we set off for some local Datong City sightseeing. Our first stop was at the entrance to a pedestrian street. Mr. Wang told me to walk along the street more than 100 meters to the Kungzi Temple, a Confucian temple. Upon arriving at the temple, I was impressed at the immense size of the temple complex and the beauty of the structures, murals, and statues. While walking back to my car, I met a beautiful young Chinese lady dressed in red who posed for me to photograph her; she became my favorite person photo of this trip to China.

Our next stop was at the Drum Tower, a local landmark in the middle of the intersection of four major streets near the center of the old city area. We continued on to visit the Huayan Monastery which Mr. Wang referred to as the city Temple. It faced a beautiful large square with a beautiful fountain. The monastery was also a very large and beautiful temple complex. Actually, all of the temple complexes that I visited in Datong City were very large with beautiful murals and statues.

We continued on to visit the famous Nine Dragon Screen which is one of several dragon screens that are situated within Datong City. Before finishing our local sightseeing tour, we visited the Fuhua Temple complex, the Five Dragon Screen, the Shanhua Monastery, and a mosque.

The following day, I decided to spend most of the day walking around the old part of Datong City. I walked along part of the new city wall and remnants of the old city wall. I walked along small older streets through portions of the old city residential areas. While walking through the old city, I came across two more temple complexes off the beaten path – the Dijun Temple and the Guandi Temple. Both of these temples were very beautiful, and I was glad that I discovered them.

I departed Datong on Sunday, August 11, to continue on to Thailand before returning home. Although several people had told me to expect much air pollution at Datong, I found it to have pretty good air quality. It is obvious that the Chinese Government is making strides to make Datong City a good place to live and to visit.

See pictures from Datong

See pictures from Alaska

May 2013
Alaska

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at Anchorage, Alaska, late at night on Saturday, May 18th, and took a taxi to an Anchorage hotel. The following morning we took a bus to Seward, Alaska, to board the cruise ship ZAANDAM for an Inside Passage cruise to Vancouver, B.C. The bus stopped at several sightseeing spots along the highway to Seward designed to time the bus arrival with the ship’s scheduled boarding time. One stop was at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. While walking around the center, we saw many animals including moose, elk, caribou, musk oxen, a porcupine, black bears, brown bears, Sitka black tailed deer, wood bison, and a lynx.

We arrived at Seward at about 1:00 PM on May 19th and boarded the ZAANDAM. We had a cabin toward the bow of the ship with a large window that faced the promanade deck and was very near to the passenger lifts to the other deck levels. The ship departed Seward that evening and began sailing in a southeast direction. After the information and mandatory safety briefings, we settled in for our cruise to Vancouver. Since we had requested open seating, we had the freedom to dine in different restaurants at times of our choosing and to sit with many different people – a great way to make new acquaintances.

We spent Monday, May 20th, at sea and arrived at Glacier Bay during the morning of May 21st. Several USA National Park rangers boarded the ship and we spent the day cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. While in Glacier Bay, we stopped in front of the Margerie Glacier and turned around in front of the Grand Pacific Glacier adjacent to the border with Canada. After dropping off the park rangers, we sailed during the night up the Lynn Canal arriving at Haines, Alaska, on the morning of May 22nd.

We disembarked at Haines and visited Fort Seward, the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, and the American Bald Eagle Foundation. The American Bald Eagle Foundation has two Bald Eagles that are fed two times a day with visitor viewing and several other birds as well as a wonderful display of preserved wildlife that included fish, mammals, and birds common to Alaska.

We re-boarded the ship and began cruising onwards to Juneau, the capital of Alaska, arriving at Juneau on the morning of May, 23rd. After disembarking from the ship, we rode the Mount Robert’s tramway to the top of Mount Roberts where we hoped to hike a couple of trails. We soon found that the trails were closed due to late winter snowfalls. The complex at the top of the tramway had a beautiful female bald eagle, shops, a theater, and a restaurant. We saw a wonderful performance by the Alaska String Band, a family of Alaskan musicians.

After descending back to Juneau on the tramway, we walked around Juneau city admiring the architecture, the four storey totem pole, and the State Capital Building. We also visited the library where we used the library Wi-Fi to catch up on our e-mails.

The ship departed Juneau that evening and we arrived at Ketchikan during the morning of May 24th. We disembarked from the ship and caught a complimentary shuttle bus to the Totem Heritage Center which houses a marvelous collection of 19th century totem poles and other carvings retrieved during the 1970s from abandoned Tlingit Indian villages. The Indians moved to Ketchikan at the beginning of the 20th century in order to be near schools, churches, and the canneries, mines, and sawmills that offered employment. We then returned to downtown Ketchikan and walked along historic Creek Street which I found to be a very photographic area. We visited Dolly’s House, the home of Dolly Arthur who was Ketchikan’s most famous madam in the heyday of Creek Street. We continued touring downtown Ketchikan and visited the Tongass Historical museum before attending the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show.

We departed Ketchikan during the evening and continued cruising toward the Inside Passage and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We cruised through the Inside Passage on May 25th and arrived at Vancouver on Sunday morning, May 26th.

After disembarking from the ship and clearing Canada Customs on Sunday morning, we boarded the Quick Shuttle bus to Bellingham, Washington. After clearing USA Customs at the border we arrived at the Bellingham Airport where we took another bus to Anacortes, Washington, and took a ferry to Orcas Island to visit with friends.

Although it rained nearly every day that we were at Orcas Island, we had a wonderful visit with our friends until we departed on May 30th to continue our journey to visit with friends at Federal Way, Washington. During our visit at Federal way, we went to Tacoma, Washington, on Friday night, May 31st to see the Tacoma Glass Museum at night. The Bridge of Glass was magnificent to view at night as were the other outdoor displays at the museum.

After another wonderful visit with friends, we flew home to Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, June 2nd.

See pictures from Dazu County, China

April 2013
Dazu County, China

Travel Notes

I originally planned to travel to Pakse, Laos, and vicinity during April 2013 and had booked my flights to Bangkok but had not made any other bookings for southern Laos. While flying to Hanoi in March, I noticed that Air Asia had a nonstop flight from Bangkok to Chongqing, China, and decided to go to China instead of Laos and return to Thailand for the Songkran Festival. Chongqing is near Dazu County where the Dazu Rock Carvings are located. Since I had recently added these rock carvings to my short list of places to visit, I booked the Air Asia flights and hotel accommodations in Chongqing when I returned home from Vietnam.

I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on 3 April 2013 for my flights to Bangkok and was selected for a random check by the TSA after successfully passing through the security screening machine. The random check consisted of wiping my hands with cloth-like strips and placing the strips in a machine. When the strips from my hands were placed in the machine, a red sign illuminated indicating the presence of explosives. From that point on, I was subjected to a thorough search of my hand-carry luggage with wipe-downs of my belongings and then a thorough “pat-down search” of my body – just short of a “strip-search.” When the TSA failed to find anything incriminating in my luggage or on my body, I was finally allowed to re-pack my belongings and continue on my journey. Since this whole “random check” procedure took nearly half an hour, I was glad that I make it a practice to always allow plenty of extra time at airports when flying.

I flew from LAX to Tokyo, connected to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, and took a taxi to the Bangkok Don Mueang Airport where I had another six-hour layover to connect to my Air Asia flight to Chongqing. By the time I arrived at my hotel in Chongqing on the morning of April 5, I had been traveling for nearly thirty-six hours since leaving my home in Los Angeles. After a short nap at the hotel, I went outside to explore the neighborhood after dark. I found a couple of fast food places and a huge department store that would rival any large Walmart or Target store in the United States.

Although Chongqing is one of the main cities for tourists to embark on Three Gorges River cruises, it is not a popular tourist town for foreigners and most people there do not read, write, or speak English. Although I had a map and address of my hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, in English on my confirmed booking printout, I had a very difficult time getting a taxi. I stopped at the Tourist Information desk in the airport and the lady wrote something in Chinese on my hotel printout and told me to take it to the policeman by the taxi stand. The policeman put me in a taxi and gave my printout to the taxi driver. He did not speak English and asked other local people for directions to drive me to my hotel. It was raining when we left the airport to go to my hotel.

After driving for some time, the taxi driver stopped local people on the street to ask directions. He finally stopped and pointed to the right side of the taxi and indicated that we had arrived. I couldn’t see any “Holiday Inn” sign on any building so I shouted out to a well-dressed Chinese woman walking near the taxi to ask if she could help. She came over to the taxi and was looking at my printout while standing in the rain. I invited her to sit inside the taxi out of the rain, which she did. After scrutinizing my printout and talking to the taxi driver, she agreed that we were close to my hotel and that I should walk toward a nearby building. I got out of the taxi and the taxi driver demanded that I pay him immediately but I insisted that he get my carry-on from the trunk of the taxi before I paid him. I started walking in the direction that they pointed and the nice lady came over and escorted me around the building where I could see the Holiday Inn Express hotel. I thanked her profusely and continued walking through the rain to my hotel.

I purposely selected the Holiday Inn because I assumed that it would be more likely to provide information in English. When I went to the front desk the following morning to inquire about tourist information, I found that none of the young ladies at the front desk spoke English. One of the ladies went to a back office to find a young man who did speak English. He told me that they had no local tourist map, no Chongqing travel guide information, no travel desk, and no concierge. He said that he would speak to his manager about tourist maps. After I went back to my room to look up tourist information, the front desk called to tell me that his manager said that I could buy a tourist map of Chongqing from a vending machine near the lobby. I bought the map only to find out that it was all in Chinese. I was, however, able to locate the intersection where my hotel was situated, and I went for another walk in the daylight to familiarize myself with the neighborhood near the hotel. This would later prove to be a Godsend.

So far, my first day in Chongqing, was pretty much a wasted day. I continued looking at tourist information on my computer and reviewing information on the Dazu Rock Carvings that I had come here to visit. I finally decided to call the Intercontinental Hotel to see if they could arrange for a car and driver for me to go to Dazu on Monday, April 8. I called the front desk and got the English speaking person on the line who gave me a phone number to call for the Intercontinental Hotel.

When I called the number, it was a number for reservations and I went through the whole litany of no tour desk and no concierge at the Holiday Inn Express. The reservations person put me on hold and I was soon reconnected with the young man at the Holiday Inn who said that he could provide a hotel car and driver for a daytrip to Dazu and asked if I also needed a tour guide. When he said that the driver did not speak English, I said that I would like an English-speaking tour guide who was also familiar with the Dazu Rock Carvings. When I told him that I wanted the car and tour guide for a full day on Monday morning, departing the hotel at 7 AM, he said that he would get back to me regarding availability and pricing. He called back with pricing that I thought was “over-the-top” and asked if I was able to afford it. I knew that I had no room to bargain if I wanted to visit Dazu so I accepted. When I said that I wanted to visit all five main carving sites, he said that it would probably not be possible to visit more than two due to the distances involved. I reiterated that I was booking the car and guide for a full day and would try to see as many carving sites as possible. He told me that Sunday was his day off and gave me his mobile phone number if I needed to contact him.

After breakfast on Sunday morning April 7, I went to the front desk to have them fill out “taxi take me to: ¬¬¬¬_____" cards which also included the Holiday Inn information and map. How simple this would be, I told myself, only to find that the people at the front desk were unable to fill out the cards for major tourist attractions. I finally requested an English speaking person to fill out a card to go to the Intercontinental Hotel, which she did for me. I took several of the blank Holiday Inn taxi cards and caught a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel.

After arriving at the Intercontinental Hotel, I was approached by a nice young lady who asked if she could help me. I introduced myself and, when I told her about the lack of tourist information at the Holiday Inn Express, she was appalled. She gave me two tourist maps, one in English and one in Chinese, filled out several of my taxi cards and took me to the concierge for help with the other taxi cards. The concierge also went somewhere and brought a “Chongqing Travel Guide” book, which he gave to me. The lady also gave me her business card and told me to call her if I needed any additional help – she is the “Intercontinental Hotel Loyalty Manager.” I felt like I had died and gone to heaven, and I thanked them profusely.

Things were finally beginning to fall into place. My first stop was at the Three Gorges Museum. It is situated on the western side of the People’s Square and is opposite the Chongqing People’s Auditorium. The Three Gorges Museum is a magnificent structure with wonderful exhibits; most Three Gorges river cruises bring tour groups here. Next I visited the People’s Auditorium, which is the location for diplomatic meetings and functions as well as for artistic performances.

Since I was unable to locate the city museum, I hailed a taxi to take me back to my hotel. I gave the driver the Holiday Inn Express taxi card and he looked puzzled. I pulled out the Chinese map that I had purchased from the hotel and pointed to the intersection where I had located the hotel. He nodded “ok” and off we went toward the hotel. When we were getting close to the intersection, he threw up his hands, but I recognized the neighborhood from my walk the day before and pointed him to the hotel.

When I returned to the hotel, I had received an email from Kaj, the son of a United Airlines flight attendant who is a friend of mine. I had never met Kaj but he had been living and working in Chongqing for the past three years and was about to move to Dubai. He met me at my hotel and we rode the light rail to the city center. Due to the recent rains, the city center at night was absolutely beautiful. We then went to a spicy hot pot restaurant where we met up with a group of his international friends at 8:30 PM for dinner. Spicy hot pot is a Chongqing specialty; don’t inquire as to the ingredients, just enjoy the flavors and textures of the food cooked in the hot pot. Good food with new friends made for a marvelous evening. After dinner, I took a taxi back to the Holiday Inn and once again needed to show the driver the intersection on my Chinese tour map.

I was up early on Monday morning and ate breakfast at 6 AM when the restaurant opened. Jack, my guide, was waiting for me in the lobby and Eugene, my driver, was about 15 minutes late. I showed Jack the list of the five main Dazu rock carving sites and he decided that since I only had the car for one day, we would do our best to visit all five sites. Dazu Rock Carvings is a general term for the cliff carving and grotto art in Dazu County. The grottos were carved during the late Tang Dynasty (618-907) and early Song Dynasty (960-1279). There are over 50,000 grotto statues and over 100,000 characters of inscriptions that have been preserved. The Dazu Rock Carvings were added to the World Cultural Heritage List in 1999. The Baodingshan Cliff Carving and the Beishan Cliff Carving sites are close to each other and admission to both sites may be combined on one joint ticket at a cost savings. These two sites are the ones most often visited by tourists.

The drive to Dazu took nearly two hours and we went to Baodingshan first. This is the site with the most colorful rock carvings. The Baodingshan Cliff carvings are located in a U-shaped valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and the carvings extend for approximately 500 meters. Our next stop was at the Beishan Cliff carvings. This site boasts nearly 10,000 Buddha statues.

Our next stop was at the Nanshan Cliff Carvings site. My guide had never been there before and we stopped many times to ask local people how to get there. After several unsuccessful attempts, we finally arrived at the mountain and found some rock steps going up the mountain adjacent to a wall. We climbed the rock steps and encountered more vertical steps up to a temple where the Nanshan carvings were located. A caretaker collected 5 RMB for admission. The carvings area was near the top of the mountain. It was small but interesting and afforded a good view of Dazu city below.

Our next stop was at the Shimenshan Cliff Carvings site. After asking for directions many times, we found ourselves on a small mountain road where we came upon a road construction crew. We stopped and, when we asked directions to Shimenshan, were told that we had passed the path to it a few hundred meters back down the road. We turned around and found the stone path going across a rice paddy that led to the carvings. When we arrived, the entrance gate was locked but my guide finally noticed a phone number and when he called it, a caretaker came to the gate and unlocked it for us. The admission cost was also 5 RMB. The carvings were interesting and well worth the difficulty of finding them.

It was now about 2 PM. Jack and I decided to continue on to the Shizuanshan Cliff Carvings site. I had downloaded a tourist map of Dazu County onto my Galaxy Note 2 the night before and together with the GPS on Jack’s mobile phone and several stops for directions, we finally managed to get near Shizuanshan. We were frequently on unimproved back roads, which sometimes reminded me of the poor roads in India. We stopped one last time in a tiny village to ask directions and one of the local men decided to get in the car and go with us to Shizuanshan.

Shizuanshan was surrounded by a wall, and the plain metal entrance gate was closed. Jack reached around to the inside and opened the gate. We were met by a caretaker who charged the 5 RMB admission and escorted us through the site to view the carvings. When Jack asked him if many tourists came there, the caretaker replied that no tourists came and the only recent visitors were some archaeologists from Beijing. The carvings here were also interesting and worth the time and trouble to get there to see them. It was now after 5 PM, and we stopped at a noodle restaurant before leaving Dazu County for a late lunch. We arrived back at the Holiday Inn at approximately 8 PM. It had been a wonderful day trip with beautiful clear sky and sunshine, and it felt so good to have been able to visit all five main rock carving sites in Dazu County – truly “mission accomplished.”

Tuesday was a miserable rainy day. I spent most of the day reading my travel guide, editing some of my photos, and trying to decide what things to see before leaving Chongqing. I also sent an email to Jack, asking if he would like to be a local guide for me on Thursday, April 11, which was scheduled to be my last day in Chongqing.

Wednesday morning was cloudy and foggy. I took a taxi to the Chongqing Zoo where I spent several hours admiring the layout of the zoo as well as looking at the animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. The Giant Pandas and the South China Tigers were advertised as the top attractions. I found it interesting that the Chinese visitors appeared more keenly interested in the two giraffes than the Giant Pandas and the South China Tigers.

After visiting the zoo, I took a taxi to the Gele Mountain Martyrs’ Cemetery and Exhibition Hall. I believe the exhibition hall is sometimes referred to as the Revolution Museum. Admission to the exhibition hall was no charge and it highlighted the War of Resistance against Japan and the subsequent Liberation War. A large section of the exhibition hall is devoted to the individual communist prisoners who were held by the KMT and subsequently murdered two days before the Communist Army marched into Chongqing and liberated the city. After the very sobering visit to the Martyrs’ Cemetery, I took a taxi back to my hotel and once again needed the Chinese tour map with the intersection marked for my hotel location and needed to point the way to the hotel based on my knowledge of the area near the hotel. Back at the hotel, I received an email from Jack agreeing to be my local guide on Thursday. Before going to bed, I made a list of the places that I wanted to visit with Jack on Thursday.

Jack met me in the hotel lobby early Thursday morning, and I showed him my list of places to visit. We decided that the Stilwell Museum would be our first stop. Because it was rush hour we had some difficulty hailing a taxi. The taxi driver was not familiar with the museum and, after some degree of difficulty, Jack finally got her pointed in the direction of the museum. After a stop to refuel the taxi, we arrived at the museum.

The Stilwell Museum is the former residence of General Joseph Stilwell, Commander of the U.S. forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. He served as the Chief of Staff to the Far East Theater and headed the Chinese Expeditionary Army in the fight against the Japanese invaders in the north of Burma. This museum is the only venue in China devoted to commemorating the cooperation between China and the United States in fighting the Japanese during World War II.

After touring the museum, we realized that it was very close to a light rail station and that we could have walked to the light rail station near my hotel and saved considerable time and money. We then located my other places of interest on my Chinese tour map and mapped out our travel routes utilizing the light rail to the maximum extent possible. Since Jack had a bus pass, he had no cost for his use of the public transportation.

As we exited the Stilwell Museum, we noticed a tour bus with foreigners parked across the street. They had just visited the Chongqing Flying Tigers Museum which neither Jack nor I were familiar with. We decided to visit the Flying Tigers Museum while we were already there. This museum is dedicated to the American Flying Tigers in China from the formation of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in Tongoon, Burma, to the U.S. Army’s 14th Air Force. According to a museum brochure, the Flying Tigers shot down more that 2,600 Japanese aircraft at a cost of approximately 500 airplanes lost. They also sank 44 Japanese warships and 2.23 million tons of shipping. They are also attributed with a casualty of more than 66,700 people in the Japanese forces and safeguarded China’s rear area in the air. In addition, they smashed Japan’s strategic plan to cross the Nujiang River for the conquest of Kunming and even Chongqing.

The Flying Tigers Museum had many interesting exhibits. One exhibit that I found to be particularly interesting was a large map which detailed the locations of approximately thirty-eight U.S. air bases in China during World War II. Jack had never been to either of these museums and was impressed with them both.

Our next two stops were to be two temple complexes further southeast. We walked to the nearby light rail station and took the light rail to the station closest to the temples and then took a taxi to the Tushan Temple which is sometimes called “Zumwu Temple” because it houses the statue of Zumwu Master. It is the oldest temple in Chongqing and consists of eight temple palaces covering an area of 10,000 square meters. It was an interesting temple located part way up a mountain in which Buddhism and Taoism coexist harmoniously with each other.

Since no taxis could be found after visiting the Tushan Temple, we walked down the mountain road to a main road where we took a local bus to the intersection of a road that went to our next stop, the Laojundong Taoist Temple. We exited the bus and saw an available taxi, which we hailed. The taxi took us up a winding mountain road to the entrance of the temple.

The Laojundong Taoist Temple was built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) as a Buddhist temple called Guang-hua Temple. In 1581, the temple was converted into a Taoist Temple and renamed “Taiji Palace.” There are thirteen palaces within the temple that zigzag along steep cliffs and spiral from the gate to the top of the mountain. Jack and I began climbing the steps and cement paths up the mountain. It was quite a climb, and we visited several palaces including the multistoried temple near the top of the mountain, which jutted out from the mountain high above Chongqing city. The views from this temple were spectacular, and I managed to get a panoramic photo of Chongqing city center at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers. Since we were already near the top of the mountain, we continued climbing to the summit. The summit was interesting with inscriptions and graffiti carved into the rounded summit rocks. The mountain is one of the highest near Chongqing city and it was quite a climb to the top. Jack had never been to either of these two temples but was really impressed with the hike to the top of the mountain, the temple palaces, and the panoramic views of Chongqing city.

After descending to the entrance gate area, we soon realized just how difficult it was going to be to find a taxi for hire. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Jack flagged down a new automobile that was departing the temple parking area. After Jack had a short conversation with the owner of the car, we were offered a ride in a luxury automobile to a light rail station. The man and woman in the car were listening to American rock and roll music on the car radio as they graciously drove us to the light rail station. Upon arrival at the rail station, we all exchanged “nice to have met you” greetings in English, and I thanked them for their hospitality. I am always amazed by the wonderful friendly people whom I am fortunate to meet during my travels.

We took the light rail to the city center and walked to the Liberation Monument. After getting lunch at a local noodle restaurant, we then walked to the Hongyadong Folklore Zone. We continued walking to Chaotianmen Square which was built in 1997 and overlooks the Yangtze cruise ship docks and the confluence of the Jailing and Yangtze Rivers.

We took a taxi back to the city center and went to a large bookstore to look for a book on the Dazu Rock Carvings. When Jack could only find a small book in Chinese, he asked a salesperson for assistance. The lady went through a door to a storage area and, after about five minutes, returned with a large hard-bound book on the Dazu Rock Carvings that was written in English. I immediately purchased it and managed to barely squeeze it into my backpack.

We walked from the bookstore to a section of the old Chongqing city wall remains at Tongyuanmen City Wall Ruins Park. This is the location of the Tongyuan Gate, which is the only well-preserved gate by the land route to Chongqing. The City Wall Ruins Park was set up beside the gate in 2005 and has statues of invaders attempting to scale the wall.

The city wall was our last destination on my list and Jack figured out which local bus we should take to go back to my hotel. Once back the Holiday Inn, I bid good-bye to Jack and began packing for my flight to Bangkok the following morning.

I departed Chongqing on Friday morning on a flight to Bangkok where I connected later during the day for a flight to Chiang Rai, Thailand. I attended the Songkran festivities in Chiang Rai before returning home to Los Angeles.

March 2013
Vietnam

Travel Notes

I arrived at the Hanoi International Airport at Hanoi, Vietnam at about 9:00 AM on Friday, March 15. After clearing customs and locating an ATM machine to obtain about 4 million Vietnam Dong, I went to the taxi stand outside the terminal and hired a taxi to take me to my hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi City. The currency exchange rate was roughly 20,000 Dong to the US Dollar. The airport is located approximately 45 km from Hanoi City and I was amazed at how polite the Vietnamese drivers were on the highways to the city. As I checked into my hotel the receptionist gave me a one page map of Hanoi City and annotated the locations of several of the main tourist attractions in the city. She also pointed out the location of the night market which she said was only open on Friday and Saturday nights.

My room was very nice with a dedicated laptop computer in the room for the guests and very good wireless Internet service. After checking my backlog of email, I went for a walk to become familiar with the neighborhood close to the hotel. I walked from the hotel to the Quan Chuong Gate and then began walking in the opposite direction of the hotel when it began to rain. I returned to the hotel and rested for a while before going back outside to get some noodle soup for lunch at one of the small local restaurants close to the hotel. After lunch, I decided to explore the area around Hoan Kiem Lake.

Hoan Kiem Lake is located on the city center and is beautiful with park-like areas alongside the lake. There are two temples on islands in the lake: one is a very old temple on an island near the center of the lake and the other is the Ngoc Son Temple on an island connected to the shore by a red bridge. I walked around the lake and since it was nearly closing time for the Ngoc Son Temple, I decided that I would visit it another time.

Since it was a Friday, I decided to walk to the night market. The vendors were setting up their stands in the middle of one of the major streets in the Old Quarter that had vehicular traffic excluded for the market. I stopped for dinner at a local restaurant adjacent to the wholesale market complex. After dinner the night market was in full operation and stretched for many city blocks from the wholesale area all the way to Hoan Kiem Lake – the size of the market was impressive.

On Saturday morning, March 16, I decided to take a taxi to the Ho Chi Minh Complex to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Ho Chi Minh Presidential Palace area. The receptionist at the front desk called a taxi for me and advised that the mausoleum would be closed by the time that I arrived at the complex. I decided to continue to the complex anyway and when I arrived there, I was instructed to go to the end of a very long line of people about four people abreast several blocks long waiting to enter the complex. Many of the people in line were groups of small school children who enjoyed waving and shouting “hello” to me.

The line moved rather quickly and once inside the complex gate, the line continued for another long distance. As the line of people passed in front of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, some people left for the museum and I stayed in the line, which was actually the queue for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Eventually I was at the entrance of the mausoleum, which was still open, and I walked through the mausoleum to view Ho Chi Minh. Upon exiting the mausoleum, I decided to visit the One Pillar Pagoda en route back to the museum. The museum was closed for the afternoon lunchtime break and would not open for another couple of hours.

Not to be discouraged, I hailed a bicycle rickshaw and went to visit the Hoa Lo Prison, which had been built by the French during the late 1800’s and subsequently used to house some American pilots captured during the Vietnam War and nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton.” The captured Americans were released in March 1973. During 1993, about two thirds of the prison was demolished to make room for the construction of the Hanoi Tower buildings. The remaining third is preserved as a museum.

The booklet on sale at the museum states: “Hao Loa Prison today is a special museum of Ha Noi, which keeps all the evidence of the crime of the French colonists against the Vietnamese patriots and revolutionist. A lot of documents and personal dossiers of stronghearted and loyal communists, as well as the legends of their struggling in prison to make the glory of Vietnamese heroism are kept there. Hoa Lo Prison today [is] also a place to educate the young generation of Vietnam in the revolutionary tradition, the spirit of national pride and the responsibility to the Fatherland in the new era of peace and development toward a society of wealth, fairness, democracy and civilization.”

After visiting the prison, I returned to the Ho Chi Minh Palace area of the complex to see the Presidential Palace (formerly Indochina’s General Governor Palace of the French), It was built by the French and used by Ho Chi Minh as his palace. House No. 54, where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1954 to 1958, and the historic House on Stilts were both used by Ho Chi Minh before his death in 1969. I then visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum before returning by taxi to my hotel. The Ho Chi Minh complex and the Hoa Lo Prison museum made for a full day of sightseeing.

On Sunday morning I went to the Temple of Literature, which is the first National University of Vietnam. It was originally constructed in 1076 and was dedicated to sages and Confucian scholars and used for training talented men for the nation. It is currently described as one of the most important historical and cultural sites of Vietnam. I took another bicycle rickshaw from there to the Opera House, which was also built by the French in the early 1900’s. The rickshaw driver was very good and I got his telephone number to use him in the future. I walked from the Opera House to the National History Museum which is housed in two buildings. One building contains ancient artifacts and the other building is described in some literature as the Revolution Museum. Both buildings were well worth a visit and I continued walking back past Hoan Kiem Lake to my hotel.

I booked a day trip to Ha Long Bay for Monday, March 18. The medium sized tour bus picked me up at the hotel at 7:30 AM for a nearly four-hour drive to Ha Long Bay. The bus stopped at a rest stop and shopping complex en route to Ha Long Bay where many large rock carvings were being constructed by artisan craftsmen. The tour included a bay cruise with lunch aboard a Chinese junk boat through spectacular limestone island formations, a rowboat tour from a floating village through a cave formation, and a walking tour through another cave. A Vietnamese lady rowed my boat. The return bus trip arrived back at Hanoi about 8:00 PM.

I also booked a day trip to Hoa Lo and to Tam Coc for Tuesday, March 19. A small tour bus picked me up at the hotel at approximately 8:00 AM for a two-hour drive to Hoa Lo, a former ancient capital of Vietnam. We visited two temple complexes at Hoa Lo before continuing on to Tam Coc. We had a very extensive buffet lunch at Tam Coc before going to the wharf for a 90 minute rowboat ride on a river through three limestone caves. Two Vietnamese women rowed my boat – they were mother and daughter. The daughter was 35 years old with three children and the mother was 67 years old. Some of the people rowing the boats were rowing with their feet. The scenery during the boat trip was superb. The return bus trip arrived back at Hanoi about 4:00 PM. After dinner, I walked around Hoan Kiem Lake one last time.

My last day in Vietnam was Wednesday, March 20, and I had the hotel call my previous rickshaw driver who arrived at the hotel in roughly ten minutes. I told him where I wanted to go and asked him the cost. He replied that it was “up to me.” I never agree to the “up to you” tariff because no matter what amount you decide to pay, it is never enough. I insisted on a fixed amount before starting my journey with him. He replied one million Dong, which I said was too expensive. When I pointed out the distance that we had traveled on Sunday for 150,000 Dong and determined that the distance today would be roughly three times Sunday’s distance, he promptly replied 500,000 Dong, which I accepted.

Shortly after leaving the hotel, he stopped at a beautiful temple that I have not been able to identify. I then visited Quan Than Temple which is situated adjacent to Truc Bach Lake. From there we went to visit the Tran Quoc Pagoda which is situated adjacent to West Lake. I was disappointed that the entrance gate to the Tran Quoc Pagoda was closed and locked. I continued on to visit the Womens’ Museum which is a highly rated attraction and well worth a visit. After the Womens’ Museum I went to visit the Ngoc Son Temple on the island in Hoan Kiem Lake, which would be my last stop of the day, and I bid good-bye to my rickshaw driver.

Overall I was impressed with how clean Hanoi was compared to many other cities in Asia and how friendly the people were. I was also impressed with the abundance of ATM machines in Hanoi. I departed Hanoi on Thursday morning, March 21, on an Air Asia flight to Bangkok before flying home on Saturday, March 23.

See pictures from Vietnam

See pictures from India

January 2013
India

Travel Notes

I wanted to return to India during January 2013 and I contacted Javed Kahn to see if we could put together a trip first north to Devprayag and then back through Agra and then out to Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela festival before returning back to Delhi. I also wanted to have the same car driven by Bharat, my driver last year. After several E-mail exchanges, we finalized a trip based on my desired itinerary. I arrived at New Delhi around midnight on 25 January 2013 and spent the night at the Airport Hotel New Delhi. Bharat met me at the hotel on the morning of January 26 with the same car that we had last year and drove 240 km north to Dehradun which is the capital city of the state of Uttarakhand. It is situated in the Doon Valley in the foothill of the Himalayas between two of India’s mightiest rivers – the Ganges on the east and the Yamuna on the west. The state of Uttarakhand borders the western boundary of Nepal to the east and China to the north and is odfen referred to as “The Land of the Gods.”

While in Dehradun, we visited the Mindrolling Monastery complex, the Tibetan Buddhist Temple, a popular red temple on the highway south of the city, and the clock tower. The huge Buddha statue at the Tibetan Budddhist Temple is magnificent. The Mindrolling Monastery is adjacent to the Buddha statue temple and is quite large. Several of the buildings were very beautiful – the Tara statue and the World Peace Stupa are also situated here. Bharat had never been to Dehradun, Devprayag, or Rishikesh before so we were frequently stopping to ask directions en route.

On the morning of January 28, we drove approximately 120 km northeast to Devprayag. “Devprayaga” means “Godly Confluence” in Sanskrit. According to Hindu Scriptures, Devprayga is the sacred event of the merging of two heavenly rivers, Alakananda and Bhagirathi, to form the holy Ganges. It is also the second most important confluence in India, after Allahabad where the Yamuna, Ganges, and Sarasvati are said to meet. Allahabad is one of my later destinations during this trip to Inda. The actual river confluence is properly referred to as the “Sangam.”

First we drove northeast to a point above Rishikesh and then northeast along the western side of the mountain gorge formed by the river Ganges. The road was narrow and in some places in need of much repair requiring a very skilled driver for safe passage. For everyone familiar with the famous road to Hanna in Maui, this road makes the road to Hanna look like a cakewalk. There are some very picturesque fleeting views of the mountains and the Ganges far below along the journey. I had seen several classic photos looking down on Devprayag and the confluence forming the Ganges and wanted to find such a place to take my own photo. As we approached Devprayag, I got a glimpse of the temple in Devprayag in the distance and told Bharat to be prepared to stop for a photo. As we came around a curve it looked like the right place so Bharat stopped and I got out and started walking along the road looking for my photo opportunity. As I walked up to what appeared to be a restaurant in a building built over the mountainside high above the confluence forming the Ganges, I knew that I had found my spot.

I invited Bharat to join me for a cup of coffee. As we finished our coffee, Bharat asked the person in the restaurant directions to my hotel, we were surprised to find out that we were at my hotel and I checked into my room with a magnificent view of Devprayag and the river confluence forming the river Ganges. Although my hotel room had no heat and no hot water, it had a large balcony with the best view available anywhere in the area. I spent a lot of time sitting on my balcony admiring the view of the silt-laden Alakanda on the right joining the light blue Bhagirathi on the left forming the Ganges.

After checking into the hotel, we continued driving to Devprayag. Since there are no roads into the town, we were required to park high above the town and walk down steps along the mountainside into Devprayag. Inside the town, the walkways were very narrow with many steps and no vehicular activity of any kind – no bicycles, pushcarts, handcarts, etc. There were cows and pigs sharing the narrow walkways with people. Bharat and I first walked all the way down to the ghat at the point where the confluence formed the Ganges. We waded into the Ganges at the ghat, washed our hands and slashed some river water across our faces. Next we visited the Raghuanata temple complex which contains the Hanuman, Annapurna Devi and Garud Temples as well as the Rama’s Stone. It was quite a steep hike getting back up the mountainside to our car to return to the hotel. I was impressed by the tranquility of Devprayag compared to most other places in India. Back at the hotel, I watched both the sunset and sunrise over Devprayag from my balcony viewpoint.

On the morning of January 29, we drove back southbound along the mountain road above the Ganges to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is considered to be the birthplace of yoga in India. We stopped at Rishikesh, and I hired a guide to walk with me across the bridge to visit the ghats by the Ganges and several holy places where no photos were allowed on the inside. The bridge that we walked over was a new bridge that was built in 1984 and was not the Laxman Jhula footbridge built in the early 1930’s and situated approximately two kilometers upstream. Since I had taken a photo of the older bridge as we passed the area, but did not see a place to stop to park alongside the road, I decided to skip going back just to walk across the old bridge. Admittedly the water level of the Ganges was very low, coupled with the fact that it was not the prime tourist season, I was somehow disappointed with my visit to Rishikesh.

After visiting Rishikesh, we continued driving south along the Ganges to Haridwar. The Ganges exits the mountains and enters the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India for the first time at Haridwar. Haridwar is one of the seven holiest places in India which, along with Ujjain, Nasik, and Allahabad, is one of the four sites where drops of Amrit, the elixir of immortality, accidentally spilled over the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda. This is manifested in the Kumbh Mela being celebrated once every three years in one of the four places, and thus every 12 years in Haridwar. Likewise also every 12 years in Allahabad where I will visit later during this trip. In Haridwar the spot where the Amrit fell is located at the Brahma Kund and is considered to be the most sacred ghat in Haridwar.

Upon arriving at Haridwar, Bharat parked at a remote parking area because my hotel was situated in the old part of the city in the market area where no autos or similar type vehicles are allowed during the day. We hired a man with a bicycle-rickshaw to transport my luggage from the car to the hotel. I explored old town Haridwar on foot during the remaining hours of daylight. One of my unique finds was a man who made very creative woodcarvings from driftwood. I chatted with him for a while and he was very happy that his art never involved cutting down a living plant. His name is Harishanker Bansal and he can be found at the Bansal Guest House, Ram Ghat, Haridwar.

Bharat met me the following morning and we rode the cable car to the Mansa Devi Temple high above Haridwar where no photos were allowed. From there we returned to the car and drove to take another cable car to the Chandi Devi Temple high above the east side of the Ganges. Our next stop was to visit the Daksha Mahadev Temple at Kankhal Town. Our final stop for the day by car was at the area of Sapt Rishi Ashram and Sapt Sarovar which is a picturesque place near Haridwar where seven great sages are said to have meditated. It is also the place where the Ganges split herself into seven currents so that the Rishis would not be disturbed by the flow. After returning to Haridwar, I spent time in the holy ghat area and the clock tower before returning to view the evening prayer (Arati) at the Brahmakund ghat.

On the morning of January 31, we drove nearly 410 km to Agra to reposition ourselves for the east/west portion of the trip. After spending the night in Agra, we drove another 240 km from Agra to Orchha, stopping first at Gwalior to visit the fort and the rock-cut statues in the cliffs below the fort. Our second stop was Jhansi and the road from Gwalior to Jahnsi was just dreadful – one of the very worst roads that I have been on during my many trips to India. We visited the fort at Jhansi and continued on to Orchha.

The next morning we visited the Palace and Fort at Orchha as well as the Chaturbhuj and the Lakshmi Temples. The Orchha Fort and Jahangir Mahal Palace complex were large and fun to explore on my own. After Orchha we continued another 180 km to Khajuraho. After the dreadful road between Gwalior and Jhansi, I was surprised that the roads were much better than I had anticipated. I had been to Khajuraho nearly ten years ago and stopped primarily to visit with my friend Rakesh. After locating a mobile phone number for him in an old E-mail, I contacted him and arranged to meet the following morning.

On the morning of February 3, Bharat and I met Rakesh near the entrance to the Western Group of Temples and went to a restaurant for masala tea and conversation. After tea, Rakesh guided Bharat to drive us to the remote Bijamandal Maudir new temple archeological site and a couple of additional remote sites that I had visited before. Although Bharat had been to Khajuaro four times previously, these were new sites for him. Rakesh is now working for a man who manufactures replica stone carvings and we stopped in to see the carvings – they were very well done. I had Bharat return me to the hotel where I said good-bye to Rakesh and prepared for some down time to work on photos and travel notes before continuing on to Allahabad.

Bharat met me at the hotel at 8:00 AM for our 270 km drive from Khajuraho to Allahabad. The road was in pretty good shape when we departed Khajuaraho but rapidly deteriorated to very poor. Our 270 km journey turned out to be a grueling 8 hour drive to Allahabad. My tour company had changed my hotel reservation during our drive and a representative from the tour company at Allahabad was frequently on the mobile phone with Bharat. As we approached Allahabad, the traffic density increased and Bharat was frequently stopping to ask directions. Many of the temporary security personnel are from other parts of India and could not give directions to us; others just motioned us to keep moving. We finally found my hotel and after checking in and resting up for a little while, I took Bharat out to dinner. We decided to visit the Allahabad Fort and Museum the following day in hopes of avoiding the masses at the Kumbh Mela festival.

Bharat picked me up at the hotel at 9:30 AM to drive to the fort. Today would be a big learning experience for us. We had planned to go visit the Allahabad Fort and then the Allahabad museum. We figured that we would save our Kumbh Mela experience for tomorrow. During our drive we stopped at what appeared to possibly be the Allahabad Museum, but it turned out to be an old cemetery.

As it turned out, the fort was impossible to reach by car. Bharat asked directions so many times with many people unable to understand him here that I was feeling sorry for him. Finally he talked to a bicycle rickshaw driver and the rickshaw driver took me to as close to the fort as he could get. I motioned for him to wait for me and struck out among the masses of people to find the entrance to the fort. Bharat remained behind in the car because there were no legal parking places.

It turned out that the fort was being used as the command center for the military personnel stationed to provide security at the Kumbh Mela. The fort is also right in the center of the main Kumbh Mela activities. After finding the entrance to the fort, I toured the public accessible areas, including an underground temple, and then exited the fort via the signs at a different location from the entrance that I had used. My next challenge was to find the first entrance to get my bearings on how to hopefully find my bicycle rickshaw driver. After I located the first entrance, I walked to a Yamuna River ghat adjacent to the fort to check out the ghat and the rowboats on the river.

I then managed to backtrack back to the area where I had left the rickshaw driver and saw what appeared to be the bicycle rickshaw with the canopy raised. When I approached the rickshaw, I saw someone on the seat sleeping. I pounded on his foot and when he woke up, I asked him if he was my driver whereupon he perked up and nodded that he was my driver. He took me back to a place only part way to where Bharat had dropped me off and I refused to exit the rickshaw. I said back to driver and motioned with my hands like turning a steering wheel. We continued on until we actually arrived back at my car and Bharat. I had learned enough to realize that tomorrow would be much different – Bharat and I would take a tuk tuk rickshaw from the hotel to the Kumbh Mela and when finished with Kumbh Mela, we would return to the hotel by tuk tuk.

The Kumbh Mela is really something!!!!! It is billed as the world’s largest religious festival that is expected to be visited by 100 million people over 55 days ending on March 10. It was spiritual, and I never saw any pushing, shoving or yelling – just a large mass of humanity gathered to celebrate the Allahabad Kumb Mela 2013. In fact, the Kumb Mela Festival made the front page of the Los Angeles Times newspaper while I was in Allahabad.

My next stop was at the Swaraj Bhawan Museum which was Nehru's house, where Indira Ghandi was born and the place where so many of the events connected with the national struggle for independence took place. We continued to the old All Saints’ Cathedral which was situated a couple of blocks from my hotel. The cathedral was closed so I walked around the perimeter fence for several photos.

The following morning Bharat and I took a tuk tuk rickshaw from the hotel to the Kumbh Mela. The tuk tuk dropped us off near one of the entrance areas and, since I had been there yesterday, I knew exactly where we wanted to go. We walked along the high ground toward the fort and then down alongside the fort to the Yamuna River ghat where the rowboats were dropping off people. Bharat talked to a couple of young boys who said that Bharat and I could hire a rowboat for two hours for 400 Rupees. The boat would take us to the Allahabad Sangam, the convergence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers and the official end of the Yamuna River. They would also row us around on the Yamuna River.

We followed the two boys through masses of people to where they secured a boat for us. The two boys occupied the portion of the boat with the oars and somehow managed to get us launched amidst the hundreds of nearby rowboats. They rowed us out into the Yamuna and then gradually downstream to what appeared to be an arc of hundreds of rowboats similar to ours extending way out into the river. This was actually the Sangam sandbar-like area with the rowboats docked to give people the opportunity to bathe in the Ganges at the Sangum.

I took a good look at the river water alongside our rowboat and decided that, while it may be a holy ritual for Bharat to wash and bathe here, I would stay on the boat and keep dry. After we docked at the Sangam, Bharat filled a plastic bottle with water from the Ganges to take back home with him and then went for a bath at the Sangam. After Bharat bathed at the Sangum, our two boys rowed us further out and upstream against the Yumana River current before returning us to the dock at the ghat near the fort where we had first met them. After disembarking, I paid the boys and then we continued walking through the Kumbh Mela grounds alongside the ghats beside the Yamuna and the Ganges. It was interesting to watch the current of the Ganges move alongside the Sangam toward the area where Bhatat had bathed.

We finally reached the point where the easterly most pontoon footbridge was constructed across the Ganges. Although there were several pontoon footbridges, the easterly most pontoon bridge is the one closest to the Sangam – most Kumbh Mela photos show one of the pontoon bridges.

Bharat and I walked across the easterly most pontoon bridge and through the encampment area on the other side of the Ganges. We started to cross back on another pontoon footbridge but I decided that I wanted to return via the easterly most pontoon bridge. After re-crossing the pontoon footbridge, we walked back through the encampment area until we found a tuk tuk rickshaw to take us back to the hotel. As we were leaving the encampment area two men jumped into our tuk tuk one in front by the driver and the other beside Bharat. A little further, two more men tried to climb in beside me but I would not move for them and only one made it in beside me. Bharat said that the men were policemen – being a policeman has extra privileges in India. The men exited the tuk tuk near the police station.

Up to this point my current trip to India had been very good. In retrospect, I should have ended it with Allahabad Kumbh Mela and returned to Delhi for a flight home.

We departed Allahabad on the morning of February 6 to drive to Ayodhya, an old city noted for large numbers of temples, and then on to Faizabad. It had rained at Allahabad during the night which settled much of the continual dust, but also made for some muddy areas. Since Bharat had never been in this area before, he had no idea of what the road conditions might be and/or point to point driving times.

After driving to Ayodhya, we parked the car and visited Hanuman Garhi, a four sided fort with circular bastions at each corner. This fort houses the Temple of Hanuman. We were informed that Mani Parbat and Sugriv Parbat, additional sites on my list were closed and would not re-open until 7 AM the following day. We continued on to Faizabad where we finally found my hotel on a remote muddy narrow dirt road. This hotel was really marginal by my hotel standards and was raucously loud during the night with perhaps questionable restaurant standards. After most likely getting sick on some Masala Tea that Bharat purchased for me in Rishikesh, I now suspected that some restaurants might be using marginal water for cooking, coffee and tea. In addition, I started to come down with a fever and severe head and chest congestion. Bananas remained one of the few safe foods available.

After enduring a long and loud night in the hotel, I was glad to see Bharat and to try to do some sightseeing at Faizabad. Our Faizabad sightseeing took about thirty minutes and we continued on to Lucknow. Lucknow is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh and I looked forward to a better hotel than the one that I had in Faizabad.

Upon arriving in Lucknow, we spent nearly an hour trying to find my hotel. When we finally arrived at the hotel, I was immediately appalled by the neighborhood. The hotel lobby was situated several floors above the street and there was no lift to access the lobby. The sign in the lobby indicated that it was a member of the same hotel group of the prior hotel in Faizabad. My room was an interior room with no workable desk area, one working electrical outlet that required unplugging the television to be able to get electrical for my camera batteries, mobile phone battery, and laptop computer. The air conditioner would not work for me. There was a small coffee table which I later found out was for food service.

After putting my luggage in my room, I returned to the lobby where Bharat was drinking some tea. The hotel asked me if I would like some tea and when I asked if it was made with mineral water, the man said yes. When he returned, he had a tray with a partially full bottle of mineral water, a teapot with the rest of the mineral water and a cup with a teabag. Needless to say more, the hotel might be cooking with marginal water. I would be stranded here the rest of the day on a street in a neighborhood where I did not want to walk and with no other restaurant options.

The room service menu in the room was dilapidated and looked like it had been in the room for years. When I went to look for the hotel restaurant, I was informed that the hotel only offered room service. Since the hotel might cook with marginal water, I struggled with trying to find something safe to eat. I finally decided that I would order two fried eggs, plain toast with jam, mineral water and canned orange juice. The hotel was adamant that I could only order fried eggs for breakfast and not for dinner. I settled on two pieces of toast, two cans of orange juice and mineral water – I sure was glad that I had several bananas in my backpack. Since the orange juice arrived in a glass, I could not be sure whether it was actually canned. I endured another really long night in a bad hotel with a fever and my congestion becoming worse.

The next morning Bharat met me at 9 AM with a local person to go sightseeing. En route to sightseeing, we went through the nice portions of Lucknow which left me pondering whatever prompted Javed to book such a marginal hotel in such a bad neighborhood. When our guide told Bharat that there were no KFC restaurants in Lucknow, I purchased more bananas. Our sightseeing included visiting the Bara Imambara, the Imam Bargah, the Globe Park, and an art gallery. In addition, the magnificence of the relatively new Ambedkar Memorial Park area was stunning. Alas, all good things must come to an end as we returned to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, I insisted that the hotel turn on the air conditioning unit which required them to activate a remote electrical connection somewhere. I also sent an E-mail to Javed regarding the Faizabad and Lucknow hotels and questioning the next hotel at Kanpur. He said that he would speak with the hotel and the hotel senior management. I looked up KFC on the Internet and found that there were some located in Lucknow. I tolerated another long night in a very bad hotel after making dinner out of some Toblerone chocolate, my freshly purchased bananas, and mineral water. In retrospect, I should have looked up a couple of five star foreign hotels and then should have had Bharat take me to one for dinner – something that I will keep in mind for such a situation in the future. My head and chest congestion continued to worsen. I requested Bharat to run the car air conditioning to improve the air quality within the car.

Bharat picked me up at8:30 AM to go to Kanpur on the morning of February 10. The 90 km drive to Kanpur took a couple of hours and upon reaching Kanpur, Bharat began looking for the Mandakini Palace hotel. After spending nearly 45 minutes asking directions, we arrived only to find that Javed had written the wrong name for the hotel and we were to go to the Mandakini Place hotel instead. After driving for more than half an hour asking directions, we finally arrived at the Mandakini Place hotel. As we entered the lobby, I observed that it was also owned by the same hotel chain as the prior two hotels. Before going further, I asked if the hotel had a restaurant – the answer was no and I immediately directed Bharat to take me Agra.

After loading my luggage back into the car, Bharat asked if there was anywhere that I wanted to visit en route to Agra. We decided to go to Bithoor and try to see Nanaro Fort and Shivrajpur temple. We asked directions to Bithoor and finally arrived at what we believe to be Nanaro Fort. We spent about fifteen minutes there and when we were told that Sivrajpur was an additional 40 km away, I scratched it from our list and we proceeded directly to Agra. Upon arriving at Agra one night early, I informed Bharat that I would only spend one night in Agra and my last two nights would be in Delhi.

After checking into the Taj Inn hotel, Bharat took me to a nearby KFC restaurant where I ordered KFC to take back to the hotel. I ate my chicken in my room and spent the night at the hotel which was marginal by most of my standards. I could not get the air conditioning to work and the room became increasingly hot and humid. Everything in the room felt like it had been in a steam proof-box by the time I finished my shower the following morning. On my way to breakfast a lady asked me if my room had a window. I replied that it did not and that it was really hot and humid. Instead of eating the buffet breakfast which I had during my prior stay here, I ordered my breakfast cooked special.

Breakfast was just ok and I was only too happy to be back in the car and on my way to the FatehpurSkiri, the ancient Akbar old capital city. My camera had picked up moisture in the hotel room and was very slow to start for taking any photos. As I was finishing up my photos, the camera picture image went to a purple hue and then the camera became inoperative. My fever and congestion continued to worsen and the dust, dirt and smoke continue to aggravate my condition; running the car air conditioning helped the in-car air quality somewhat.

Bharat was unable to give me any substantive information regarding my Delhi hotel – type of room, desk for working, air conditioning, restaurant vs room service, etc. The traffic was terrible and when I finally asked Bharat why he didn't take the expressway, he essentially said because it cost more Rupees – the expressway could have probably shaved off more than two hours of driving time on our drive to Delhi. In addition, he said that my Delhi hotel was located in central Delhi and that the drive from the hotel to the airport for my flight to Singapore would take an additional one to one and a half hours.

At this point the traffic was a total nightmare with massive amounts of dust and acrid smoke in the air. The thought of spending two nights at Javed's Delhi hotel sight unseen, coupled with fighting Delhi traffic en route from my Delhi hotel to the airport, became just too much for me to bear. I called the Delhi Airport Hotel on my mobile phone and booked two nights in a nice double room with a desk, refrigerator and satellite TV. I now requested Bharat to drive me to the Airport Hotel and we arrived there in about one and one half hours. What a relief!!! Ten minutes maximum from the Airport Hotel to the airport terminal to check-in for my flights to Singapore on the morning of February 13.

I completed my hotel check-in and bid good-bye to Bharat. I was sorry to see Bharat go because he is a superb driver and a very good friend. I hope to be able to travel with him again during a future visit to India.

After checking into the Delhi Airport Hotel, a hotel representative took me to a local store nearby where I bought three scoops of plain dry white rice. I placed my digital camera with the rice in a ZipLock© bag and sealed the bag. I am hoping that the rice will be able to draw the excessive moisture from within the camera to allow it to function properly again. After dinner, I did some laundry, sent some E-mails and relaxed. My room at the Airport Hotel was perfect for my needs with the air conditioning temperature controlled. I still had a fever and heavy head and chest congestion, but I didn’t have to breathe the outside dust, dirt and smoke. The following day, I ate breakfast at the hotel and worked on writing my travel notes and editing photos. My fever persisted and my congestion remained about the same.

On the morning of February 13, I got up and took my digital camera out of the ZipLock© bag of white rice and reinstalled the battery and memory card. When I turned the camera on, it immediately started up in the normal fashion. I was really happy that the white rice had indeed extracted the moisture from the camera. White rice in a sealed bag has saved some of my electrical equipment a couple of times while traveling.

I packed up, ate breakfast, and had the hotel car drive me to the airport to catch my flights to Singapore. I arrived at Singapore a little before midnight and took a taxi to the Holiday Inn Atrium hotel where I would spend the next two nights. I still had heavy head and chest congestion but my fever finally broke during the second night at the Holiday Inn. On February 15, I moved to the Crown Plaza Singapore Airport hotel for my final night in Singapore where my congestion seemed to be improving. I flew back home on February 16. After returning home, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor where I was diagnosed as recovering from pneumonia. Apparently I had contracted influenza which progressed into pneumonia during my India travels.

November 2012
Nepal & Thailand

Travel Notes

I wanted to return to the 2012 Annual Elephant Roundup at Surin, Thailand, which is held during the third weekend of November. In addition, I wanted to return to Nepal to spend additional time in the Kathmandu Valley. I decided to combine the two trips and contacted Chiran and Ishwar at A1 Smile Travel to arrange for a car and driver during my stay in Nepal and to book two hotels where I had stayed previously. I also advanced booked a hotel at Surin for the Elephant Roundup.

I flew to Katmandu on November 3rd and met up with Chiran and Ishwar who were waiting for me at the airport with a garland of flowers. Ponchalal, who would be my driver for the next week, accompanied them to drive us to the Fuji hotel where I would spend most of my nights in Kathmandu. They told me that the weather this year had been so much better that when I was there last year. I decided to re-visit Swayambhunath (the monkey temple), Boudanath, and Patan Durbar Square the following day since the weather forecast was for sunshine and clear skies. I also told Chiran that I wanted my driver to eat lunch with me every day and that I would buy his lunch. Before arriving at Kathmandu, I had decided that eating lunch with my driver would not only be more efficient but also would generate a closer personal relationship with him – the lunches worked out very well.

Chiran met me at the hotel on the morning of November 5th to make sure that Ponchalal and I had agreement on my agenda for the day. Chiran would meet me every morning when I was at the Fuji hotel. The sky was clear and I was able to get some nice sunny photos of both Swayambhunath and Boudanath. After driving to Patan, we ate lunch and then spent time visiting Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The following day, the first stop for Ponchalal and me was Kathmandu Durbar Square, another UNESCO World Heritage site. Last year my guide did not want to take the time to visit the museum at Kathmandu Durbar Square so Ponchalal and I made a point of visiting the museum which was extensive and very interesting. Our next stop was at the Narayanhiti Palace Museum which had been the royal palace at the time of the massacre of the Nepal Royal Family in 2001. The palace has since been turned into a museum.

Our last stop of the day was at the Budhanil Kantha Temple. During my visit, I saw a young girl watering flower garlands and decided to take her photo. By the time I could get close enough to her to take her photo, she had put the watering can away but agreed to stand by the flower stand for a photo. I gave her 100 Rupees and, as I walked away, I noticed an older woman walk over to the young girl – I presumed that the lady was the young girl’s mother. After looking at some souvenir stands, we returned to the car and I decided to give the lady my card so she could show the young girl her photo on my web site. It turned out that the lady was the owner of the flower stand. The lady’s younger sister, Sharmila, also came over and introduced herself. Sharmila gave me her E-mail address and said she would provide a copy of the photo to the young girl. Sharmila’s older sister then gave me a book of postcards as a present and Sharmila said that she also wanted to give me a present.

I was scheduled to check out of the Fuji Hotel on the morning of November 6th and spend the night at the High View Resort hotel at Dulikel. When Chiran met me at the Fuji Hotel, we decided to keep my room at the Fuji Hotel in addition to my room at Dulikel. Although Chiran had a confirmed E-mail for the High View Resort, he received an E-mail the night before that the High View Hotel had suddenly become overbooked and consequently moved me to the Mirabel Resort and Hotel which was touted to be better that the High View Resort. With some trepidation about the Mirabel hotel, Ponchalal and I set off to Bhaktapur, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and then continued on to the old city of Panauti. While in Panauti, Ponchalal bought a large bag of assorted pastries for his wife’s mother who lived nearby. We made a stop at his mother-in-law’s new home which he had not seen before and then continued on to the Mirabel hotel.

When I checked into the Mirabel, the person at the front desk had no record of the transfer from the High View Resort to the Mirabel hotel. After making a call, I was taken to my room in a building called “Cozy Rooms.” I had purposely requested the High View Resort because it was a very nice hotel complex with gorgeous views of the valley and- the Himalayas. Well, the “Cozy Room” was certainly an austere, tiny dingy room down a long hallway in a dilapidated building – no phone, two tiny beds, tiny bathroom, no view at all, and certainly a far cry from the High View Resort. The mobile phone service in Nepal works on occasion and fortunately my mobile phone connected when I called Chiran to complain about the “Cozy Room.” Within ten minutes a man appeared at my door and moved me to a Deluxe Room with a gorgeous view of the Himalayas. Chiran sure came through like a champ in remedying the situation.

The restaurant at the Mirabel was very nice and, although the WiFi in my room did not connect, I could get WiFi in the lobby area. When I checked my E-mail, I found an E-mail from Sharmila who said that she hoped to be able to see me again. I told her that she could go with Ponchalal and me to visit Kirutipur and Chobar if she was able to meet us at the Fuji hotel the following morning around 10:00 AM when we returned to Kathmandu from Dulikel.

Ponchalal and I returned to Kathmandu on the morning of November 7th and arrived at the Fuji hotel shortly after 10:00 AM. Sharmila was waiting for us in the hotel lobby and went with us to visit Kirutipur and Chobar. I had been to both places during my 2011 trip, but had not visited the temple on the banks of the river at Chobar. We walked down to the temple and it had some of the most colorful wood carved roof support columns of any of the temples that I had previously seen in Nepal. After visiting Chobar we returned to Kathmandu, and Ponchalal drove us to one of his favorite restaurants. I really enjoy the Nepal set menu lunches and dinners.

That evening, I went to the travel office, had coffee with Chiran and Ishwar, and picked up my ticket for the Mount Everest scenic flight that they booked for me for the following morning. In fact, every evening that I was in Kathmandu, I would go and have coffee with Chiran and Ishwar.

My Mount Everest flight scenic flight was operated by Bhudda Air and departed very early from Kathmandu in order to hopefully see the sunrise over the Himalayas. I was scheduled on the first flight of the morning which required Ponchalal to pick me up at the Fuji hotel at about 5:00 AM. Ponchalal was right on time and delivered me at the Kathmandu Airport well in advance of the opening time of the Domestic Terminal. I was about number three in line waiting for the terminal to open. A short time later, several buses and minivans delivered many people and a long line of people rapidly formed behind me. Being near the front of the line definitely had its advantages as the security screening was a slow process. I quickly checked in for my flight and boarded the first airplane to depart for the mountains.

During the flight, each passenger was invited to go up to the flight compartment to get a really good view of the Himalayas. When given a second opportunity to go to the cockpit, I gave my camera to the first officer who took several very good photos of Mount Everest through his windshield. The weather was very good and the mountains from the plane were spectacular.

Ponchalal had waited in the parking lot during my flight and greeted me upon my return. We drove back to the Fuji hotel and Ponchalal agreed to return to pick me up around 9:00 AM. I ate breakfast at the hotel and got ready to go to Bungmati and Khokana, two places where I had not been before. The day before, I told Sharmila that she could go with us to Bungmati and Khokana if she met us at the Fuji hotel around 9:00 AM. When Sharmila had not arrived by 9:30, I tried calling her but the Nepal phone system did not let my call go through to her. At 9:30 AM, Ponchalal and I departed for Bungmati.

At about 11:00 AM, after visiting Bungmati and as we started driving to Khokana, I received an SMS text message from Sharmila that she was at the Fuji hotel. I tried to call her but could not get through. I sent her an SMS text telling her that we would return to the hotel in about one hour and to wait for us at the hotel.

After visiting Khokana, we arrived back at the Fuji hotel around noon only to discover that Sharmila had left the hotel. The hotel owner said that she said that she received a message from me and would return at 1:00 – she misread one hour to be 1:00 PM. I told the hotel owner to tell her to meet us at the restaurant at the end of the block where we would wait for her. Ponchalal and I were sipping coffee when Sharmila arrived a little before 1:00. We went to another restaurant nearby and had a very nice lunch. Since Ponchalal would not be driving me to the airport the following morning, I said good-bye to him and we exchanged contact information. I was sorry to see Phonchal leave, and I hope to keep in touch with him and his daughter Renuka.

Sharmila and I returned to the hotel where she looked at photos from some of my travels on my computer. Before leaving, she gave me a small plaque from her temple, a scarf, and a bracelet. She also gave me a beautiful bracelet to take home to Jan.

That evening, Chiran and Ishwar took me to dinner and gave me a beautiful replica of Swayambhunath encased in a glass display case which I managed to carefully pack into my small backpack to hand-carry for my flight to Bangkok. Dinner was wonderful, and I really enjoyed the time that I spent with Chiran and Ishwar while I was in Kathmandu,

Chiran met me at the hotel on the morning of November 9th and accompanied me to the airport for my flight to Bangkok. After making sure that I was all set to check into my flight, we said good-bye and I proceeded on to Bangkok.

After arriving at my hotel near Suvarnabhuimi Airport in Bangkok, I arranged for the hotel to carefully store my small backpack until I returned from my visit to Surin. The following day, I flew to the far north to visit Chiang Rai before continuing on to Surin to attend the annual Elephant Roundup Festival.

I arrived at Surin on Friday, November 16th. The Elephant Roundup Festival main event is a performance at the stadium parade grounds. On Saturday morning, November 17th, I woke up to a huge thunderstorm with torrents of rain. Since the rain did not appear to be letting up and there would be a repeat performance on Sunday morning, I decided to go back to bed. The rain continued for most of Saturday but the weather was overcast with no rain on Sunday morning when I went to the performance.

I had been to the festival about six years earlier and most of the open-air seating had been replaced with permanent concrete structures and permanent seating under a roof-like structure. The stadium grounds were still muddy and soggy from the rain the day before but that did not impact the show. People performed barefoot in the mud and soggy grass. The sun came out sporadically during the show and it was magnificent. I was particularly impressed by the elephant that painted a beautiful flower on a large poster sized paper on an easel. There were many performances by local people in colorful attire and the finale was a re-enactment of a battle with Burmese soldiers, complete with cannons. After the show ended, the weather turned back to light misty rain as throngs of people departed the stadium area. I managed to catch a local minibus that dropped me close to my hotel in downtown Surin.

The following day, I rode the VIP express bus to Bangkok and took a cab back to the hotel near the airport where I retrieved my small backpack and spent the night. On the morning of November 20th, I caught my flights to Tokyo and on to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Nepal & Thailand

August 2012
China

Travel Notes

I decided to travel China to climb Mount Hua (Huashan) in China. Huashan is situated approximately 120 km west of Xi’an, China. It is one of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China and a very popular year-round pilgrimage site for the Chinese people. Huashan had been on my travel short list for the past several years due to the spectacular scenery, the famous Cliffside Path (Plank Walk), and the thousands of rock-cut steps and concrete steps installed by the Chinese Government over the years. Huashan consists of five major peaks: North Peak at 1,614.9 meters, East Peak at 2,096.2 meters, Central Peak at 2,037.8 meters, South Peak at 2154.9 meters, and West Peak at 2082.6 meters above sea level.

I arrived at Xi’an on 24 August 2012. After checking into my hotel near the Xi’an Bell Tower, I rested up from my journey. I walked to the train station the following day and purchased a train ticket to Huashan for the afternoon of August 26th.

Jan and I had been to Xi’an nearly twenty years ago and the old part of the city within the old city walls has changed dramatically. Entire sections of the city have been demolished and replaced by modern buildings and shopping malls. I went to the train station to buy my ticket to Huashan. I took some photos as I walked past the bell tower and along the streets teeming with buses, taxis, automobiles, motorbikes, etc. en route to the train After departing the train station, I walked along the north city wall to the North City Gate and then back to my hotel.

On August 26th, I took the train to Huashan. There were huge queues of people waiting outside to gain access to the security checkpoints to enter the train station. Shortly after I took my place in a queue, it suddenly started to rain. Most of the people standing in the queue ran for shelter and I was suddenly very close to accessing the checkpoint. I pulled out my umbrella and passed through the checkpoint quickly. Once inside, I managed to locate the doorways for my train to Huashan and found a seat for a two-hour wait to board my train. I noticed that people began queuing up at the doorways for departing trains at least an hour before scheduled departure time. My train to Huashan was no exception and I found myself joining the Huashan queue at least an hour before departure time. As time progressed the queue became so tightly packed we were like sardines in a can.

Finally the doors opened and the mass of people headed out to board the train. I was in Coach No. 8 at Seat No. 45. Thank goodness for Arabic numbering and I found my seat with relative ease. The train ride to Huashan took nearly two hours with one intermediate stop.

After departing the train and before leaving the train station, I decided to purchase a return train ticket to Xi’an for August 29th. I selected a 1400 hour departure time and then took a taxi to my hotel. When I arrived at the hotel, I was surprised at how far outside of the village the hotel was situated. The front desk person didn’t recognize my confirmed reservation and the taxi driver kept insisting that I was at the correct hotel. When the receptionist offered me a room rate that did not match my confirmed rate I refused and demanded to speak to someone in English. At this point the taxi drive called someone who spoke English and handed his mobile phone to me. When I said that I was certain that I was not at the hotel where I had my reservation, the man on the phone asked me if I had already prepaid for my reservation to which I replied with an emphatic yes even though I had not prepaid for my reservation. The man on the phone asked to be returned to the taxi driver whereupon the taxi driver then took me to the Huashan Hotel where I had my reservation. I wonder how many solo tourists get pushed into the wrong hotel by dishonest taxi drivers.

Anyway, the Huashan Hotel was situated in the middle of Huashan Village within walking distance to whatever I wanted. After checking into my room for three nights, I decided to go for a walk and get some lunch. As I walked past a small restaurant, a young Chinese girl came out and asked if they could prepare some food for me. I said that I was interested in some lunch and we finally decided on chicken with rice. The chicken came cooked in a heap of both green and red very hot chili peppers – I could handle the chicken and rice but had to leave the peppers. She said that her name was Yao and that she was a university student in Xi’an studying economics and finance. She sat at my table practicing her English while I ate my lunch.

After lunch, she offered to go with me to the store to purchase some snack foods to take with me to Huashan to following day. She wanted her photo with me and then we went to a local small market where I purchased some snacks. She returned to work and I took my snacks back to the hotel. I packed up my backpack for climbing Huashan and planned to spend the following night at one of the guesthouses on Huashan while retaining my room at the Huashan Hotel.

Later that evening I decided to get something to eat for dinner. I went back in the direction of the restaurant where I ate lunch and it was empty. Yao saw me and explained that there were two restaurants owned by the same people. She said that I should go to the other restaurant where she was currently working. I had the wide and long noodle dish with tomatoes and spinach which was quite good. Since she was going back to Xi’an the following day, I asked her to write down the name of the noodle dish in Chinese – she gave me the restaurant card that featured the noodle dish.

On the morning of August 27th I ate breakfast as soon as the hotel restaurant opened and grabbed my backpack to go to the mountain. I walked to the main street in front of the hotel and caught a taxi to the Huashan Visiting Center where I purchased my admission ticket and minibus roundtrip ticket to the entrance area. Upon arriving at the Huashan Scenic Area entrance, I purchased a roundtrip ticket on the cable car to the station near the Huashan North Peak. The true diehard travelers can trek up the stairways to the North Peak enduring an additional 3,999 steps for the 2 km long 755 meter high climb to the North Peak cable station.

After the ten minute cable car ride, I went to the North Peak Hotel to take a look at available rooms. There were signs for rooms on different floors that I passed on my way to find the reception area. I noticed that there appeared to be some rather nice rooms at the top with a view of Huashan and told the receptionist that I wanted one of them. She said that they were first class double rooms and I told her I would take one with a view. The room was clean with no running water – a basin and a bucket with some water was provided but no towels. The toilet was the public toilet area four stories down and around in back of the hotel. Since I now had a place to stay, I pared down my backpack and headed off to climb toward the Central Peak, the Plank Walk, the South Peak and the West Peak. I would save the North peak for the following morning.

Trying to describe my climb by the different names of places along the way is difficult in that I could not find a comprehensive map and found in the literature that people use different names for some of the same places. My photos are in the order of my climb and descent with some captions added. In addition, there are practically no traditional hiking trails on Huashan – there are either rock-cut steps or concrete steps and the climb is mostly either going up or going down. The rock-cut steps have varying rise and run and require concentration when climbing or descending on them. It is also customary for visitors to Huashan to hang a brass lock (golden lock) on one of the chain railings when they come to climb Huashan for good luck. I purchased my lock from one of the souvenir vendors who engraved my name and date on the lock and attached the bright red ribbon to it – I was now ready for my climb.

I left the hotel and began the climb up what some folks call Ear-Touching Cliff and continued to the Heavenward Ladder up to Riyue Rock. The clouds would come and go enveloping various portions of Huashan and providing an ever-changing landscape. I believe that I ascended the Black Dragon Ridge and the Blue Dragon Ridge to Wu Yun Peak which is the only way to go to the main peaks. I continued climbing up to Golden Lock Pass where I ate a corn on the cob for lunch before continuing an upward climb to the Central peak. As I climbed, Huashan people would stop me and ask me how old I was and wanted me to pose for photos with them which I am always happy to do. One young lady in a black dress that asked for a photo exclaimed: “You are so cool!” Many more people smiled and gave me a big thumbs-up along my climb.

The stairway at Central Peak suddenly made a steep descent for as far as I could see. This steep descent was a major disappointment for my legs which were already becoming tired and craving more oxygen than my bloodstream was readily able to supply. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairway, I was faced with a choice – either climb up to the East Peak and then descend again before climbing up to the Cliffside Plank Walk and the South Peak and onwards or take a pass on the East Peak. My legs made the decision for me and I headed in the direction of the Plank Walk.

Once again, climbing countless steps, I finally arrive at a sign pointing left to the Plank Walk and right to the South Peak. I turn left to climb up to the Heavenly Gate, the entrance to the Cliffside Plank Walk. I am now climbing with renewed enthusiasm to and through the Heavenly Gate to locate the Plank Walk ticket counter.

The information sign in both Chinese and English states: “The Cliffside Plank Path is No. 1 steep road in Mount Hua. This road is excavated in the middle of south peak, both the up and down are cliffs, the iron chain is hanged the road surface is built by stone and rafter, and is hanged by peg.” The ticket counter is part way down a cliffside walkway at the entrance to a temple cave – an umbrella provided shade for the attendant. When I arrive at the counter, the attendant instructed me to stash my backpack under his chair and he fitted me with an upper body safety harness. I keep my camera and start by descending down some steel bar steps which transition to vertical rock-cut steps to complete my initial descent. Steel chains are provided for hand holds and secondary safety cables have been added within the past several years. There are a series of horizontal rock-cut steps that lead to the actual wooden planks. The literature states that the Plank Walk is about sixty meters long. At the far end of the planks a series of vertical rock-cut steps are provided to climb up to a small plateau-like area to the dead-end of the plateau where a cave temple is situated.

Since the plank walk dead-ends, participants are required to pass other people going the opposite direction. Because I was taller, it was easier for me to lean out and have other people pass under my arms between me and the cliff. I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the Huashan Plank Walk experience which I found to be exhilarating.

Back at the ticket counter, I returned my harness and retrieved my backpack to continue climbing upward toward the South Peak summit. Climbing through Bizhao Cliff was another unique area to enjoy. An occasional off-in-the-distance view of Central Peak with the steep descending stairway reinforced the immense size of Huashan.

As I approached the South Peak, I was treated to occasional views of the West Peak which was being buffeted by clouds blowing in from the West. I placed a 5 Yuan note into a small pond at the South Peak along with many Yuan notes already left by other travelers. After a photo opportunity at the South Peak, I descended once again before climbing up to the West Peak. I passed the classic photo viewing point for the West Peak and marveled at the large photo on display of the West Peak on a clear day – today that view was completely obscured by clouds.

After visiting the West Peak, I began my descent back toward the North Peak where I began my climb and passed the Zhenyue Temple en route to and through the Golden Lock Pass. By now every uphill and downhill step was becoming increasingly painful to my legs. I was really glad that I had booked the room earlier in the day and rested for an hour or so before trying to see the sunset. When I went out to wait for the sunset, I got a momentary glimpse of the sun through the clouds. While I was waiting, the clouds continued to envelope the North Peak area and there would be no visible sunset for me today.

After dark, the view of Huashan from my room suddenly changed as lights installed alongside the stairways suddenly illuminated. It was similar to someone suddenly turning on the runway lights at an airport. I was surprised because the literature that I had read talked about people climbing Huashan during the night using flashlights and the dangers involved. With regard to climbing Huashan at night, the literature stated that there was a Chinese saying that you do not fear what you cannot see. The installation of the lights appears to be an ongoing improvement.

I slept well and set my alarm to get up early to hopefully see the morning sunrise. I soon realized that my legs had not fully recovered from yesterday’s climbing. When I first got up, the sky was mostly clear with quite a few stars being visible. It didn’t take long for the clouds to reappear and once again deny any opportunity for me to view a Huashan sunrise. I did enjoy the gradual daylight illumination through the clouds of Huashan.

After daybreak, I hiked up to the North Peak summit and hung my golden lock on a chain at the North Peak. I tried to take some photos of my lock showing my name and finally found a position for the lock with a reflection of my shirt on the lock which made my name easy to photograph. I explored the area of the north peak navigating several steep rock-cut ladders one last time on the way back to my room.

I checked out of my North Peak room and took the cable car back down to the lower station to catch the minibus back to the visitors’ center. A short taxi ride soon had me back at my room at the Huashan Hotel where I immediately washed my clothes and dried out my backpack that had become drenched in sweat during my Huashan climb. What an adventure Huashan had been for me!

On August 29th, I took a taxi to the Huashan train station about two hours before my train departure time. When I arrived at the train station, I realized that all of the trains were delayed approximately forty-five minutes and that there were trains to Xi’an about every thirty minutes. I exchanged my train ticket for an earlier train to Xi’an. When I arrived at Xi’an, getting a metered taxi from the train station proved to be a challenge. I ended up sharing a minivan to go from the train station to my Xi’an hotel.

After breakfast on August 30th, I walked to the old city South Gate. Within a block of the gate, I found a street of Old Xi’an that had been preserved probably for visiting tourists and shopping. I took some photos of the South Gate and then walked along the old city street and purchased a few inexpensive-easy-to-pack souvenirs. I walked through several interesting streets and finally took a taxi to the old city East Gate. After photographing the East Gate, while I was trying to get a taxi, a man on a motorcycle offered me a ride and took me to the West Gate. The motorcycle in the Xi’an traffic was an interesting ride for which I was charged twice as much as a metered taxi would have cost. I photographed the West Gate area and finally managed to get a taxi to the Drum Tower. I walked from the Drum Tower through a park-like area to the Bell Tower and back to my hotel.

While walking the night before, I observed that both the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower were beautifully illuminated at night. I also noticed a large McDonald’s near the Drum Tower and decided to return to McDonald’s for dinner and to photograph the illuminated Drum and Bell Towers. When I returned to McDonald’s, I ordered a meal and two young ladies came over to my table and asked if they could get a photograph with me. I asked them to join me at my table and learned that they were university students and anxious to practice speaking English. The lady next to me said that her name in Chinese meant October and that I could call her October. Back at the hotel, I repacked for my flight to Beijing.

When I woke up on August 31st, it was raining in Xi’an. Due to the rain, I checked out of my hotel more than an hour earlier than normal and found it impossible to get a taxi due to the rain. The hotel finally sent me to the airport in the hotel car. My final destination was Bangkok and I had a six hour connection time at Beijing. After checking into my flight to Beijing, I soon discovered that my flight to Beijing had been delayed due to flow control. Bottom line is that due to multiple delays at Xi’an, I ended up with less than an hour to connect to my Bangkok flight after finally arriving in Beijing. I would rest up in northern Thailand before returning home.

July 2012
San Francisco

Travel Notes

During the weekend of July 7th, Jan and I drove to San Francisco for a weekend getaway and to renew my India tourist visa. After checking into our hotel near the San Francisco airport, I realized that I had forgotten to bring along a pair of shoes – I had been driving in a pair of flip-flops. We spent a couple of hours shopping for my new pair of travel/hiking shoes.

We relocated to a downtown San Francisco hotel the following morning. We walked from our hotel to the Ferry Building and checked out the street vendors and shops within the Ferry Building. We continued walking to Chinatown where we ate lunch.

There were several afternoon activities that were of interest to us including a jazz concert in the Pacific Heights District, the San Francisco Orchestra playing a “Concert in the Park” at Stern Grove, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe performing at a park in the Mission District. We finally decided on the mime troupe performance. After lunch, we walked to Market Street and took the trolley toward the Castro. We exited the trolley at Dolores Street and walked to the mime troupe performance in the park.

The following morning I went to the India visa outsource location where I had my visa application appointment. After the paperwork formalities, I was told to return at 5:00 PM to pick up my passport.

Since we had the better part of the day open, we checked out of the hotel and drove through Haight Ashbury to the Golden Gate Park. Since it was Monday, the flower conservatory was closed but the outdoor flowers were spectacular. The separate Dahlia Garden was just exquisite – so many different species of Dahlia!

We continued meandering through Golden Gate Park and spent some time at the northern-most windmill. We continued driving north to Lincoln Park and stopped at the Palace of the Legion of Honor. We stumbled upon the Holocaust Memorial designed by George Segal in 1984 which is situated adjacent to the parking lot for the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

We also visited the site of some of the old artillery defenses for the Golden Gate at the Presidio and photographed the Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog. We drove through the Presidio and south along the ocean before returning to the city to pick up my passport with my new India tourist visa.

We caught the tail end of the rush hour traffic as we drove south on Highway 101 to a hotel near Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world. The annual garlic festival was still about two weeks away. A man at a store in Gilroy directed us to the LJB Farm where we purchased some fresh garlic. We also stopped at a local roadside market to purchase some very fresh cherries en route to Los Banos where we connected with Interstate 5 for a leisurely drive back home to Los Angeles.

See pictures from San Francisco

June 2012
Turkey

Travel Notes

When I decided to travel to Sanliurfa, Turkey, my primary goal was to visit Gobekli Tepe, the world’s oldest archaeological sanctuary discovered to date. In addition, I also hoped to be able to arrange a visit to Mount Nemrut.

After overnighting in Istanbul, I flew to Sanliurfa on June 7, 2012. The Sanliurfa airport is situated about 35 kilometers from the city. As I departed the terminal, I noticed that there was only one taxi to be found and I immediately hired it for the journey into Sanliurfa. I had a reservation for a hotel that I reserved via the Internet and upon arrival, I was surprised that the front desk was empty and nobody could speak English or interpret my confirmed reservation for a private single ensuite room. They pointed to a sofa and indicated that I should wait there. Young children would come in and sit on an opposing sofa, stare at me, occasionally say “hello” and then giggle. After nearly half an hour, a man arrived, turned on the lights above the front desk and said that my room would be ready soon. After waiting nearly an hour, a young man came, took my bag and motioned for me to follow him. After several flights of stairs, we arrived at what was to be my room. It was the smallest hotel room that I had ever seen (barely room for the bed and barely room for one carry-on bag at the end of the bed) and the ensuite toilet with shower appeared to be about four feet by four feet square. The bathroom floor was permanently wet and moldy.

No money had as yet changed hands, so I went for a walk and stopped in at the Hotel Arte to see if any rooms were available. A nice young lady said that they had rooms with breakfast included and free WiFi. I looked at two available rooms – one was very nice and the other one was considerably less desirable. I immediately booked the very nice room and walked back to the first hotel and moved out. I offered to pay for my time there but the man behind the front desk declined to take any money.

I moved my belongings into Hotel Arte and took a short nap in one of the two large very comfortable beds in my room. I figured that my next challenge might be to find a car and English speaking driver to take me to the places that I wanted to visit in the area. An Internet article stated that the Hotel Ugur owner, Mr. Mustarfa, speaks four languages (Turkish, English, Arabic, and Kurdish) and is able to arrange tours to destinations in the surrounding area and Syria. As I was moving into the Hotel Arte, I noticed that the Hotel Ugar was located nearby. I decided to go and try to meet Mustafa after breakfast the following morning.

I was awake early the next morning and after breakfast, I walked over to the Hotel Ugur and asked if Mustafa was available. A man named Adam said that he was Mustafa’s brother and that Mustafa would be taking a small group to Mount Nemrut in about twenty minutes. I asked if I could join the group and Adam said that I could. In a few minutes a lady from Taiwan named Sunny came into the lobby. She said that she had just arrived in Sanliurfa and had also just joined the group to go to Mount Nemrut. Soon, Mr. Mustafa arrived and, after meeting him, a group of eight people plus Mustafa departed in his minibus for Mount Nemrut. What a lucky break for me!

Our first stop en route to Mount Nemrut was at the Ataturk Dam. This is a very large rock-filled dam on the Euphrates River situated on the border of Adyaman Province and Sanliurfa Province. Construction began in 1983 and was completed during 1990 as part of the State Hydraulic Works (DSI). It is the sixth largest dam in the world and the largest dam in Turkey. The dam provides water irrigation to the region as well as electricity generation. The dam was originally called the Karababa Dam but was later renamed in honor of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. We were able to admire the dam from a viewing location on an opposite hilltop while sipping tea. We left the viewing area and, after crossing a bridge over the Euphrates river, we turned off the road and drove down to the river bank beside the bridge to get a close look at the Euphrates River. Some people waded in the water and other people practiced skipping small flat stones across the surface of the water.

We continued driving northbound to the west of Lake Ataturk Dam, the large lake formed by the filling of the Ataturk Dam. We stopped for lunch at the Papatya Restaurant in Katha where we had salad and our choice of entrees and beverage. Our next stop was at the Karakus Tumules. This monument tomb was erected by Kommagene King Mithridates II for his mother Isias and is called Karakus (Black Bird) Tumulus because of the eagle on the southern column. The tomb is approximately twenty five meters high with soil and stones and was decorated with three groups of columns during its construction. The column with the hand-shaking scene was for his sister, Laodike; the column with the bull statue was for his mother, Isias; the column with the eagle statue was for his father, Antiochis and his daughter Aka; and the lion statue that has fallen to the ground was for his sister, Laodike. In addition, he constructed a sacred temple at the site but when the Romans occupied Kommagene, they removed the temple building stones and used them in constructing the Cendere Bridge. In addition, a very good view of Mount Nemrut is visible from Karakus Tumules. We had time to walk around the site and climb to the top while enjoying panoramic views in all directions. Karakua Tumulus is within the National Park protection area and is considered to be the entry point to Nemrut Mountain.

Our next stop was at the Cendere Bridge, constructed by the XVIth Roman Legion in 200 AD to span the Cendere River which was known as Chabines in ancient times. The bridge has remained in remarkably good condition. It has two columns erected at the southwestern end of the bridge for Emperor Septimus Severus and his wife Julia Doma and originally had two columns at the opposite end erected for the emperor’s sons, Caracalla and Geta. Only the column for Caracalla remains – Caaracalla upon becoming emperor, killed his brother, Geta, and subsequently had the column erected in Geta’s name removed. The bridge was erected at the downstream mouth of a huge Cendere River gorge. After walking across the bridge, several of us climbed the western rocky side of the gorge to admire the view of the river flowing through the gorge. Downstream from the bridge, the landscape became a plateau-like area with the Cendere River joining with the Nymphois River before eventually flowing into the Euphrates River.

Our next stop was at the Selcuk Bridge over the Nymphois River also known as the Old Katha Brook. This river flowed between Arsameia and New Fortress during the Kommagene period and was called “Nymph” which translates to fertility in Greek. The water for both Arsameia and New Fortress was supplied from here. As we looked upstream, the mountain top on the left was New Fortress and the mountain top on the right was Arsameia. This water irrigating the Kommagene lands to the Euphrates River was considered sacred by Kommagene people.

We drove around and up the mountain and eventually arrived near the ancient city ruins of Arsameia. After a short uphill hike, we arrived at a lower level of the city with several rock-cut caves that formed a part of the city. There were several stone reliefs with inscriptions, including one with the largest and oldest inscription of Anatolia. In addition, there is large stone relief depicting a scene with Antiochus shaking hands with Hercules Herakles. Below this large relief is a rock-cut tunnel some 158 meters long that had been hewn deep into the mountain. The actual city and palace ruins are situated on the plain on the top of the mountain. From the top we could look across the Nymphois River to New Fortress on top of the adjacent mountain which Mustafa said is also called Old Katha. The panoramic views from the top were absolutely stunning. Mustafa also pointed out where some stone floor murals had been removed and taken to a museum for protection.

From Arsameia, there are two ways to drive to the top of Mount Nemrut. The more direct route was undergoing major construction so Mustafa opted to take the longer but safer road. The last several kilometers have a very steep grade to the top which is some 2,150 meters above sea level. After we arrived at the parking lot during late afternoon, there was another 600 meter uphill climb to reach the top where the temples at the base of the tumulus are located – I opted to ride on one of the mules to the top and also to ride the same mule back to the parking lot. King Antiochus 1 erected a magnificent tomb for himself that consisted of a tumulus formed by broken stones over the tomb room and sacred areas surrounding three sides of the tumulus. The tumulus mound was originally sixty meters high and has decreased to fifty meters high due to natural forces and destructive research methods. The sacred areas are called terraces and the east and west terraces have large statues which represent the deities including the king’s own figure as well.

On the inscriptions at the east and west terraces, the following words of Antiochus 1 describe the construction: “I had these statues really worthy of the deities erected: The statues of Zeus-Oromasdes, Apollon, Mithras-Helice, Hermes, Artagnes-Herakles-Ares, a representation of Kommagene feeding everything as a symbol of my own self as engraved from the same stone and seated on the throne together with them erected beside the deities who hear everything...” He also states in the inscriptions that his sacred tomb where he wants to lie in peace forever after death is located under the tumulus.

We stayed until the sun set behind the mountains to the west and then returned to the parking area. After dining at the Papatya Restaurant for dinner, we returned to Sanliurfa around midnight. Mustafa had delivered a wonderful fifteen-hour day trip excursion to Mount Nemrut for us!

During our trip to Mount Nemrut, I arranged for another day trip with Mustafa the following day to go to Harran and several other places of interest south of Sanliurfa. By the time we arrived back at his hotel, three other new arriving guests also wanted to join the trip to Harran. The next morning, June 9, the three new guests joined me, along with Sunny and Mustafa, for our day trip to Harran and vicinity.

According to some of the Turkish tourism literature, Harran is a very interesting ancient place. Harran and nearby Sumatar were two of the main centers of the Paganism which is based on polytheist beliefs of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian cultures. Harran is also mentioned in both the Book of Genesis and in the Islamic Qur’an. According to some of the literature, Harran is where Terah, his son, Abram (the Prophet Abraham), his grandson, Lot, and Abram’s wife, Sarai, settled while in route to Canan. Harran is also connected with Isaac and Jacob – it was the home of Isaac’s wife, Rebekka, and their son, Jacob. It was strategically located and figured prominently in the Assyrian, Median, Persian, Seleucid, Classical, and Islamic periods.

Our first stop was at the Harran ancient city archaeological site. Harran is also the location of the first university in the world. We walked past the current archaeological area and visited the site of the Grand Mosque of Harran which is described as being the oldest mosque in Anatolia – it is also referred to as the Ruins of the University of Harran because it housed the university. The University of Harran was an 8th and 9th century center for translating works of astronomy, philosophy, natural sciences, and medicine from Greek to Syriac by Assyrians. Harran is also famous for its beehive domed houses. We visited an area with traditional beehive buildings, and I was amazed at just how cool the interior of the domed buildings was when it was very hot outside. Although the Harran Castle site was not open, we were able to walk around the perimeter of the castle. About half way around the castle, three cute young girls came up to me and wanted me to take a photo of them – I got a great photo and they each got one Turkish Lira.

Our next stop was at the Bazda Caves which are located approximately sixteen kilometers from Harran. These large stone pits were used as quarries for large building stones used in construction at Harran, Suayb, Sehri, and Han el-Ba’rur. The caves are huge with many square tunnels and galleries that also include exits to both sides of the mountain.

After exploring part of the Bazda Caves, we continued to Han el-Ba’rur, also known as Kervansarayi, which was on a caravan route. This building is situated approximately twenty-six kilometers from Harran in Goktas village. This building dates back to the age of Ayyubids (Christian Era 1219). According to the legend, Haci Husameddin Ali Bey, son of Imad, son of Isa who had this khan constructed, filled it with dried grapes and offered them to his passerby guests and/or accommodated guests. This building was ruined after the Mongolian invasion and later used as a stable.

Although the main road from Sanliurfa to Harran and the Syrian border was very good, the small roads from Harran to the Bazda Caves and our subsequent destinations were in need of major repairs. Mustafa blamed the condition of the small roads on corrupt contractors and large truck traffic.

Our next stop was at the Suayb Ancient City ruins. Ancient Suayb was the home of the Prophet Jethro (Sho’aib) and is thirty-seven kilometers from Harran. The Prophet Jethro met Moses in the nearby Sumatar Ancient City after Moses first escaped from the Egyptian Pharaoh, and where Jethro gave the legendary miraculous rod to Moses. Moses also married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, and lived in Suayb Ancient City prior to returning to Egypt. We explored the ruins of Suayb and also visited the cave house where the Prophet Jethro lived.

Our next destination was the Sumatar Ancient City ruins. Sumatar Ancient City, also referred to as Sogmatar Ancient City, is situated about eighteen kilometers from Suayb Ancient City and approximately fifty-seven kilometers from Harran. We climbed to the top of the solid rock “Sacred Hill” at Sumatar Ancient City which has reliefs of the sun god and the moon god carved in the slopes and which has tablets engraved on the ground at the top. Mustafa said that the tablets were engraved in the Syriac language. Off in the distance to the west, we were able to see the seven hilltops where the ruins of seven temples symbolizing the temples which were built for the planets of Saturn, Shamash (Sun), Jupiter, Sin (Moon), Venus, Mercury, and Mars. After descending from “Sacred Hill,” we visited the Sumatar Pognon Cave. The southern, northern, and western walls of the rock-cut cave are decorated with man sized reliefs symbolizing gods and inscriptions in Syriac. Two of the reliefs have a crescent shaped design above the heads that symbolizes the Moon God Sin.

Our final stop for the day was at Gobekli Tepe, the oldest archaeological sanctuary in the world that has been discovered to date. It is situated seventeen kilometers northeast of Sanliurfa city and has been radio carbon dated back to 9,000 BCE but some scholars believe it to be even older. It was first observed during a survey in 1964 during which it was postulated that a Byzantine cemetery lay beneath the surface of the hill. During 1994, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt visited the site and determined it was a much older Neolithic site. Excavation here has continued since 1995, and it is estimated that only about five per cent of the entire site has been uncovered. The structures are round buildings and include numerous T-shaped monolithic stone pillars many of which have relief carvings on them. The relief carvings include foxes, lions, cattle, hyenas, wild boar, wild asses, cranes, scorpions, ants, spiders, many snakes, and some anthropomorphic figures. The site was backfilled sometime after 8000 BCE when the buildings were covered up with debris consisting mainly of flint gravel, stone tools and animal bones. Gobekli Tepe surpasses the Gigantia Temple on Gozo Island in Malta which I visited in February, 2012, as being the oldest sanctuary in the world discovered to date.

By the time we arrived at Gobleki Tepe, it was late in the day and the light for taking photographs was very dim. We explored the site and watched the sun set to the west before returning to Sanliurfa.

During our day trip to Harran, I arranged for a short day trip for Sunday, June 10, with Mustafa to visit some of the local attractions in Sanliurfa city. Sunny was departing and, after reserving a seat on a bus departing at 8:30 PM, decided to join Mustafa and me on Sunday morning as my guest for our local day trip.

The Turkish Government Tourism literature generally refers to Sanliurfa City as Urfa which had also been known as Edessa in ancient times. It refers to Urfa as being the oldest settlement point of Mesopotamia and a strategic point throughout history due to its proximity to water resources and being on the trade routes. The history of the city center is dated back to around the 9th millennium BCE after the excavations made in Gobekli Tepe only fifteen kilometers from the Urfa city center. Throughout history, Urfa has been under the dominations of the Eblaians, Acadians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Hittites, Hurri-Mitannis, Armenians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks, the Crusaders, and the Islamic dynasties. The literature states that Urfa is the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham and that Urfa is the fourth holy place of the Islamic World after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. In addition, the literature states that the Prophet Job (Ayyub) suffered in a cave and then died in Urfa and that the Prophet Elisha (Alyasa) traveled to Eyyupnebi village where Job lived but died before seeing him.

Our first stop in Urfa was at the park in the Hanlar Region Gol Quarter of Urfa. Since I was unable to find a specific name for the park, I will refer to it as “Hanlar Region Gol Quarter Park” or “The Park.” The Park is an area with much history in that it contains the Urfa Castle, the Cave where the Prophet Abraham was born, the Halil-Ur Rachman Lake, the Ayn-I Zeliha Lake, the Hallil-Ur Rachman Mosque, the Razvaniey Mosque, and the mosque at the entrance to the Cave of Abraham.

Since it was Sunday, The Park was very crowded with people visiting and picnicking. We walked past the Hallil-Ur Rachman Mosque and went directly to the Halil-Ur Rachman Lake. The Halil-Ur Rachman Lake is also known as the Sacred Fish Pond. The Turkish Government Tourism literature states that this is the location where the Prophet Abraham was thrown into the fire by King Nimrod for his struggle against the idols which the people worshiped. When Abraham was thrown into the fire, the fire turned into water and the wood for the fire turned into fish. Legend also states the when Zeliha, who believed in Abraham, could not bear the fact that Abraham had been throwm into the fire, also threw herself into the fire from the site where Urfa Castle stands. On the place where she fell into the fire, there formed the lake known as Ayn-I Zeliha Lake which means tears of Zeliha.

After visiting the Halil-Ur Rachman Lake, we visited the Razvaniey Mosque which is adjacent to Halil-Ur Rachman Lake. We then continued walking through the park and stopped at a silver shop which was owned by Mustafa’s nephew to relax out of the hot sun and to sip some tea. After tea, we walked through The Park past the Ayn-I Zeliha Lake to the mosque at the entrance to the Cave of Abraham. We went through the mosque to a courtyard where sacred water flowed in a channel and where the entrance to the Cave of Abraham is located.

There are two entrances – one for men and one for women – to get to the actual entrance to the Cave of Abraham, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. Sunny went through the women’s entrance and I used the men’s entrance. The room in front of the cave was crowded with people and the cave was behind a clear glass panel. There were lights within the cave which reflected on the glass viewing panel and made any attempt at photography very difficult.

We then went to a very nice restaurant that overlooked The Park and the Urfa Castle. We were seated on cushions on the floor and enjoyed a superb lunch. During lunch, I told Mustafa that I wanted to return to Gobekli Tepe with the bright sunshine overhead and after lunch, we went back to Gobekli Tepe. The sunshine was perfect for much better photographs and the visible relief carvings on the stone pillars were stunning.

After taking photographs at Gobekli Tepe, we returned to Urfa and went to the Halepli Bahce Murals. These murals, dated from the 5th century AD, are located in a 13-room palace that was found during a proposed development project. Excavations began during 2007 and still continue. Original stones from the Euphrates River that are between 1 and 4 square millimeters were used on the floor mosaics of this palace. According to the Turkish Government Tourism literature, the mosaics describe four Amazon queens fighting against male dominance, the life story of Asil Ktitic, who was the protector of the building, the story of Black Slave and Zebra, and mosaics having plant and animal patterns.

After visiting the mosaics, we returned to The Park where Sunny and I climbed to the top of Urfa Castle. The two columns at the top above the castle are dated to the 3rd century BCE. It is believed that the Prophet Abraham was thrown into the fire from this hill. The views from the top were magnificent. After walking the length of the castle top, we noticed the entrance to a rock cut tunnel down as an exit. We walked down the tunnel which took us all the way down to the ground below where we met Mustafa and returned to his hotel. Back at the hotel, Sunny prepared to go to catch her bus and Mustafa suggested that I return in the morning to go with him to visit the bazaars.

On Monday, June 11, I returned to Mustafa’s hotel and Mustafa said: “I think you may be angry with me.” He then explained that four young ladies arrived the night before and that he had agreed to take them to Mount Nemrut so he would not be able to go with me to visit the bazaars. I assured him that I was very happy that he had arranged the trip to Mount Nemrut with the ladies and that I was very happy to explore more of Urfa on my own. Before he left for the mountain, he recommended that I have tea at Yildiz Sarayi Konnkevi, a hotel and restaurant in old Urfa, to visit the Ulu Mosque, and several bazaars that he recommended.

Since I had two days remaining in Urfa, I decided to split them up and visit the bazaars and mosque during the morning and edit photos during the afternoon. I would visit the Urfa Archaeological Museum the following day. I finally found Yildiz Sarayi Konnkevi in the narrow streets of old Urfa and enjoyed a cup of tea in a second floor alcove overlooking the courtyard. The waiter asked where I was from and said that there would be no charge for the tea.

The streets of old Urfa are very picturesque and interesting to meander through. I visited the Ulu Mosque and then explored the colorful bazaars before returning to my hotel to begin the daunting task of editing photos.

On Tuesday morning, June 12, I visited with Mustafa and as I asked questions about the region, he managed to locate a copy of a guidebook for Sanliurfa in English published by the Turkish Government Tourism Department. This was the first publication in English that I had seen since I arrived in Sanliurfa. Suddenly many loose ends from our prior day trips began to come together. Since it was his only copy, I photographed some of the pages that I found to be the most interesting, and I became determined to try to find some additional English publications.

After being directed to two different locations, I was finally directed to the Culture and Tourism Department Building. I walked into the building and a man finally took me to an exit into a courtyard area and pointed straight ahead and then indicated a turn to the right like a U-turn. Halfway across the courtyard was a sidewalk where I turned right and went to the end where I only saw utilities for the building. I went back to where I had turned right and the man kept pointing to the building across the courtyard. I went into the other building into an empty hallway with all of the doors closed and no signs on the doors. As I was about to give up, a man came out of one of the closed doors and, when I communicated that I wanted the tourism office, he opened a door and indicated for me to go inside. Once inside, a man came over and in good English said that I was at the right place. I told him that I wanted a tourist guidebook and map in English. He gave me a Sanliurfa Travel Guide map and said he did not have any books or pamphlets. When I asked if he had any additional travel information in English, he gave me a tourism DVD captioned “The City of Prophets Sanliurfa.” I thanked him and finally felt that I had gotten the additional information that I wanted.

Adjacent to the Culture and Tourism Department Building is a wonderful Culture Garden with replicas of many of the prized archaeological items on display in a large open courtyard. I explored the Culture Garden before continuing on to the Urfa Archaeological Museum.

The Sanliurfa Archaeological Museum has some amazing exhibits from the region. Attempts to establish a museum in Sanliurfa began with a collection of items for the museum in 1948. The museum opened in 1969 and is now the fifth biggest museum in Turkey with approximately 74,000 items in its possession. Some of the oldest items in the world are exhibited in the museum including the “11,500 Years old Balikligol Sculpture which is the oldest sculpture in the world.” After viewing the exhibits within the museum, I also viewed the exhibits outside. The museum was a fitting conclusion to my visit to Sanliurfa.

I returned to my hotel and continued editing photos. That evening, I went to have tea and to visit one last time with Mustafa at Hotel Ugur. In the event that anyone would like to contact Mr. Mustafa, he can be reached via E-mail (musma63@yahoo.com) and his mobile phone number is 0 (522) 685 29 42.

I departed Sanliurfa on Wednesday, June 13, and flew to Istanbul where I spent the night before flying home to Los Angeles on June 14.

See pictures from Turkey

See pictures from Seattle & Orcas Island

May 2012
Seattle and
Orcas Island

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at Seattle, Washington, on Thursday, May 3, to visit friends in Federal Way and Orcas Island. We spent several days in Federal Way visiting friends. On Saturday they took us to see some sights at Tacoma. On the way to lunch, they parked near the old Tacoma Union Station which has been integrated into the Federal Courthouse. We all walked from Union Station across the “Bridge of Glass” and meandered through the Tacoma Glass Museum complex. After eating lunch at one of their favorite German restaurants, we spent some time exploring a large nursery while they shopped for some landscaping plants. While driving in the vicinity of Federal Way, we were occasionally treated to majestic views of both Puget Sound and of Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in Washington State.

We returned to the SeaTac Airport on Monday, May 7, to catch the Airporter Shuttle bus to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal where we took the ferry to Orcas Island. We were able to see Mount Baker in the distance from Anacortes and from various open areas during the ferry ride through the San Juan Islands to Orcas. Mount Baker is the second highest mountain in Washington. The ferry stopped at Shaw Island before proceeding to the Orcas Island Ferry terminal at Orcas Village.

We spent four days with our friends on Orcas, and they treated us to smoked salmon and smoked halibut right out of their smoker. They also prepared absolutely wonderful fresh oysters and clams during our stay. Also during our visit, they showed us some of the local tourist sites. One interesting site is a building brightly painted each year by high school students who also paint their names on the end of the building facing the road. We visited Cascade Bay, Deer Harbor, Doe Bay, and the two bays at Eastsound Village. Our friends said that they had never seen such low tides at these bays during the entire time that they have lived on Orcas.

One afternoon, we drove to the top of Mount Constitution, the highest point on Orcas, and admired the panoramic views from the viewpoint. We also meandered through the Orcas Island Pottery grounds where we purchased several small items. While browsing through several shops at Eastsound Village, we purchased a few small items at Kizmit, a store which had a large selection of items imported from Southeast Asia.

On Friday, May 11, we backtracked on the ferry to Anacortes and continued on the shuttle bus to SeaTac where our friends from Federal Way once again met us. We spent the Mother’s Day weekend with them and caught a late afternoon flight back to Los Angeles on May 14. I usually book aisle seats for my flights but this time I had a window seat on the left side of the plane. The weather was clear as we flew past Mount Rainier and Mount Adams but the clouds completely obscured any view of Mount Hood in Oregon. Jan was able to get a glimpse of Mount St. Helens out the right side of the plane. A break in the clouds afforded me a distant view across the California High Sierras to Mono Lake and then Yosemite National Park came into view. As we approached Los Angeles above the Santa Monica Mountains, the late afternoon sunshine illuminated the Getty Museum and Westwood.

April 2012
Java

Travel Notes

I decided to travel to Central Java, Indonesia, to visit the Buddhist temple of Borobudur and the Hindu temples of Prambanan. After spending time researching the Internet, I contacted Mr. Wiedy Antara of Borobudur World Heritage to inquire about the possibility of arranging a special tour package for me with a private car and driver. Mr. Wiedy responded with some suggested activities and we finally customized a five day private tour package that included Borobudur, Prambanan, the Dieng Plateau, the Mount Merapi volcano, and several other tourist attractions in the vicinity of Yogyakarta City.

I arrived at Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia in the early afternoon on Friday, 6 April, where I was met by Rudy, my driver, with a Suzuki minivan. After a quick stop at an ATM machine, we drove to visit the Hindu temples of Prambanan where a pre-arranged guide was waiting for me to arrive. With the assistance of my guide I was able to explore Prambanan, the inner zone temples, and the nearby Prambanan Museum before an afternoon rain shower arrived.

Prambanan is a 9th century Hindu temple complex and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally there were 240 temples within the complex that consisted of three zones. The outer zone was surrounded by a wall. The middle zone contained hundreds of small temples. The inner zone was the most holy zone and it contained eight main temples and eight shrines – these temples and shrines have all been reconstructed. The largest temple within the inner zone is forty-seven meters tall.

We continued driving for about an hour to the Manohara Hotel, which is situated within the Borobudur Park and is within two hundred meters of the temple entrance. The rain had subsided by the time I checked into the hotel, received my Borobudur entrance pass, breakfast voucher, audio visual presentation voucher, and was briefed on the details for my Sunrise Tour the following morning. Since I still had thirty minutes before Borobudur closed for the day, I walked up to Borobudur and around a portion of the temple base to become familiar with the temple layout. While I was there, a man requested permission to take a photo of his wife with me. I agreed and loaned my camera to him so that he could also take a photo with my camera – requests for photos with me occurred nearly everywhere I went whenever I was walking alone. The documentary video presentation on Borobudur was magnificent and provided much insight in preparation for my visit the following morning.

Borobudur dates from the 8th century and is the single largest Buddhist structure on Earth. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It consists of six square platforms above which are three circular platforms and a large main stupa dome at the very top. The literature states that the temple is decorated by at least 2,670 wall relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The three upper levels have a total of 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupas. It is situated in the Kedu Plain between the two volcanos of Mount Sumbing and Mount Sundoro to the west and Mount Merbabu and Mount Merapi to the east. The eruption of Mount Merapi during October and November 2010 covered Borobudur with volcanic ash, and the temple complex was closed during November 2010 to clean up the ash – the upper levels remained closed to the public until late September 2011. Following the reopening of the upper levels, the Borobudur Conservation Agency has restricted the number of visitors to the upper levels to 82 people. Mr. Wiedy said that since people who visit after 9:30 AM are allowed only five minutes to visit the three upper levels, the Sunrise Tour becomes even more special.

After dinner, as I walked through the hotel lobby, the receptionist called me by name and informed me that a man named Mr. Ronnie would be the guide arranged by Mr. Wiedy for my Borobudur Sunrise Tour. I got up at 4:00 AM and met Mr. Ronnie in the hotel lobby at 4:15 AM. As part of my tour package, I was given a tour ticket, a flashlight, and a sarong to wear at the temple. Visitors to the temple are required to wear a sarong but the rule didn’t appear to be strictly enforced. Although quite a few people were gathering in the lobby for the tour, Mr. Ronnie and I left early and we were the only ones at the upper levels the temple for about fifteen minutes while Ronnie pointed out stupas of particular interest. After a spectacular sunrise, I took photos from the upper levels before returning to the hotel to enjoy a wonderful buffet breakfast.

I returned to the temple by myself after breakfast and systematically walked around each of the six square lower levels admiring the carved relief panels and had one last quick look at the three circular upper levels. Many young people stopped me and wanted to practice English and to have their photo taken with me – I requested them to also take a photo with my camera on several occasions.

Borobudur was an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage site and two additional nearby temples were part of the ancient pilgrimage route to Borobudur. They are Candi Mendut and Candi Pawon – Candi means temple in Java. I was able to visit both of these small temples en route to my next hotel after I finished exploring Borobudur.

On Sunday morning, we departed the hotel at 6:30 AM and drove for about two hours to the Dieng Plateau. The Dieng Plateau is a volcano caldera that was formed by the eruption of the ancient Mountain Prau. It is 2,000 meters above sea level and volcanic activity still continues in the area. The scenery is spectacular and this region grows large quantities of potatoes.

The ancient Javanese Hindus built many temples and made Dieng Plateau a sacred place. The temples were built between the 8th and 13th centuries and about nine of the temples remain today. Although there are several temple complexes on the plateau, the largest is Complex Candi Arjuna. It consists of an area with five temples and an adjacent area to the North called Complex Darmasala with two ancient wells and only temple foundations remaining. The five temples in the complex from north to south are Candi Arjuna, Candi Semar, Candi Srikandi, Candi Sembadra, and Candi Puntadewa. Complex Candi Sietiaki with one intact temple, Candi Sietiaki, is several hundred meters to the west of Complex Candi Arjuna. Complex Candi Gatotkaca is adjacent to the road several hundred meters to the south of Complex Candi Arjuna. Two additional temple situated sites farther away from Candi Arjuna are Candi Bima and Complex Candi Dwarawah.

We parked at the roadside entrance to the Candi Arjuna Complex, and I walked to the complex to see the temples first. I continued walking to the adjacent Complex Darmasala and paid special attention to the two ancient wells that the literature states have never run dry even during droughts. I also walked to the Complex Candi Sietiaki to have a look at Candi Sietiaki before hiking back to the highway entrance where I also visited Complex Candi Gatokaca.

After exploring the seven temples that remain in the vicinity of Candi Arjuna, we drove to visit an active volcano crater called Sikidang Crater. I hiked to the edge of the crater with spectacular boiling mud that was spewing out sulfur gas and steam. There was so much steam that it was difficult to capture the very large roaring boil of the mud in a photograph.

My next stop was at Candi Bima, which is near the entrance to the Sikidang Crater. Candi Bima was the eighth actual temple that I would visit – I did not visit the Candi Dwarawati Complex where one more temple has been reconstructed.

Telaga Warna, which means colored lake, is a very beautiful lake that attracted many visitors. Our last stop was at the Dieng Plateau Theater to see a documentary film about the Dieng Plateau volcanic action and geothermal activities. After visiting the Dieng Plateau, I searched the Internet for additional information and the most complete site for Dieng Plateau tourism that I have found to date is at http://heritages.wordpress.com/.

Once again, I was surprised at how many random strangers stopped me at various locations at the Dieng Plateau and asked to have their photos taken with me. Several times I loaned them my camera so that I could also have a photo with them. It was also interesting that I was never approached by random strangers when I was accompanied by someone.

The drive back to Yogyakarta took approximately three hours where checked into my last hotel. That evening I had the opportunity to go to dinner at a local restaurant with Mr. Wiedy Antara. He is a very unique person from Borobudur who went to the university to learn English and journalism. He specialized in travel journalism and ultimately returned to Borobudur where he teaches local residents English, computers, and how to be drivers and/or tour guides – the first course taken is free, and the costs for two additional courses are pro-rated. He is also largely responsible for promoting Borobudur into the most popular tourism site in Indonesia. My driver and all of my tour guides were Borobudur local residents from Mr. Wiedy’s school. We had a wonderful dinner, and I was extremely happy that Mr. Wiedy is focused on improving opportunities for the Borobudur local residents. Anyone who may wish to contact Mr. Wiedy can do so via email.

On Monday morning, 9 April, we drove to Mount Merapi where I explored a portion of the site of the 2010 eruption and hiked out on an area of the lava flow. We drove back to Yogyakarta to tour the Sultan’s Palace and the Taman Sari and to visit a batik factory.

In the evening, I went to the Ramayama Dance Ballet presentation at the Purawisata Jogja open air theater in Yogyakarta. Fortunately for me, they passed out a brief description of the story in English before the actual performance began. The costumes were exquisite and the performers coupled with the musicians were a delight to watch.

We returned to the hotel sometime after 10:00 PM and I completed my final packing to be ready to meet Rudy at 5:00 AM the following morning for my flight back to Singapore. Rudy was in the hotel lobby waiting for me when I arrived at 4:45 AM for our final drive to the Yogyakarta International Airport. As I flew to Singapore, I marveled at how courteous the Javanese drivers were and how much I enjoyed all of the Indonesian people that I interacted with during my trip – especially the young adults that wanted to be photographed with me.

After returning to Singapore, I continued on to Thailand where I attended the Songkran Festival at Chiang Rai. The Songkran Festival is the celebration of the original Thai New Year. One of the highlights of Songkran is the many water fights in the streets engaged by people of all ages. I walked to one of the main streets in Chiang Rai and a small Thai boy approached me and began spraying me with his water gun. He soon ran out of water and, after refilling, he returned with his smaller brother and they both enjoyed drenching me with their water guns.

Some people stationed themselves curbside in the streets with barrels and tubs of water, buckets, pans, and hoses to constantly refill the barrels and tubs. They would engage people passing by. Other people put tubs and barrels of water in the beds of trucks and would throw water at the other people alongside the streets and in the streets. The Chiang Rai Times newspaper published a photo of an elephant being used to spray people during the water fights. The water fights are all in good fun and are thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

See pictures from Java

February 2012
Malta

Travel Notes

I arrived at Malta in the early afternoon on Friday, 24 February 2012. The weather was warm with bright sunny skies. After checking into my hotel near the Castille Square in Valletta, I decided to explore the neighborhood near the hotel. While walking, I came across signs pointing to the Lascaris War Rooms.

Since I had never heard of them, I decided to stop in for a visit. They were an ultra top secret complex which housed Great Britain’s War Headquarters in Malta. It was here that the defense of Malta was conducted and the Allied offensive operations in the Mediterranean were directed. It was also here during 1943 that General Eisenhower and his Supreme Commanders directed the Allied Invasion of Sicily. Following World War 2, it became the Mediterranean Fleet Headquarters. In 1967, it was taken over by NATO to be used as a strategic Communication Center for the interception of Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean. They are being restored to the circa WW2 timeframe and the tour was well worth the admission charge.

The following morning I went to visit some of Malta’s prehistoric megalithic temples. My first stop was at the Tarxien Temples which date back to 3600-3200 BC and are a World Heritage site. Both the South Temple and the East Temple were built between 3150 and 2500 BC. After leaving the Tarxien Temples, I went to see the Blue Grotto en route to the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temple sites. The Blue Grotto is spectacular and should not be missed while visiting Malta.

After touring the visitor center at the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temple sites, I walked to Hagar Qim Temple which dates back to 3600-3200 BC. I continued walking down the hillside to the Mnajadra Temples which also date back to 3600-3200 BC and consist of three temples overlooking a forecourt. The middle temple is the most recent of the Mnajadra Temples and dates from 3100-2500 BC. Both of these temple complexes are also World Heritage sites.

Upon returning to Valletta, I visited the Malta National Archeological Museum to view relics from various prehistoric Malta temples. The collection in the museum was magnificent and which I appreciated even more for having been to several of the temples earlier in the day. The museum also allowed photography.

When I arrived back at the hotel, I had the receptionist book a day trip to the Island of Gozo for me the following day. A little later I inquired to the hotel receptionist about obtaining a ticket to the very exclusive Hal Saflieni Hypogeum ancient underground burial complex. She told me that tickets were extremely difficult to obtain but that they are normally available from the Malta National Archeological Museum and that a few last-minute tickets are available each morning when the Fine Arts Museum opens. I walked back to the Archeological Museum and was told that tickets for the Hypogeum were fully booked thru March 2. They also said that a few last-minute tickets for the following day are available each morning when the Fine Arts Museum opens. I asked how to get to the Fine Arts Museum and I walked to the museum to be sure that I knew how to get there in case I decided to try for a last-minute ticket.

When I arrived at the Fine Arts Museum, I went to the receptionist and asked if this was the place to obtain last-minute tickets. He replied that it was the place and asked me how many tickets I needed. I replied that I needed only one ticket and he replied that he had two tickets for the following day and could sell me one. I immediately purchased the ticket for the 12:00 noon tour for Sunday, 26 February. Upon returning to my hotel, I told the receptionist that I had somehow managed to obtain a Hypogeum ticket for Sunday and she changed my Gozo Island reservation to Monday.

On Sunday morning, I took a taxi to the Hypogeum and the taxi driver was amazed that I had actually been able to obtain a ticket. The Hypogeum was amazing – no bags, backpacks, purses, or cameras are allowed. The number of visitors is strictly restricted and the air within the Hypogeum is climate controlled. Each visitor is given an automatically functioning audio headset guide which only requires adjustment of the volume after the language is set by the staff. A staff person leads the small group of people through the Hypogeum.

The Hypogeum, or underground cavity, consists of a complex of rock-cut halls, passages, and chambers on three levels underground that reach a depth of 10.6 meters and cover an area approximately 500 square meters. The halls, passages, and chambers were carved using only stone tools. Curvilinear and spiral paintings in red ochre remain visible in some areas. The oldest part of the Hypogeum is the level closest to the surface and dates from 3600-3300 BC. The middle level dates from 3300-3000 BC. The lowest level dates from 3250-2500 BC with the most recent part being the deepest underground. Based upon excavations of the site, archaeologists have determined that the Hypogeum was a burial complex. It is also a World Heritage site.

After touring the Hypogeum, I went to the walled medieval city of Mdina which was once the medieval capital of Malta. It was later taken over by the Knights of St. John in 1530. The literature states that because Mdina was far from the sea and the Grand Harbour making it was difficult to defend, the Knights built a new capital at Valletta and many of the residents of Mdina moved to Valletta. Valletta became the capital in 1571 and remains the capital today. Although the Mdina Cathedral is said to be spectacular, it is closed on Sundays. After walking through Mdina, I returned to Valletta as the weather was becoming increasingly overcast, cold, and windy.

On the morning of Monday, 28 February, I woke up a little before 5:00 AM and observed that it was raining. When I got up at 6:30 AM, the rain had stopped and when I went to breakfast the sun was shining brightly. By the time I went to catch the tour bus to transfer me to connect to Gozo Island ferry it was overcast again but became sunny as we approached the harbour at Cirkewwa. The ferry ride to Gozo Island did not take very long and I met the “hop on hop off’ bus upon arriving at Mgarr Harbour on Gozo Island. The weather was gorgeous, and I exited the bus near the prehistoric megalithic Ggantija Temples. These are described as the oldest free-standing structures in the world, and they date back to 3600-3000 BC. The largest monolith to be found at the Ggantija Temples weighs about fifty tons, and the temple walls reach a height of around seven meters.

After visiting the Ggantija Temples, I hopped back on the next bus and continued the “hop on hop off” bus tour of Gozo admiring the spectacular scenery. I exited the bus at the stop in Victoria and walked to the Citadel. The Citadel is situated upon one of the highest points on the island and has been fortified for many centuries. After exploring the Citadel, I returned to the bus stop and once again caught the next “hop on hop off” bus. I originally planned to take the bus tour of the entire island but to my dismay, there are three “hop on hop off” bus stops at the same location so when I caught the next bus, I missed out on visiting the portion of the island with the famous Azure Window rock and instead passed through Xlendi, a small fishing village, before continuing on to Mgarr Harbour. The ferry back to Cirkewwa was a smooth ride and after a short wait, my transfer tour bus picked me up and delivered me back to Valletta. The weather all day on Gozo remained gorgeous and my day trip to Gozo was sensational.

On Tuesday morning, 29 February, I checked out of my hotel and flew from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany, to connect with my flights back to Los Angeles.

See pictures from Malta

January 2012
India

Travel Notes

Prior to traveling to India, I arranged an advanced reservation at the Airport Hotel which included breakfast and complimentary arrival and departure airport transfers. I flew from Bangkok and arrived at New Delhi, India, on 19 January 2012 a little before midnight. After clearing Immigration, I found my hotel transfer person waiting for me right on schedule outside Gate 6 of the International Terminal. Much to my surprise, he and his driver had a brand new car and I was their first passenger in the car. After a short drive, we arrived at the Airport Hotel. The room was clean and adequate for my one night stay before continuing on to Jodhpur the following day. I had my choice of three items on the breakfast coupon plus juice and coffee. The staff delivered my breakfast to my room about twenty minutes after I placed my order and it was wonderful.

I checked out after breakfast on January 20 and the same person with the new car arrived to take me to the Domestic Terminal 3 to catch my Air India flight to Jodhpur. The weather was very foggy and many flights were delayed and/or canceled. I checked in for my flight and began a long wait to see if my flight would be delayed or canceled. Finally the screen showed my flight to be delayed about thirty minutes with no gate assigned. Later, when my flight was assigned a gate, I made my way to the assigned gate. After a gate change, we boarded the plane. The Captain announced that due to the fog, many flights were backed up. Since we were number sixteen in line to depart, the crew served lunch while we sat at the gate waiting for clearance to depart. We finally departed to Jodhpur. Following an uneventful flight to Jodhpur, I finally found Bharat, my driver, at the Jodhpur airport. Bharat was my driver for my entire trip to Rajasthan and he took me to my hotel in Jodhpur. We agreed that he would pick me up at 8:00 AM the following morning.

After checking into the Kuchaman Haveli hotel, I explored the area in the vicinity of the hotel and decided to have dinner at the hotel. A young man showed me how to go to the rooftop of the hotel building which offered a magnificent view of the Mehrangarh Fort, the city, and some of the surrounding area landmarks. Although the hotel said that breakfast began at 7:30 AM, the hotel staff members were late arriving to serve breakfast which resulted in toast and coffee before dashing off to meet Bharat.

Since we would be returning to Jodhpur on January 24, we decided to drive directly to Jaisalmer. I took a few good early morning photos of the Mehrangarh Fort as we drove toward Jaisalmer. Since most of the roads that I traveled on prior visits to India were very poor, I expressed my surprise to find many of the roads in Rajasthan to be very good highways. Bharat explained that the roads are very good because the large numbers of Indian military defenses in the area require good highways. The drive to Jaisalmer was pleasant through the desert and we arrived at Jaisalmer around noon.

I checked into my hotel and, after lunch, Bharat and a guide picked me up to go sightseeing. We went to the Jaisalmer Fort and the city inside the fort. My guide showed me a lookout point for a view of Jaisalmer from the fort and said that pigeons were considered holy in Jaisalmer. The Jain temples within the fort are closed during the afternoon and my guide said that I was unfortunate to not be able to visit inside the temples. I took photos of the exterior of the temples and decided to return the following morning. We meandered through the narrow streets designed to keep much direct sunlight out in the hot weather. My guide seemed to be in a hurry and was keen on pointing out shops where he would have liked for me to visit and purchase something – I find this to be typical of guides in India and declined guides for the remainder of my trip. The marketplace shops and homes were colorful while the several havelis that we passed were exquisite. Patwon Ki Haveli and the Nathmal Ji Ki Haveli were two that my guide pointed out in particular. The Nathmal Ji Ki Haveli was unique in that two architect brothers designed the haveli – each brother designed one half and they wanted the design to be similar but not the same. The resulting building is a spectacular sight to behold.

After leaving the guide in Jaisalmer, we drove about forty-six kilometers into the desert to the Khuri Resort to ride a camel to the sand dunes sunset point. The camel ride turned out to be between six and seven kilometers roundtrip to the sand dunes. Unlike the camel saddles in Egypt, the camel saddles at the Khiri Resort had no stirrups and the ride was rough, rougher and much rougher depending on how fast the camel ran. The rougher ride was when the camel walked and the next faster gait was somewhat smoother. The much rougher ride was when the camel ran and the lack of stirrups added to the misery – several days later I did see a boy riding a camel that had a saddle with stirrups. The changing shadows on the sand dunes as sunset approached were interesting to watch. After the camel ride, I stayed for the dance show and a buffet dinner. The music and dance show were very good – I would recommend it. We drove back to the city after the show and dinner. Many people recommended spending a night in the desert but I believe that my camel ride, buffet dinner, and the music and dance show provided much the same experience.

On the morning of January 22, I walked from the hotel to the Jaisalmer fort and visited the Jain temples. The carved columns and sides of the temples inside the temples were exquisite and I spent nearly two hours exploring the temple interiors. After lunch, Bharat drove me to see Gadisar Lake and the Salim Singh-ki Haveli; the Bada Bagh Cenotaphs; and the Jain Ludarwa Temple. The Bada Bagh Cenotaphs is a royal cemetery for some Maharajas of Jaisalmer state and was well worth the visit. The Jain temple at Ludarwa was not as elegant as the temples within the Jaisalmer Fort but was also well worth the visit.

On the morning of January 23, we left Jaisalmer and drove to Bikaner. The roads were the best that I had seen in India. About 165 kilometers from Bikaner, we visited a lake at Kichan which is a migration destination for Siberian Cranes – the locals said there were one million birds there. On the outskirts of Bikaner, we stopped at the Gajner Palace. This palace was once a hunting lodge for birds with a natural lake on 6,000 acres – it is now one of the luxury palace hotels in India. I paid the 200 Rupee fee for the tour of the hotel and a coffee at the lakeside restaurant. The lake is a migration destination for Siberian ducks and there were many of the ducks close to the hotel.

We continued to Bikaner and I checked into the Harasar Haveli Hotel. After a quick lunch, we went to the Junagarth Fort and then to the Lallgarh Palace and Sri Sadul Museum. The fort was very interesting and took nearly two hours to tour. The Lallgarh Palace is also one of the palace hotels in India. The architecture is most impressive from the outside. I did not attempt to tour the interior but I did take one of the hotel brochures from an attendant. The Sri Sadul Museum situated on the hotel grounds has some interesting local exhibits and is worth a visit.

On the morning of January 24, we began driving back to Jodhpur. About 30 kilometers from Bikaner we stopped at the Karni Mata Desnok Temple. This is the most famous of the Karni Mata temples and it is the temple where rats are considered to be sacred. The literature states that the rats are afforded protection within the temple and if one is killed, it must be replaced by a rat made of solid gold. It also states that out of the thousands of rats in the temple there are only four or five white rats and that seeing one of the white rats is a special blessing. The temple was crowded inside and while I saw many black rats, I was not among the fortunate ones to see a white rat.

As we continued our drive to Jodhpur, we passed a disabled bus off to the side of the highway. Upon arriving at Jodhpur, we returned to the Kuchaman Haveli hotel where they remembered me and took me directly to my room bypassing the reception desk. After a quick lunch, I met Bharat and we went to the Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, and the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The Mehrangarh Fort is one of best forts that I visited in India. Not only is the structure magnificent but also the museum furnishings within the fort are remarkable. I am glad that I was able to explore the fort at my leisure without a guide.

The Jaswant Thada Cenotaphs is another royal cemetery adjacent to a small lake on top of another mountain nearby Mehrangarh Fort. The architecture of the structures makes the visit here very worthwhile. Our final stop at Jodhpur was at the Umaid Bhawan Palace and museum. This is another of the Palace Hotels in India and prominently occupies the top of Chittar Hill overlooking Jodhpur.

We departed Jodhpur on the morning of January 25 and began our journey to Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh, and Udaipur. On the highway to Ranakpur, we passed one overturned truck. Later we passed a disabled truck and another truck that apparently ran into the disabled truck. Ranakpur is the home of the Sheth Anandji Kalyanji Jain Temple complex. It is situated in the mountains between Jodhpur and Udaipur and the narrow mountain roads slowed down our progress considerably. The Sheth Anandji Kalyanji temples are world renowned for the exquisite marble temple carvings. The large temple has nearly 1,500 carved marble pillars with no two alike in addition to the other carvings inside and outside the temple. I also visited a second much smaller temple with equally exquisite carvings. This temple complex was on my short list of places to visit in Rajasthan and I was not disappointed.

After exploring Sheth Anandji Kalyanji, we continued driving through the mountains to the Kumbhalgarh Fort, the second largest fort in India. The literature states that the Kumbhalgarh Fort is hard to get to but well worth the effort. When we arrived, there were hardly any tourists at the fort and I enjoyed exploring the mountain top fort. There were no museum furnishings at the fort but the panoramic vistas of the surrounding areas were wonderful. We continued driving in the mountains until we finally got back to a main road to Udaipur. We arrived at Udaipur shortly before sunset and my hotel was lakeside in an old part of Udaipur with extremely narrow streets. The rooftop restaurant afforded a good view of Fateshsagar Lake and the water palaces.

We got a late start the following morning because the Udaipur City Palace Museum did not open until later in the morning. The City Palace Museum was absolutely wonderful. It was a beautiful palace and it was loaded with museum exhibits. It was undoubtedly the best attraction that I visited while at Udaipur. It also afforded some of the most beautiful views of the white water palace that Udaipur is noted for. The main courtyard area where my driver would normally park had been taken over for a wedding – that wedding must have cost a large fortune. This resulted in my driver being required to park around toward a rear entrance and finding him after I visited the palace was no small task – actually he found me.

I decided to skip taking a boat ride on the lake in hopes of having more time at the Chittorgarh Fort later in the day. Before leaving Udaipur, we visited Shahelion Ki Bari and Pratap Smark. Shahelion Ki Bari is a major garden in Udaipur while Ptatap Smark is a monument to the legendary Rajput warrior Maharana Pratap.

The roads to Chittorgarh Fort were also small mountain roads and travel was slow. We arrived at Chittorgarh Fort, the largest fort in India, around mid-afternoon and were able to drive up to and through the fort. Within the fort we visited two small Jain temples with more exquisite carvings. Other notable sights within the fort included several elegant towers and Hindu temples, a lake, and a water reservoir.

We departed Chittorgarh late in the afternoon and continued on to the holy city of Pushkar. The drive to Pushkar was also difficult. Even though we finally got to the main national highway, we still had an additional thirty kilometers of not so good roads to Pushkar which we drove after dark – after dark driving here is another not so nice situation. We finally arrived at the hotel in Pushkar at about 9:15 PM on January 26.

I explored a bit of Pushkar early the next morning and visited the holy lake and the Brahama Temple in addition to walking through the local bazaar area. We departed Pushkar and after backtracking the thirty kilometers, we reached the main highway and continued on the Jaipur. Along the way, we passed a large flatbed tractor-trailer truck with huge blocks of marble that had been in a collision.

We arrived Jaipur in the early afternoon of January 27, and I checked into my hotel. Bharat picked me up at 3:00 PM to go to the office of A-1 Tour & Travels to meet Mr. Javed Khan who worked with me on the Internet to custom arrange my Rajasthan travel. I paid Javed the remaining balance due for my trip and we talked travel for nearly two hours while he and Bharat reviewed my travel web site. Javed Kahn at A-1 Tour & Travels can be contacted via email.

Bharat then took me to his home in Jaipur for dinner where I met Saroji, his wife, and their four children, Poonam, Komal, Lucky, and Ganesh. I had a wonderful time with Bharat and his family and thoroughly enjoyed the homemade Indian dinner prepared by Saroji.

On the morning of January 28, we drove into the Jaipur old city and stopped briefly at the Hawa Mahal (the Palace of the Winds) en route to the Amber Fort. The Hawa Mahal is the famous multi-storied pink building that was built for the ladies of the Royal Family to look out at festivals and parades without being required to wear veils.

When we arrived at the Amber Fort, I opted not to ride up to the fort on an elephant and instead chose to have Bharat drive up to another entrance to the fort. The Amber Fort was quite large and I took my time exploring the nooks and crannies of the fort. After completing my visit to the fort, I located Bharat and we drove to see the Water Palace, the Jaipur City Palace Museum, the Albert Hall Museum, the Monkey Temple, several city gates, and one of the local bazaars. The City Palace Museum was a large palace complex and had quite a few very nice interior exhibits with no photography allowed. One of the highlights of the City Palace was an arching doorway adorned with tiles and peacocks as an entrance to a courtyard. It appeared to be one of the most popular photo spots in the museum. A very large main courtyard was in the process of being decorated for a big wedding – another very big money affair.

The Monkey Temple complex, also known as Galwh Bagh, was a very interesting old temple complex on the outskirts of Jaipur and it was not swarming with tourists. Although people said that there would be many monkeys at the temple, I saw less than twenty during my visit. Javed recommended going to this temple complex during our meeting. It is a very photogenic site and I considered it to be one of my better site visits.

We departed Jaipur early on the morning of January 29 to visit a fort at Alwar and to continue on to Delhi where Barat would drop me off at the Airport Hotel. The normal tourist route would have been Jaipur direct to Delhi but I had arranged a stop at Alwar along the way. I didn’t realize that my little side trip would take us across a mountain range and through the Sariska Jungle. The normal mountain roads that we traveled were narrow and in need of some repairs. The mountain road through the Sariska Jungle was among the worst that I have traveled anywhere. Bharat explained that there were so many accidents involving vehicles and jungle animals that the Indian Government has an incentive not to maintain the roads just to keep the vehicular traffic slow. While driving through the jungle, we saw monkeys, deer, and peacocks.

When we finally reached Alwar, Bharat began asking directions to the fort. We were finally directed to a mountain road that took us to the fort at the top of the mountain. The main buildings were dilapidated and were undergoing some repairs. In addition, special permission was required to enter the buildings and I was denied access. Bharat talked to the security people and he was told that tourists visit the museum at the palace within Alwar. We went back down to Alwar and visited the city museum complex. Although the museum had some very nice interior exhibits, no photography was allowed. In retrospect, I felt bad that we had done a side trip of several hours to Alwar over a terrible road through the jungle for so little sightseeing benefit.

We finally made our way back to a main highway to Delhi which had many areas of construction and traffic diversions. After asking directions a couple of times, we located the Airport Hotel. Bharat and I said good-bye at the hotel – he would be driving back to Jaipur that evening while I would be re-packing for a flight back to Bangkok in the morning. I am hoping to arrange another trip to India next January and will be contacting Javed Kahn at A-1 Tour & Travels, India, to try to once again put together a visit with Bharat as my driver.

November 2011
Nepal

Travel Notes

In July, 2011, I decided to plan a trip to Nepal and searched the Internet for possible itineraries that might work for travel by private car and driver. I finally decided that I would like to essentially plan a Buddhist pilgrimage type tour without visiting the Chitwan National Park. I sent several inquiries about arranging a nine to eleven day trip during late October or early November for either one or two persons with suggested places that I would like to visit by private car and driver. Smile Adventure and Tours promptly replied with a suggested itinerary by private car and driver that was open to both additions and/or deletions – they would provide car and driver; airport transfers; hotel accommodations with breakfast; and guide services at some destinations. The suggested itinerary was satisfactory for my trip and, after I booked travel from Bangkok to Kathmandu for November 1, I sent a deposit via Western Union to confirm the itinerary. I received my confirmed travel itinerary voucher by E-mail and booked travel to Bangkok with an extra day at Bangkok in the event of a delay or cancellation of my flights from Los Angeles.

Between July and late October, Thailand experienced the worst flooding in many years with the threat of Central Bangkok becoming flooded. The old Don Muang airport became flooded several days before my scheduled departure to Bangkok but the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, protected by large embankments, remained open.

Although I was concerned that flooding might affect my travel to Bangkok, I flew to Bangkok on October 29. When I took the hotel van, I noticed that a low section of the road in front of the driveway to my hotel was under water. Although the sidewalk from the hotel driveway alongside the flooded street was dry, an elevated wooden walkway beside the sidewalk had been constructed in the event of higher water.

I walked from the hotel to the restaurants alongside the street the following day for dinner. After dinner, I continued walking to the 7-Eleven store where concrete walls about one meter high had been constructed and there were sandbags at the entrance. Before going to bed, I was beginning to have some concerns about becoming stranded due to rising water in front of the hotel in spite of the airport remaining open. However, in the morning, the water level had not risen appreciably and I was very happy to take the hotel van to the airport for my flight to Kathmandu.

The flight to Kathmandu was uneventful and I filled out the Nepal Immigration forms that a flight attendant left for me at my seat. I arrived in Kathmandu at12:50 PM local time on November 1. While we were in line for the Visa on Arrival, a man from Calgary, Canada, whom I had met in Bangkok while waiting to board the flight to Nepal, pointed out that I did not have the “Visa on Arrival” form. The Thai Airways flight attendant had failed to provide me with the “Visa on Arrival” form. He held my place in line while I located the proper form. He probably saved me over an hour of time to get my visa.

I was also concerned that the Thai and US currencies, in addition to the many cameras and mobile phones, I carried exceeded the declaration limit. When I went to ask a customs officer what I should do, however, he waived me through the “Nothing to Declare” exit.

After exiting Immigration, I located a man holding up a sign with my name emblazoned upon it. I let out a sigh of relief that my arrival at Kathmandu was at last complete. As promised, Mr. Chiran from Smile Adventures and Tours met me and took me to my hotel. This was my first opportunity to experience the traffic in Nepal, as well as the abundant amount of haze, dust, vehicle exhaust, and smoke in the atmosphere.

After checking into the Fuji hotel and resting up for about an hour, Chiran met me at the hotel and we walked to his office. I paid him the remaining balance due for my itinerary, and he provided me with my additional hotel vouchers as we went over my itinerary details. I told Chiran that I would like to take him out for dinner one evening which we tentatively set for Wednesday, November 6.

I ate dinner a restaurant near my hotel that Chiran recommended – the food was excellent and very reasonably priced. I ate there several times and it was always crowded. I enjoyed the food in Nepal very much and usually had the Nepal set menu meals (either vegetarian or non-vegetarian) with the waiters usually offering more rice at no additional charge.

Chiran met me at the hotel lobby at 9:00 AM on November 2 to introduce me to both my driver and my guide for a day of local sightseeing in Kathmandu. My driver’s name was Roshan and our car was an older Toyota. Roshan would end up being my driver for my entire trip. Our first stop was at the hilltop Swayambhu Temple, also known as the monkey temple. Swayambhu literally means “Self-Existent One.” This is a pilgrim site visited by large numbers of both Buddhists and Hindus. It is considered to be the best place to observe religious harmony in Nepal where Buddhist stupas and Hindu pagoda style temples coexist adjacent to one another.

Our second stop was at Boudhanath which is the central Buddhist pilgrim site in Kathmandu. The thirty-six meter high stupa at Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in South Asia. My guide, Sundar, said that the base of the stupa is one hundred meters across in all directions. The Boudhanath stupa had a pyramidal style at the top whereas the large Swayambhu stupa had a concentric circular style top. Swayambhu and Boudhanath are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The holy area of Pashupatinath is situated along the Bagmati River and is one of the most religious sites in Asia for Shiva devotees. Pashupatinath, dedicated to Shiva the Destroyer, is the holiest Hindu pilgrimage destination in Nepal. Many Hindu people aspire to end their life here and to be cremated alongside the river. A large yellow building is a hospice facility and a large red building adjacent to the yellow hospice building is the administration building where the cremations are arranged – cremation supplies, including timber and sandalwood, are purchased here as well. Several cremations were in process as we visited Pashupatinath.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking Patan Durbar Square, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is situated in the center of Patan City and consists of monuments, temples, three main courtyards, and an ancient royal palace complex built during the Malla period. I had the chicken curry with rice and ordered it extra-spicy – it was superb. After lunch, we explored Patan Durbar Square before returning to the hotel.

After I checked out of the hotel on November 3, Chiran met me in the hotel lobby with Roshan. Roshan and I departed the hotel at 8:00 AM in the trusty Toyota for a three hundred kilometer drive to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in the world.

It was a drive full of dust, haze, and smoke obscuring any possible panoramic views. The car windows were quickly covered with a light coat of dust as we drove away from the hotel. We climbed out of the Kathmandu Valley on the Prithivi Highway westbound toward Mugling through the Mahabharat mountain range alongside the Trishuli River which gradually increased in size as many smaller mountain streams emptied into it. At Mugling, we turned southbound on the Narayanghat Mugling Highway to Narayanghat, still driving alongside the Trishuli River. Several kilometers before arriving at Narayanghat, the Trishuli River merged with the Kali Gandaki River becoming the Narayni River which continues on to meet the Ganges in India. The Kali Gandaki River originates in the Himalayas at the Tibet border and is the longest river in Nepal with the Trishuli being its largest tributary.

We turned onto the Mahendra Highway at Narayanghat and continued westbound toward Butwal. These were some of the major roads in Nepal. They were narrow two lane mountain roads with steep rocky sides that were pretty good in some spots but had many areas with broken pavement, gullies, gravel, and dirt with large sharp rocks protruding, and, above all, continual blowing dust and exhaust smoke. This traffic was among the worst I have ever encountered – huge trucks, small trucks, buses, vans, cars, motor cycles, motor bikes, tractors, rice patty tractors, oxen carts, bicycles, and, of course, pedestrians constantly walking along all of the roads. To top it off, since there are few shoulders along the highways, disabled vehicles remain parked in the single traffic lanes with rocks placed on the road behind the vehicle to warn approaching motorists of the danger. We passed two prior accidents involving overturned local buses – one bus was being held by a metal stake and chain to prevent it from tumbling over the cliff beside the road.

Before reaching Butwal, Roshan took secondary roads as shortcut to Lumbini with many more farming vehicles and oxen carts than on the major road. The three hundred kilometer journey to Lumbini took nearly eight hours including a stop along the way for lunch.

By the time we arrived at Lumbini, which is situated west of Kathmandu and very near the Indian border, there was no time for local sightseeing. We checked into the Lumbini Buddha Garden, a rustic hotel in a wooded area specializing in bird watching. Parking is just inside the entrance gate and the buildings are accessed by footpaths. I occupied one half of a duplex cabin building with a thatched roof. Dinesh, the manager, was very knowledgeable about Lumbini and loaned me a wonderful book on Lumbini to read and which I ultimately purchased from him.

The Government of Nepal and the United Nations sponsored a Lumbini Master Plan for the development of Lumbini. This plan was to be completed in two phases – phase one completion by 1985 with phase two completion by 1995. The Master Plan encompasses an area three miles north to south and one mile east to west. It is divided into three main one square mile zones from north to south: the New Lumbini Village, the Monastic Zone, and the Sacred Garden. Forty-two plots were reserved within the Monastic Zone to be provided to different countries and Buddhist organizations upon which to construct monasteries.

According to the literature, Mayadevi and her attendants arrived on Vessakh Purnima (Full Moon Day) in 623 BC. Mayadevi was attracted by the sanctity of the place as she strolled around the garden. While enjoying the natural grandeur, she suddenly underwent labor pangs. She took a bath in the holy pond there to purify herself. She then walked twenty five paces to the north where she found a tree with many branches. While supporting herself on a drooping branch of the tree, she gave birth to the Lord Buddha.

The following morning, at 7:30 AM, our guide, Dinesh, joined Roshan and me to visit the Lumbini UNESCO World Heritage Site. We first visited the German Great Lotus Stupa and Monastery in the Monastic Zone and then went to the Archeological Section of the Sacred Garden encompassing the Asoka Pillar, the Sacred Pond, the Mayadevi Temple excavation containing the marker stone of the exact birthplace of Buddha, the Bodhi Tree, and the two adjacent recent Nepal Temples.

After visiting Lumbini, I checked out of the hotel and we began our drive north to Pokhara. Of course we took the ubiquitous secondary roads as we departed Lumbini and continued north on a secondary winding mountain road following the Tinau River to Butwal. We turned onto the Mahendra Highway at Butwal and took it all the way over the mountains to Pokhara. We crossed the Kali Gandaki River at Galyang where a large festival was underway. These roads were in no better condition than the previous roads traveled, and the traffic was just as precarious. Of course we continued to be plagued by the dust, smoke, and haze along the way. We entered Pokhara after dark on November 4 and, when we arrived at my hotel, we were met by a man named Sundar who introduced himself as my guide for my visit to Pokhara. Before he left the hotel, Sundar and I went over our itinerary for the following day. He would arrive with a local car and driver in the morning for local sightseeing – Roshan and the trusty Toyota would get a free day. The weather was deteriorating and, shortly after we entered the hotel, the rain downpour arrived.

Pokhara is in central Nepal approximately 220 kilometers to the north of Lumbini and about 200 kilometers to the west of Kathmandu. It is situated adjacent to Phewa Lake, the second largest lake in Nepal. Although Pokhara is touted as an enchanting city with magnificent views of the Himalayas, the weather conditions precluded any panoramic views while I was there. Pokhara was once part of a trade route between India and Tibet and has become the starting point for many popular trekking and rafting destinations.

Sundar met me on schedule at the hotel on November 5. During the morning, we visited Devi’s Falls, the Gupteshvor Mahadev Cave, the Old Town Pokhara, the Bindhyabasini Temple, the Seti River Gorge, the Pokhara Regional Museum, and Phewa Lake.

The water outflow from Phewa Lake feeds the Pardi River which runs through Devi’s Falls, a series of waterfalls in a narrow gorge that turns into a cave and the water continues in an underground passage. Some of the literature states that a foreigner named David was skinny-dipping in the Pardi River when the floodgates of the dam were opened, sweeping him into the underground passage beneath the falls – he was never seen again. The Gupteshvor Mahadev Cave is a sacred cave with an entrance across the road from Devi’s Falls. This cave holds special value for Hindus since a phallic symbol of Lord Shiva is preserved in the condition in which it was discovered. Beyond the sacred chamber, a portion of the underground passageway of Devi’s Falls can be observed.

Old Town Pokhara is picturesque and was once the area of the old bazaar. The Bindhyabasini Temple complex is the center of religious activity in the old bazaar. It is dedicated to goddess Bhagwati and worshipers flock here to perform sacrifices. On Saturdays, the grounds take on a festive flair – I was fortunate to visit here on a Saturday morning. After visiting one of the temples, as I was putting on my shoes, a young lady approached me to ask where I was from. We talked for a while and she said that she was visiting her uncle in Pokhara. She was accompanied by her grandmother and they allowed me to take a photograph of them. Later she approached me again to introduce me to her two younger brothers – most people in Nepal were very friendly.

Unlike the Pardi River fed from Phewa Lake, the Seti River is fed from the mountains. It flows right through the city and runs completely underground in some areas. At certain points, the river appears to be hardly two meters wide but is more than twenty meters deep. We stopped at Mahendra Pul, a small bridge near the old Mission Hospital, to observe the rushing river and the deep gorge made by it.

Although the Pokhara Regional Museum is not large, it reflects the ethnic mosaic of western Nepal. The lifestyles and history of ethnic groups such as the Gurung, Thakali, and Tharu are nicely displayed.

After returning to the hotel for lunch, the rain resumed for a couple of hours and then subsided. Sundar returned after the rain and we drove to the Tashii Palkheil Tibetan Refugee Settlement, visited the Jangchub Choeling Monastery, and observed the Tash Gang Maha Guru Temple. I bought a couple of souvenirs from the monks at the monastery and from the Tibetan refugee vendors. The rain showers resumed that evening but stopped by morning.

One of the popular tourist attractions at Pokhara is to get up before dawn and drive to Sarangkot, the hilltop sunrise viewing point, to watch the stunning views as the sunrise illuminates the Annapurna mountain range in the distance. On November 6, Sundar met me at the hotel at 5:30 AM with the car and driver, and we drove up a very dilapidated barely two lane mountain road to Sarangkot. As fate would have it, the sunrise was obscured by high clouds and, after about forty-five minutes, we drove back to the hotel.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, Roshan and I departed at 8:00 AM in the trusty Toyota to drive back to Kathmandu via the Prithivi Highway. At about 9:00 AM, traffic came to an abrupt halt. An accident had occurred farther down the highway and we were in a line of stopped vehicles over one kilometer long. Everyone shut down their vehicle engines and many curious people were milling around beside the parked vehicles. The hillside adjacent to the road, with sizable vegetation and beside a cliff high above a river, would soon become a public toilet area.

Roshan maintained contact with someone and, after being stopped for nearly half an hour, he started our Toyota and, along with another car, began passing the stopped vehicles in the empty opposing traffic lane. Soon the line of stopped vehicles began to slowly move and Roshan ducked back into the line of vehicles as several oncoming vehicles began approaching. We finally arrived at the accident site to find an overturned local bus that had been dragged to the side of the road to allow traffic to pass – this was the third overturned large vehicle accident that we had passed since departing Kathmandu.

We reached Kurintor before noon and stopped to take the Manakamana Cable Car across the Trishuli River and up through the low clouds to the Manakamana Temple. This stop was not on my original itinerary and I treated Roshan to this side trip – he enjoyed the cable car ride very much. The Manakamana Temple was picturesque being partially obscured by the low cloud cover. After returning by cable car to the riverside station, we drove to the River Side Spring Resort where we ate lunch.

After lunch, we continued along the Prithivi Highway with an estimated arrival at Kathmandu by 5:00 PM. We passed an area where people were painting the white highway center lines by hand with paint brushes and pails of white paint. I had observed people painting the yellow dashed lines along the side of the road by hand a couple of days earlier.

After passing a vehicle about half way up a mountain grade, I pointed out to Roshan that our Toyota was overheating as steam began surging out of the hood in front of me. Fortunately we were approaching a curve with a bit of a pull off area as Roshan stopped the car. We had just joined the multitudes of stranded vehicles in a portion of the traffic lane. Suddenly I had a flashback to when I blew up the engine on a rental car while Jan and I were on a remote winding mountainous section on the Tasman Highway in northeastern Tasmania in 1989. And so we became a disabled vehicle stranded on the Prithivi Highway about thirty kilometers from Kathmandu. It was 3:20 PM and we could now kiss our 5:00 PM Kathmandu arrival good-bye.

Roshan opened the hood and determined that a water hose near the bottom of the radiator had developed a crack. I suggested that he back the car up to get more out of the traffic lane which we did. Roshan gave the car keys to me and caught a ride back down the road somewhere to a town while I waited nearby the car in a small roadside temple. When Roshan returned, he had procured a small container of “BONDSET,” a fast setting two-in-one play dough like putty, which he kneaded together his hand. He then applied the putty around the cracked area of the hose and said that we needed to wait at least half an hour for the putty to set up. Meanwhile he gathered up several empty plastic water bottles along the side of the road and walked back down the road in search of some water for the radiator. He returned about fifteen minutes later with the water and filled up the radiator while keeping an eye on the repaired water hose. He started the engine and waited for the thermostat to open and finish filling the cooling system with water before declaring mission accomplished.

At 5:11 PM we once again commenced on our journey to Kathmandu. Darkness was soon setting in and it began raining in a heavy downpour. I thought that I had become accustomed to Nepal traffic but the traffic took on a whole new dimension at night on the mountain roads in the pouring rain. By the time we arrived back at the Fuji hotel, I began to feel like a seasoned Nepal road warrior with my trusted driver, Roshan.

Chiran was at the Fuji hotel to meet me as I arrived. We went over my itinerary for the next two days and I quickly checked into Room 203. Since it was November 6, I took Chiran out to dinner – we both had the Nepal vegetarian set menu. We discussed my travel experiences to date and he invited me out to dinner on November 8, my last night in Nepal.

On the morning of November 7, Chiran and his brother, Ishwar, met me at the hotel at 8:00 AM to introduce me to Uddhav, my guide for the next two days, review my itinerary, and see me off to Dhulikhel with Roshan, Uddhav, and our trusty Toyota. I don’t know if Roshan replaced the repaired water hose or whether it was as repaired on the highway the day before.

As we exited the continuously highly congested Kathmandu Ring Road onto the Araniko Highway, I was amazed to see a good four lane highway with a center meridian divider. Uddhav explained that this section of the road was built by the Chinese Government. This section of divided highway lasted until we reached Bhaktapur where it reverted to the normal two lane major highway to which I had become accustomed. Bhaktapur is the location of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square UNESCO World Heritage Site which might account for the Chinese road construction between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

Prior to reaching Dhulikhel, Uddhav directed us to the heritage city of Panauti. The Old Town section of the city was very picturesque with numerous temples, stupas, and a very nice but small museum. This small city appeared to be off of the normal tourist beat with Uddhav and me being the only tourists. The old section terminated at the confluence of the Rosi and Punyamata Rivers. In Nepali society, such river confluences are considered to be holy and sacred places. A visit or just an ablution in such places enables a man to be freed from many sins and anxieties. Moreover, it is also believed that at Panauti, in addition to the Rosi and Punyamata Rivers, a third river, Lilawati, also converges making it again a tri-junction called Triveni. However, the Lilawati is said to be visible only to the seers and intellectuals – the Lilawati remained invisible to me. Ghat Sattal is a three storied building situated at the confluence point that provides shelter to sick persons on their death bed who want to breathe their last breath in this holy place. This is also the site of cremations, and a cremation was currently underway while we were there.

After Panauti, we continued to Dhulikhel and I checked into the High View Resort. This hotel was high above a narrow relatively unimproved mountainside road. It had a small roadside parking lot from which I had to climb 206 steps to get up to my room. Fortunately, the hotel provided men to carry my luggage to the room. There were an additional fifty-seven steps between my room and the hotel restaurant. Uddhav and Roshan left to find a place to spend the night while I settled into my room and ate lunch at the restaurant. It was quite hazy but I could tell that the view from my room would be spectacular on a clear day. This was also the nicest hotel that I stayed in while in Nepal.

Uddhav and Roshan returned about ninety minutes later and we drove to the Namo Buddha Monastery. The first ten kilometers was a two lane road that Uddhav said had been built by the Japanese Government. Once we turned off onto a very narrow primitive road in much need of repair, the remaining seven kilometer drive became much more challenging. On several occasions, we had to squeeze beside oncoming local buses, some of which had many people riding on top. Most of the traffic consisted of motorbikes and there were also a few trekkers along the road. Once we reached the monastery at the top of the mountain, it soon became obvious that it was well worth the drive.

Namo Buddha is a very sacred Buddhist place where Lord Buddha saved the life of a tiger dying of hunger by giving her his own flesh. While at the monastery, I met Ram Upadhhayay, a Nepali man from Texas, who had returned to Nepal and was living at Dhulikhel. I posed with him and his family for a photo and also had the group photo taken with my camera. Ram invited me to visit them at his home in Dhulikhel but unfortunately, I was unable to make a visit work with my relative seclusion at my hotel. After visiting Namo Buddha, we went to visit Old Town Dhulikhel. The buildings and temples in Old Town Dhulikhel were also very picturesque as we walked through the area. Local people were drying some of the local rice harvest in the courtyards and squares. At this point, I began looking forward to the additional old town areas that we would visit tomorrow. Upon returning to my hotel, Uddhav and I discussed a proposed itinerary for the following day and arranged to meet early in the morning for my last full day of sightseeing in Nepal.

I woke up before dawn on November 8 and witnessed a wonderful sunrise that illuminated the snow-covered Himalayan mountains across the valley from the hotel with peaks ranging from nearly 7,000 meters high to 8,013 meters high. This was the first relatively clear day that I had seen since arriving in Nepal a week earlier. After breakfast, I checked out of the hotel and a man carried my luggage down the 206 steps to the parking area while I followed behind him.

Uddhav and Roshan arrived at 7:45 AM and, before continuing back toward Kathmandu, Roshan stopped at a public water spigot to add some water to the Toyota radiator. I observed that the temperature gage in the Toyota was not operational as we continued driving but figured that Roshan knew the Toyota pretty well by now – if he wasn’t overly concerned, I would not be worried either.

Our first stop was at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square UNESCO World Heritage Site along the way. Roshan dropped us off at one city gate and would pick us up outside another gate at the opposite end of the site. Durbar Square was a most impressive site and extended over quite a large area. As we entered the area, we passed the local meat market section and walked throughout the site. As in Dhulikhel, local people were drying some of the local rice harvest in the courtyards and squares – a sight that we would see at additional stops during the day. The monuments, stupas, temples, and building architecture here were exquisite and the buildings are renowned for the exquisite wood carving lattices over the windows. In fact, I was surprised to find one temple with exquisitely carved wooden roof support beams containing small erotic images from the Kama Sutra similar to those found at the temples in Khajuraho, India. I would find at least one such temple at Kiritipur and at Kathmandu Durbar Square later during the day.

We drove from Bhaktapur to Kiritipur to visit Old Town Kiritipur. Some of the literature states that whereas the Patan, Kathmandu, and Bhaktapur Dunbar Square UNESCO sites are preserved, Kiritipur Old Town is not. I found the Old Town section of Kiritipur to be somewhat hilly and very interesting as Uddhav and I walked along the narrow streets devoid of the tourist masses. The monuments, stupas, and temples were well worth the visit. Since today was a relatively clear day, I was able to see the snow covered mountaintops off in the distance from a large temple in Kiritipur.

After leaving Kiritipur, we drove to the Chobar Gorge where the Bagmati River cuts through Chobar Hill. Since the 1903 Bagmati Suspension Bridge over the gorge was closed, we viewed both the gorge and the Jalabinyak Temple from the roadway bridge. The Jalabinyak Temple is situated beside the Bagmati River at the end of the gorge.

As we continued southbound along the Bagmati River, the road became a narrow winding mountain road as we approached the top of a mountain where we turned onto a one lane dirt road to visit a couple of monasteries. One was a nun monastery for women, but it was closed. The other was the Neydotashi Choelng Monastery where we were allowed to visit even though the monks were having lunch. The view over the valley below was impressive as were the visible snow capped Himalayas.

We returned to Kathmandu and visited the Kathmandu Durbar Square UNESCO World Heritage Site. This site was quite large with over forty monuments, stupas, and temples. It was also the King’s residence until the early 20th century. This site, bustling with both local people and throngs of tourists, was a fitting climax to my sightseeing visit to Nepal.

When we returned to the Fuji hotel, I was given Room 101. As I was beginning to re-pack for my flight back to Thailand, Chiran came to my room to confirm my departure time to go to the airport in the morning and to reconfirm dinner with him and Ishwar. Chiran returned at 6:00 PM, and we walked to a restaurant near his office where Ishwar joined us for a wonderful dinner.

Chiran met me at the hotel in the morning with a new driver and we drove to the airport. This was my last chance to experience the hectic Kathmandu traffic on the Ring Road en route to the airport. Chiran escorted me to the proper entrance to check in for my flight and then we said good-bye. While waiting at the airport, I was able to observe the snow capped Himalayas in the distance. My flight back to Thailand was uneventful. For anyone who may wish to contact Chiran, his mobile phone is +9779841229733 or he can be reached via email. As for me, I plan to keep in touch with both Chiran and Ishwar.

See pictures from Nepal

August 2011
Australia

Travel Notes

I arrived at Sydney, Australia, early on the morning of 10 August 2011 before continuing on to Darwin, Australia. I went to the Australian National Maritime Museum to see the new exhibit on Scott’s last expedition to Antarctica. The exhibit was very well organized and I was particularly impressed by the shoes for the sled dogs and the snowshoes for the horses. While I was at the museum, I was also able to see the replica of the Dutch sailing ship Duyfken which was visiting the museum.

The VOC Jacht, Duyfken (Little Dove), is a replica of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship that made the first recorded European visit to the Australian continent. Commanded by Willem Janszoor, who made the first chart of the mainland of Australia, she landed on the west coast of Cape York in April 1606. The replica was built in Western Australia and launched in 1999.

I flew to Darwin on August 12 to be in position to board the HMB Endeavour for the Darwin to Broome, Australia, voyage segment as part of the Australian National Maritime Museum HMB Endeavour Around Australia 2011-2012 Voyage. The HMB Endeavour is a replica of Captain James Cook’s 18th century sailing ship which I visited while at Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Australia, during 2009 and 2010. Endeavour was constructed in Freemantle, Western Australia, between 1988 and 1994, at a cost of 17 million Australian dollars and is considered to be Australia’s Flag Ship. The overall length is 109 feet 3 inches, the breadth is 29 feet 2 inches, main mast height is 127 feet 11 inches, fore mast height is 109 feet 10 inches, mizzen mast height is 78 feet 9 inches, and has a displacement volume of 550 tons.

Since I was required to transport my sailing clothing as airline checked baggage, I made certain that I allowed plenty of time in the event one of the airlines misplaced or lost my bag. Fortunately, my checked baggage arrived with me, and I had several days to explore Darwin.

I arrived at Darwin during the afternoon and began exploring the neighborhood near my hotel. I continued walking in the direction of the wharf area and spotted the Endeavour off in the distance. I gradually made my way down to the Stoke’s Hill Wharf area and walked to where the Endeavour was moored. She had been open for public tours earlier in the day but was closed by the time I arrived. I spent some time talking to the security guard and decided to return the following day when she would again be open to the public. The wharf area has recently been developed to include the Darwin Convention Centre, a wave pool, and new high-rise housing units. I returned to my hotel before 6:00 PM and was amazed that most of the stores were already closed – pubs and restaurants were pretty much all that remained open and many restaurants were closed before 9:00 PM.

I returned to the Endeavour the following day and spent several hours there visiting with people and taking the public tour of the ship with all of the museum exhibits on board. I was informed that the Darwin to Broome voyage was so popular that it was completely sold out. They said that the ship would be open to the public for one more day and that they would remove all of the museum exhibit materials from the ship on Monday, August 15, in preparation for crew boarding on August 16. After leaving the Endeavour, I visited the World War II Oil Storage tunnels on my way back to my hotel. These were oil storage tunnels that were constructed between 1943 and the end of the war to protect Darwin’s oil supplies from enemy bombardment during wartime. Two of the tunnels are open to the public with Darwin wartime photos displayed on the tunnel walls. Several areas of Darwin have permanent exhibitions commemorating the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese during February 1942.

On the morning of August 14, I continued my explorations of Darwin on foot. I explored Bicentennial Park from the Parliament House to the Aquascene at Doctors Gully and many other Darwin points of interest including Lyons Cottage, Smith Street Mall, the Old Town Hall Ruins, Survivors’ Lookout, the HMS Beagle Bell Chimes, and Government House. Masked Lapwings and Orange Footed Scrubfowl were among some of the interesting birds that I observed in Bicentennial Park.

The Lyons Cottage was built in 1925 as accommodation for the Darwin Cable Company management staff and their families. Although the bombing destroyed most of Darwin City, the Cottage survived intact and was occupied by the United States Army between 1943 and 1945. The Cottage suffered damage during Cyclone Tracy and was restored to post-1942 exterior while the interior reflects the period between 1926 and 1942.

A telegraph pole statue marks the site where the First Overland Telegraph (OT) Pole was erected on 15 September 1870. The OT Line which stretched 2,000 miles from Port Darwin to Port Augusta in South Australia, was finally linked to Java via a submerged telegraph cable on 27 August 1872. The OT Line provided the first permanent means of communication between Australia and the rest of the world.

I also went to an aboriginal art exhibition that was being held at the convention centre and visited the Indo Pacific Marine Exhibition. The Indo Pacific Marine Exhibition has more than thirty marine displays including living marine coral reef ecosystems. The proprietor said that he has one of only three natural living coral reef ecosystems with his being self-sustaining and self-stabilizing with no water filtration for the past eighteen years – Okinawa and the Smithsonian Institute are the locations of the two other living coral reef ecosystems. I found the exhibits with living coral to be fascinating when viewed through magnification provided by the proprietor.

On August 15, I decided to try my luck with the Darwin public transportation system and I took the No. 8 bus to the Aviation Heritage Centre at Winnellie. This museum has numerous helicopters, homebuilt aircraft, aircraft engines, and fixed wing aircraft. The fixed wing aircraft include a Boeing B-52G bomber, an MK VIII Spitfire replica, a CAC Sabre Jet Fighter, a Dassault Mirage fighter, and a Tiger Moth WW II training airplane. I took the No. 8 bus back to Darwin and then took the No. 4 bus to the Fannie Bay Gaol (jail) which first opened in 1883. Following the bombing raid on Darwin in February 1942, the prisoners were released and the military took control of all of the buildings. The jail resumed operations after the war until it was closed in 1979. The gallows inside the Old Infirmary were used for only two executions in 1952. The Gaol suffered damage during Cyclone Tracy in December 1974. An aboriginal art exhibit was open in a portion of the old medium security section during my visit. I then took the No. 4 bus from the jail to the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery which had a number of exhibition galleries including a Cyclone Tracy Exhibit and the Colin Jack-Hinton Maritime Gallery. I returned to downtown Darwin via the No. 4 bus and began packing to checkout the following day to board the Endeavour.

I boarded the Endeavour on the morning of August 16. Most of the day was spent with orientation, training, and ship safety. The Endeavour had a professional crew of 16 people, a maximum voyage crew of 36 people, and supernumerary (gentlemen sailor) crew of 4 people. The voyage crewmembers sleep in hammocks in the 18th century deck area which they set up at approximately 8:40 PM and stow in the morning at approximately 7:15 AM. The voyage crewmembers are required to perform all voyage crew duties including watches, sail handling, anchor rope handling, galley duty, daily shipboard cleaning, helm duties, and lookout duties. Each supernumerary crewmember is assigned to one of four private cabins which are replica cabins of the gentlemen sailors who accompanied Captain Cook aboard the Endeavour between August 1768 and July 1771. Each Supernumerary has the option to choose individual shipboard watch activities in which he or she wishes to participate. The supernumeraries also have access to a separate toilet and shower facility, which they share with the Captain, and have complete access to the 18th century officers’ mess area as well as the great cabin. I booked my passage as a supernumerary and was assigned to the Mr. Joseph Banks cabin. This cabin is a replica of the cabin occupied by the botanist and member of the Royal Society, Joseph Banks, when he sailed with Captain Cook.

The first day was spent with assignment to watch groups, assignment of climbing harnesses and reflective vests, safety orientations, climbing orientations, and familiarization of the ship, onboard rules, and protocols. The modern galley and food service area as well as two large separate areas containing modern toilets, lavatories, showers, and clothing storage lockers for the voyage crewmembers are located on the 20th Century deck – the 20th Century deck is located beneath the 18th Century deck and is accessed via a stairway between the decks.

The voyage crewmember and supernumeraries were assigned to three separate watch groups: Fore Mast Watch, Main Mast Watch, and Mizzen Mast Watch. I was assigned to the Mizzen Mast Watch along with Greg Keays, another supernumerary. The watch groups rotated through the ships watches – Afternoon (1200-1600), 1st Dog (1600-1800), 2nd Dog (1800-2000), Evening (2000-2400), Middle (000-0004), Morning (0400-0800) and Forenoon (0800-1200). As supernumeraries, Greg and I opted to perform watch duties between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM which included climbing the mast and yards, sail handling, lookout duties, and steering the ship at the helm. The other two supernumeraries were Cliff Pulling, who was sailing on the voyage with his son, and John Boulton, a pediatrician who currently specializes in providing medical care to the Aboriginal population in the Kimberly. John, Greg, and I spent quite a bit of time together and became very good friends during the voyage. I would like to travel with them again on some future visits to Australia.

Since the Captain decided to wait for high tide before departing Darwin, we departed Darwin at 7:00 PM on August 16. A Scottish bagpipe played on the dock amid a crowd of people who came to see us leave, and we fired one of Endeavour’s 17th Century cannons as we departed. We sailed northeast and anchored in Shoal Bay for the night. The following morning we hoisted the anchor and set sails on a westerly course as we began day 2 of our voyage to Broome. We continued sailing on a northwesterly course while we were waiting for favorable winds. I took my turn at the helm during our watch periods. Unlike the Europa, where one person steers the ship from the helm, the helm on the Endeavour requires two people: one person, called the “brawn,” positions the helm wheel pursuant to instructions from the “brain,” who determines the proper position of the helm wheel. The Endeavour employs three methods of steering: following precise instructions from a professional crewmember; steering a course based on the ship’s compass; and steering “Full and By” which is based upon watching the wind in the sails. Most of my times as “brain” at the helm involved steering by compass although I got an opportunity to steer “Full and By” on one afternoon en route to Careening Bay.

During watch on August 18, I got an opportunity to climb to the fore mast top gallant spar and out to the starboard end of the top gallant yard-arm to release and unfurl the sail. I also got an opportunity to climb about half-way out on the bowsprint during forward lookout duty. We also saw a few sea birds, several humpback whales, and a large yellow sea snake as we continued to wait for more favorable winds. Throughout the voyage, I was amazed at how few sea birds we encountered.

The winds came up on August 19 and we were finally sailing in excess of 8 knots. Of course the increased winds created waves and several crewmembers succumbed to sea sickness. During mid-afternoon, we crossed into Western Australia and continued our course toward Cape Londonderry. On August 20, the ocean began to change to a dirty greenish color as we encountered silt from the Ord River and during late afternoon we passed Cape Londonderry. Members of our watch hauled out the anchor rope in anticipation of anchoring sometime during the night. The anchor rope is a rope approximately three inches in diameter and coated in pine tar as a preservative; handling the anchor rope is a rather messy job. The Captain decided to anchor overnight at Napier Broome Bay just west of Cape Talbot because we would be approaching very strong tidal currents, hazards, and sand banks in the dark.

I saw several Lesser Frigate birds at sunrise at Napier Broome Bay on August 21. Departing Napier Bay, we sailed in a northerly direction at speeds in excess of 7 knots. We changed course mid-afternoon and sailed between Troughton Island and Cape Bouganvile to shorten up our course to Bigge Island which was our first tentative shore landing. I helped stow away the anchor rope during our afternoon watch and it took lots of heavy duty soap to remove the tar from my hands and arms upon completion. En route to Bigge Island I observed several Brown Boobies, a type of Gannet bird, and Roseate Terns.

We sailed overnight and arrived at Wary Bay on the west side of Bigge Island early morning on August 22. The Captain wanted to anchor and have shore excursions so that we could explore the rugged coastal landscape and see indigenous rock art created by the Wunambal people on cave walls at Wary Bay. Unfortunately the Gods were against us and, after three unsuccessful attempts to anchor at Wary Bay, we moved farther north and attempted one more time to anchor. This anchorage initially looked to be successful but, while the zodiac boat was being deployed, the anchor began dragging and we were forced to abandon our shore excursion between 12:30 and 1:00 PM. The Captain sailed south and successfully anchored at Boomerang Bay on the southeast end of Bigge Island at 2:30 p.m. in hopes of trying to anchor again at Wary Bay the following day.

Since the following morning brought high winds and strong currents, the Captain canceled attempting a shore landing at Wary Bay and instead motored to a position to sail a southwesterly course. At roughly 3:00 PM on August 23, we sailed east of Lemark Island en route to Careening Bay. It was during this afternoon watch that I got my opportunity at the helm to steer using the “Full and By” method – watching the sails to ensure that they are catching the maximum wind before losing full sail due to the wind moving in front of the sails. We observed whales and dolphins en route and arrived at Careening Bay at approximately 9:30 PM. The Captain anchored quite a distance form the beach at Careening Bay due to the 3.6 meter draught of the Endeavour.

During the morning of August 24, we began the shore excursions using the zodiac boat and transporting five people per trip to the beach to see the famous Boab Tree. In 1820 the cutter ship, HMC Mermaid, spent sixteen days at Careening Bay while repairs were carried out on the keel, stern post, rudder connections, garboard strak,e and fasteners. While the ship was being repaired, members of the crew carved “HMC Mermaid 1820” into the trunk of a very large Boab tree. This site has since become a UNESCO World Heritage site and we were fortunate to be able to stop and see it. Greg and I were aboard the first zodiac trip to the beach at approximately 9:30 AM and visited the Boab Tree and hiked to view the landscape and other vegetation including “dinosaur trees.” We also observed an eagle-like bird soaring above us while we were on the beach. Since there was virtually no shade on the beach, Greg and I returned to the ship at approximately 11:15 AM.

While the Endeavour was anchored at Careening Bay, a large tourist ship, Oceanic, arrived at approximately 1:00 PM and also began to do shore excursions with large shore parties. A couple of other ships sailed past us at anchor and our last shore party returned to the ship at 4:30 PM. After hauling in the anchor, we motored back out of Careening Bay and set sails sometime before dawn.

On August 25, we sailed southwest to the west of White Island and began motoring during the late afternoon. Between 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM, I managed the helm by myself during our watch while the sails were being furled. We motored all night and most of the following day, and we were observed sea snakes, a school of feeding dolphins, Brown Boobies, and whales. We set the sails at 3:30 PM and then observed a very large pod of whales. At least some of the whales were sperm whales. The Captain navigated the ship around for a course to better observe the whales. Several of the whales breached and one whale did a long high breach above the water – the “Air Jordan” of the pod. The Captain once again reversed course and we returned to motoring en route to Broome.

We sailed alongside Cape LaVesque at 7:14 AM on August 27 and observed the red cliffs, white sands, and the lighthouse. We saw many whales and several sea snakes during the afternoon. After our afternoon watch, Greg and I obtained permission to climb to the top of the main mast watch to take some photographs. Some of the shroud lines had just been re-coated with fresh pine tar which made the climb from the main mast course platform to the top gallant area messy and gooey, requiring extra-special attention to our climbing. We each left one of our cameras with watch members on the main deck to take photos of our climb to the top and took other cameras to the top with us. Greg and I photographed each other at the main course platform halfway up the mast and at the top gallant platform at the top. Since this was the next to the last night aboard the ship, the supernumeraries were treated to a private dinner with the Captain served in the Great Cabin. The Captain wore his uniform to dinner and the best that I could do was to put on clean traveling clothes for dinner. It was a very nice dinner with a large platter of appetizers followed with the main course and dessert. We once again motored overnight in order to be on schedule for our arrival at Broome the following day.

Our last day of sailing was August 28. As we got closer to Broome, we observed sea snakes, turtles, whales, a school of skipjacks, Lesser Frigate Birds, and Brown Boobies. We sailed into Cable Beach, which is a northern suburb of Broome, and anchored at approximately 1:35 PM. While some members of the crew went swimming alongside the Endeavour, I worked on downloading photos that I had taken during the voyage. Quite a few people sailed out to get a better look at the Endeavour, and I enjoyed looking at the different types of ships sailing past us at anchor. Of particular interest was a Pearl Lugger ship of the kind used for pearl diving years ago; pearl diving was a large industry at Broome prior to World War II. At 6:00 PM, an “all hands dinner” was held in the 18th Century area where the permanent crewmembers served a steak dinner to the voyage crewmembers and supernumeraries. After dinner an amateur hour talent show was put on by the permanent crew and the three watches. The show was wonderful and highlighted how many talented people were on our voyage.

After breakfast on the morning of August 29, we turned in our reflective vests and climbing harnesses. We completed packing our personal gear and had our final “all hands” voyage crew meeting where the Captain passed out certificates of participation on the voyage and the voyage chart that Greg had prepared during the voyage. We disembarked from the ship into a small boat to be ferried to Cable Beach and our luggage followed once all personnel were ashore. While waiting for our luggage, John and I were interviewed by a local TV station regarding our voyage. When asked why I came all the way from Los Angeles to sail on the Endeavour, I said that I had seen her at the Australian National Maritime Museum during 2009 but could not get on board because a mast was being replaced. When I returned to the museum in 2010, I was able to tour the ship and signed up for E-mails. When I returned home to Los Angeles, I told my wife that I wanted to sail on the Endeavour but that I was too old to “sling a hammock” and would want to sail only as a supernumerary with a cabin. Shortly thereafter, when I received an E-mail from the museum announcing the 2011-2012 Endeavour Around Australia voyage, I immediately signed up as supernumerary for the Darwin to Broome voyage segment.

John had arranged for one of his associates to bring his four wheel drive vehicle to Cable Beach and he transported Greg to his hotel and me to the Bay House B&B. John took a slight detour to check out picturesque Minyiir Gantheaume Point where people can hike down the rocks at low tide to observe dinosaur footprints on some of the rocks.

I checked into Bay House and was greeted by the owners, Paul and Shary’n, who said that they had sailed past the Endeavour the prior afternoon at Cable Beach. They said that they had been in the hotel business previously and had also had a McDonalds franchise before moving to Broome. I spent much of the afternoon repacking my sailing clothes for my upcoming flights to Sydney and onward to Los Angeles before going for a walk to explore the neighborhood.

I met up with many of our shipmates at Matso’s, a bar and restaurant, near my B&B for dinner. After dinner, Greg drove me back to Bay House in the car that he had rented and we agreed to meet at 5:30 AM the following morning to try at low tide to see the wreckage of some of the seaplanes that had been bombed in Roebuck Bay during World War II.

Greg picked me up at 5:30 AM on August 30, and we drove to the point where we should have been able to see some of the wreckage in the distance at very low tide. We hiked down to the exposed ocean floor and started to walk out toward the wreckage which was far away – we soon abandoned our hike as the ocean floor was very muddy. We cleaned off our shoes and decided to drive to Minyiir Gantheaume Point to try to see some of the dinosaur footprints. The point was beautiful at sunrise, and we hiked down toward the water and found a large rock with some dinosaur footprints. We also ran into John and several other people hiking along the rocks. On the way back to the car, we passed the lighthouse with a pair of nesting Goshawks about halfway to the top. We could also see Cable Beach and the Endeavour at anchor off in the distance before returning me to Bay House.

Back at Bay House, as I was eating breakfast, a couple came down the stairs and asked me if I had sailed in on the Endeavour. When I said yes, they said that they saw me being interviewed the prior evening on the local TV station.

Since I was scheduled to fly from Broome that evening, I showered and packed up for my flight. I checked out of my room and stored my things in the office. Paul and Shary’n gave me a key to Bay House to use during the day and said that they would drive me to the airport for my evening flight.

I then began exploring Broome on foot with my first stop being the Broome Historical Museum which occupies the old Broome Customs House. The museum is a treasure trove of the early days of Broome and the pearl industry. It also has a section devoted to the bombing of Broome with some recovered wreckage from the airplanes destroyed by the Japanese in Roebuck Bay. Although no photographs are allowed within the building, photos of the artifacts in the outside area are allowed. I took some photos of a Wright Cyclone radial engine that was recovered from one of the Dornier seaplanes destroyed in the bay during the bombing and had a long discussion with the gentleman in charge of the aviation wreckage.

I continued walking toward downtown Broome and ran across Greg as he was arriving at Matso’s. Greg gave me part of a small bottle of Eucalyptus Oil that I brought home and which completely removed the tar from my hat and clothes. I joined Greg and some other shipmates for lunch and took a photo of our group as I said good-bye to explore more of Broome on foot.

I walked through some public parks and along many of the picturesque streets of downtown Broome. There is one set of statues commemorating the pearl divers with a large statue of a hard hat pearl diver and plaques honoring pearl industry people. The Sun Pictures movie theater was originally built in 1916 by pearling master Ted Hunter and screened it’s first talkie, “Monte Carlo,” in 1933. The picture garden with deck chairs both undercover and open-air is still original. It still shows motion pictures every night.

At the present time, many people in Broome and aboriginal people in particular are protesting attempts by one or more large corporations to establish a large $30 billion production plant to process natural gas from the offshore Browse Basin project – building a huge industrial complex at James Price Point on the coast north of Broome. Some people in Broome have erected protest signs at their homes which I walked past as I explored Broome.

I returned to the point overlooking Broome Roebuck Bay and took some late afternoon photos before returning to Bay House. After a short rest, Paul drove me to the airport to catch my flight to Perth where I connected to Melbourne and again connected to Sydney, arriving Sydney on the morning of August 31. I spent the night in Sydney and flew back to Los Angeles on September 1.

See pictures from Australia

June 2011
Thailand

Travel Notes

I arrived at Chiang Rai, Thailand, on 9 June 2011 with scattered rain, intense heat, and over-the-top humidity. Although I didn’t have any specific itinerary for this journey, I wanted to return to the Oup Kham Museum to talk to them about the special green tea that I had been served when I visited the museum during January 2011. This special green tea comes from the tea plantation that is owned by the owner of the museum and is served to people who visit the museum. Although I was told that it sells for a very high price in China, museum visitors could purchase it at the museum.

When I returned to the museum on June 10, Ms. Kai, the same lady who was there in January, greeted me and we had a nice chat over a pot of the tea. She referred to it as the tea of Chinese royalty and I purchased a package from the museum for 600 Thai Bhat. She made out a receipt to me for the purchase and listed it as Thai tea. The following day, when I called the mobile phone number for the museum to try to get a proper name for the tea, the museum owner answered. He was very patient with me as I rambled on and on about the tea and my purchase the day before. He told me that the tea is called “The Emperor’s Tea.”

The following day, I hired a tuk-tuk taxi to go to the Tum Phra Buddha Cave adjacent to the Mae Kok River several kilometers west of Chiang Rai. Several monks live in the cave which contains small stone Buddha statues dating back several hundred years. Although I have been in many Buddha caves in Thailand, this cave was well worth the drive outside the city. As we returned to the city, we stopped along the road near the Tum Tu Pu cave complex to photograph some of the images on the rocks beneath the hillside cave entrance.

I flew from Chiang Rai to Khon Kaen before continuing on to Roi-Et by bus to explore some new places in Northeast Thailand. Roi-Et has a beautiful 200,000 sq.m. lake known as Bueng Phalan Chai in the center of the city. It is blessed with a relaxing atmosphere, with an island decorated with a large flower garden. It is also the home to the city pillar shrine, the sacred shrine that is highly revered by the people of Roi Et. The city also has some beautiful canal-like waterways. The very tall golden standing Buddha statue situated within the Wat Buraphaphiram complex is a major landmark within Roi-Et city. Although the literature mentioned eleven wonderful city gates, I am not sure that I saw any of them. Within Roi-Et city I also visited the Roi-Et National Museum and the Roi-Et Municipal Aquarium. Each time that I visit an aquarium in Thailand, I am amazed at the unique varieties of fish and marine life on display.

Other tourist sites that I visited in the vicinity of Roi-Et city included Ku Phra Kona, Ku Ka Sing, Ku Phon Ra Kang, Phrasat Nong Ka/Prang Ku, and Ku Noi Bann Yang Ku. These are all ancient temples and archeological sites. Ku Phra Kona had a unique charm whereas Ku Ka Sing was the largest and had an on-site museum.

I traveled by bus north from Roi-Et to Kalasin. Within the city of Kalasin I visited Wat Klang and attempted to visit the Kalasin Museum which I found was closed to the public.

I visited tourist sites in the vicinity of Kalasin including Muang Fadaet Songyang, the Sirindhorn Dinosaur Museum and Dinosaur Park, Phu Khao, the Phufaek National Park (Dinosaur Footprints), and Phu Po. Muang Fadaet Songyang was registered as a national historic site in 1936 and the Phrathat Yakhu or Ka Ku is the biggest Chedi (Buddhist stupa) in the site. Phu Khao is a temple complex at the top of Phu Sing Hill that may be best known for a two meter long inclining Laying Buddha. There is a legend that this Buddha image was built more than 2,000 years ago by Phra Mokkhallana, an apostle of Lord Buddha. The complex is quite large with many peafowl wandering about the temples and forested grounds. I also saw a deer among the trees as I walked along a path. Phu Po is a monastery situated at a the top of a hill with two inclined Buddha images that were carved out of the rock cliffs by Dvaravati artisans – one image at the bottom of the hill and the other image near the top of the hill. Phu Po was somewhat difficult to find and, in spite of the hot afternoon, I climbed to the top of the hill where the scenery was spectacular.

I also visited the Sirindhorn Museum project which was started in 1995 due to the discovery of dinosaur fossils at Wat Sakkawan. The museum is the first dinosaur fossil museum in Thailand established for the purposes of study and research, preserving fossils as references, and geological tourism. The literature also states that fossils found are of new species and kinds. The museum has a research building and an exhibition building. Replica statues of many different dinosaurs are located in garden-like display areas outside the museum called the Dinosauria. This was one of the highlights of this trip to Thailand.

After Sirindhorn, I visited Phufaek National Park where in November 1996 two girls and their guardians went for a picnic and found strange footprints in a rocky open space by the Huai Ngao Stream at the foot of Phufaek Hill on the Phuphan Mountain Range. They notified geological authorities who traveled to the site and discovered that there are seven footprints of Therropod Dinosaurs, classified in carnivorous Karnosaur. These footprints are 140 million years old. At Phufaek National Park, I saw some petrified wood and hiked to the site of the dinosaur footprints. When I arrived at the site, I found several Thai families there enjoying a picnic. They were surprised to see a Californian visiting the site and offered to have me join their party. The dinosaur footprint fossils were fantastic and may well have been the highlight of my trip.

I traveled by bus from Kalasin back to Khon Kaen. Khon Kaen City also has a beautiful large lake called Bueng Kaen Nakhon with an area of 603 rai and a shady park around the lake. The magnificent Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon or 9-storey stupa is adjacent to the lake and the Khon Kaen City Museum is also near the lake. Each floor of the 9-storey stupa is unique with murals, carvings and artifacts – relics of the Lord Buddha are housed on the 9th floor. Other sites within Khon Kaen that I visited were Sala Suk Chai where the city pillar shrine is located and an interesting adjacent temple complex.

Tourist sites that I visited in the vicinity of Khon Kaen included the King Cobra village of Thailand, Ku Prapha Chai, and Phrathat Kham Kaen. Ku Prapha Chai is a Khmer ruins archeological site of a hospital built during the reign of Jayavarman in the 13th century. Phrathat Kham Kaen is located in Wat Chetiyaphum and is believed to be the origin of Khon Kaen City since ancient times.

The King Cobra Village, Ban Khok Sa-nga in Tambon Sai Mun is famous for its strange pets, king cobras, kept at every house. For a long time the villagers earned extra income by selling herbal medicines while traveling around through villages. By 1951, a local doctor, Ken Yongla, initiated a cobra show, which was successful in attracting his clients to the village. Since a cobra show was too dangerous because a cobra can spit its poison for two meters making a man blind, he changed the show to be conducted with king cobras together with the snake handling skills of the villagers. Today in the village, a snake show is held at Wat Si Thamma with villagers performing different series of shows such as python snake dancing, and boxing between king cobra and man. Exhibitions of king cobra and other reptiles, mammals, and birds are located on either side of a large pond adjacent to the snake show arena. I arrived in the morning and there were just a few other Thai people visiting the village. My driver and I went from cage to cage to look at the different cobras, snakes, birds, and mammals – there was no admission charge to visit the village and look at these. One lady had a large python and wanted me to photograph the snake for a fee, but I declined.

After viewing the snakes in the cages, I was invited into the large tent-like arena where the snake show was performed. I asked when the show was scheduled to begin and was told in just a few minutes. A few minutes later, the other five or six Thai visitors arrived and the show began. The first performance was two Thai ladies each dancing with a python over their shoulders and for the finale, they each inserted the head of the python in their mouth as they danced. The following shows all featured king cobras. Several Thai men boxed with the cobras and one man kissed the head of a cobra. A small boy played with a smaller king cobra and barely missed being bitten by the snake on numerous occasions demonstrating his snake-handling skills. Donations were solicited after the performances. After the show and before we could leave, the lady with the python greeted us and held out the python for someone to handle. Since none of the Thai people would take the snake, I gave my camera to one of the Thais and took the python from the lady. The Thais seemed to be enamored by me and the python as photographs were taken. When the lady asked me to put the snake’s head in my mouth like the lady dancers had done during the show, I refused and returned the python to her. On the way back to the car, I stopped and purchased a Thailand King Cobra Village shirt and decided that my visit to the cobra village was another highlight of the trip.

After we departed the King Cobra Village, we passed a group of Thai men in the process of having a party while butchering a large pig beside the highway. We stopped and I asked permission to take some photos. The men agreed, asked me to join their party, and offered me a beer.

I flew from Khon Kaen back to Chiang Rai, and visited several tourist sites North of the city including, Mae Sai City, Wat Phra That Doi Wow, Wat Phra Doi That Tung, Sathop Doi Chang Moup, and Doi Tung.

Mae Sai City borders on Myanmar's Tha Khi Lek market by the Mae Sai River with a bridge spanning both sides. Although foreign visitors are allowed to cross over to the Tha Khi Lek market by presenting their passports and paying a fee at the Mae Sai Customs House immigration checkpoint, I decided not to enter Myamnar. There is alao a very large market area within Mae Sai which we drove through to get to Wat Phra That Doi Wow which is situated on a hilltop within Mae Sai. Wat Phra That Doi Wow is also known as the scorpion temple and has an impressive statue of a scorpion overlooking the city. Mae Sai is an interesting city in which I might like to spend more time during a future trip.

I had selected several sites along highway 1149 in the mountains near Mae Sai that I wanted to visit when I contracted with my car and driver. My driver missed the road to highway 1149 within Mae Sai and headed back toward Chiang Rai on highway 1. I finally got his attention and after he stopped to ask directions a couple of times and made a couple of calls on his mobile phone, we found a road to take us to highway 1149. Once we arrived at highway 1149, we had to backtrack on it toward Mae Sai to visit my selected sites. Highway 1149 is a narrow and winding road in the mountains which was very scenic.

We visited Wat Phra That Doi Tung which is situated near the top of Doi Tung Mountain, the highest mountain in Chiang Rai Province with an elevation of approximately 2,000 meters. Wat Phra That Doi Tung was constructed in the 10th century and was renovated by Chiang Rai's most famous ruler King Mengrai during the 13th century and by the famous Chiang Mai monk, Khru Ba Siwichai, at the turn of the 20th century. The temple complex is comprised of twin Lanna style chedis, one of which is said to contain the left collarbone of the Lord Buddha. Throughout the year, the holy relic draws devout Buddhists from all over Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. The pedestrian walkway up to the temple is lined with large bells on each side which most people ring as they pass each bell – I had never seen so many bells at one location. A tree within the complex also had hundreds of smaller bells suspended from the lower branches.

As we continued driving to Sathop Doi Chang Moup which is a sacred archeological site higher up on the mountain, my driver was complaining about the difficulty in getting there. However, once we arrived and hiked to the site which is centered around a rock that resembles an elephant, he became very excited and will probably take more tourists there. It was a very serene and peaceful place which would be quite good for meditation.

We continued our journey back along highway 1149 toward Chiang Rai and stopped to look at a portion of the Doi Tung Development Project established by the late Princess Mother in 1987. Phra Tamnak Doi Tung, the royal villa, is situated on the slopes of the adjacent Pa Kluay Reservoir and was built to serve as a royal winter retreat for the Princess Mother, who passed away in 1995. It was originally built on the theory that the local hill tribes would be honored by the royal presence and thereby cease their opium cultivation. The main attraction for visitors to Phra Tamnak Doi Tung is “Suan Mae Fa Luang,” the beautiful landscaped gardens filled with hundreds of different kinds of plants and flowers, named in honor of the Princess Mother.

Since Thailand was scheduled to hold its National election on July 3, many election posters were set up along every road that I traveled within Thailand during this trip. I guess the total number of political election posters along the roads in Thailand was probably in the millions.

I returned to Bangkok on June 24 and continued my flights back home to California on June 25.

See pictures from Sri Lanka and Thailand

March/April 2011
Sri Lanka & Thailand

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at Bangkok at about midnight on Tuesday, March 22nd, and spent the next three nights at a hotel near the Bangkok International Airport before continuing on to Sri Lanka. We spent March 23rd relaxing and acclimating to the time change. My Thai friends, Pam and Sit, met us at our hotel on March 24th for a sightseeing day trip to Kanchanaburi. Although we had originally asked Pam and Sit to help in booking a car and driver for the day trip, they graciously volunteered to drive us in their car and to join us. I had compiled a tentative itinerary for the day trip in advance and we did our best to try to visit all of the places on my list. I had been to several of the places on a prior trip to Thailand and I wanted to make sure that Jan got an opportunity to visit the Tiger Temple and to experience being with the tigers. I also wanted to visit Hellfire Pass further to the North, if possible.

Pam and Sit picked us up at our hotel and we drove northwest of Bangkok to the Sai Yok Noi Waterfalls where we visited a World War II Japanese Locomotive that is on display in a pass cutting that was part of the Death Railway, the Burma-Thailand Railway, built by the Japanese using thousands of Allied prisoner of war laborers. This railroad crossed the River Kwai and was the subject of the movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.” There are several Allied Prisoner of War Cemeteries in the immediate area. We continued further north to visit the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum. Unfortunately, in order to visit the Tiger Temple, we did not have time to hike through the famous “Hellfire Pass” cutting which got its name from the fires used to illuminate the cutting throughout the nights as the prisoners of war were forced to cut the pass through the mountain.

Our next stop was at the Tiger Temple, a refuge sanctuary for tigers operated by Buddhist monks. The adult tigers exercise during the morning and have a rest period in a canyon during the early afternoon. Beginning at 1:00 PM, visitors to the temple can interact with the tigers under supervision of temple staff. Jan got the opportunity to hold and be photographed with adult tigers and later with a couple of baby tigers. Other animals at the temple included deer, cattle, water buffalo, horses, goats, and pigs which were allowed to wander about the sanctuary unrestricted.

On our way back to Bangkok, we stopped at another section of the “Death Railway” at the Thamkrasse Bridge, a wooden trestle bridge beside the River Kwai. As we approached the bridge, a train had just crossed the bridge and we walked across the bridge to the next train station and visited the Krasse Cave in the mountain beside the bridge. Steel rails from the original Burma-Thailand Railway remain on the bridge between the rails used for the current railway operations. Before returning to our hotel we stopped for a wonderful dinner at Tang’s Bug, one of Pam & Sit’s favorite Thai restaurants. It was a long day trip as well as a very long way for them to drive and we appreciate very much their spending the day with us.

Pam and Sit also picked us up at our hotel the following morning and drove to the Klong Suan 100 Year Old Market located in the Samut Prakan Province. This is a traditional Thai market that dates back to the reign of King Rama V. Since sweet mangos were in season, we ate sweet mangos and sticky rice and other Thai sweets as we toured the market. We also visited the famous Wat Sothan Warawihan Temple in Chachoengsao Province along the west bank of the Bang Pakong River. This temple currently enshrines the famous Luang Por Sothon Buddha statue in the temple’s new orientation hall which took fifteen years to construct. Construction began in 1988 and the orientation hall was officially opened to the public in 2004. The hall extends to a height of 84 meters and features a five-tier golden umbrella which weighs exactly 77 kilograms. I believe that this may be the largest temple in Thailand. We also visited the Rong J Wat Sothon Chinese Buddhist temple which is a part of the Wat Sothan Warawihan complex.

Since we had been snacking on Thai sweets that Pam purchased, we were too full to stop for lunch. We returned to our hotel and said good-bye to Pam and Sit – they really went out of their way to make our time with them special and we remain grateful to have such good Thai friends.

After a late checkout from our hotel, we went to the airport and checked into our evening flight to Sri Lanka. We arrived at Colombo, Sri Lanka, at about 12:15 AM on March 26th. After clearing customs, we found ourselves unable to locate our driver to our hotel. It began to feel like my travels to India where my pre-arranged drivers frequently do not show up at the airport. A nice man from one of the car rental booths came over and asked me if I was having a problem. When I said that I was unable to locate my driver, the man asked me for the phone number of our hotel and called our hotel on his mobile phone. He said that our driver had been stuck in traffic and that he would arrive shortly and would meet us at the car rental booth – what a nice first impression of Sri Lanka!

Our driver, whose name is Gamini, arrived and drove us to the Garden Guest House, the bed & breakfast hotel (B&B) where we had a reservation for the remainder of the night. Gamini was a friend of the owners of the B&B and stayed while we checked in and offered to drive us to our hotel in Sigiriya in his van. We took him up on his offer and arranged to visit the Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawala en route to Sigiriya

Breakfast at the Garden Guest House was very nice and the owner said that she makes a slightly different breakfast daily. She also said that she had been operating as a B&B for nearly 28 years. We also had reservations at the Garden Guest House for our last nights in Sri Lanka when we were scheduled to return to Colombo before returning to Thailand.

Gamini picked us up in his van and we drove northbound toward Sigiriya. The traffic and drivers in Sri Lanka appeared to be much more disciplined than what I have experienced while traveling in India. People appeared to drive slower than in most other Southeast Asian countries. As we traveled from Colombo to Sigiriya, most of the roads were two lane highways that appeared to be in need of repair. In addition, the local buses seemed to stop at nearly every bus stop along the highway forcing the vehicles behind them to wait for the loading and/or unloading of passengers. The residents along the highways also appeared to enjoy a higher standard of living than comparable people in India.

We arrived at the Elephant Orphanage shortly before the elephants were scheduled to go to the river as part of their daily routine. We observed the herd of elephants and saw some very young baby elephants – Jan bottle fed a young elephant and got an opportunity to interact with some of the elephants. We then followed the elephants to the river and ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the elephants in the river. We insisted that Gamini join us for lunch and we ordered the same rice and curry lunch that he ordered even though he was sure that it would be much too spicy for our palates. Lunch convinced him that we really did like very spicy food and that we would be right at home with the traditional spicy Sri Lanka cuisine. During the drive to Sigiriya, we hired Gamini to be our driver/tour guide for the remainder of our time in Sri Lanka.

We arrived at the Hotel Sigiriya just before dusk and would spend four nights there. The hotel is situated in the jungle and has a wonderful view of the famous Lion Rock of Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had a nice room with both an overhead ceiling fan and a thermostatically controlled air conditioner unit. The hotel restaurant offered a large buffet breakfast that was included with the room. The restaurant also offered a large buffet dinner each evening as well as individual choices from the menu. Since we were still full from our rice and curry lunch, we each ordered a bowl of soup for dinner. The three following nights, we opted for the buffet dinner and really enjoyed the traditional food from the Sri Lanka table.

Gamini picked us up at the hotel early on the morning of March 27th for a full day excursion to the ancient city of Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura was founded in 380 BC and was both the capital of Ceylon and the sacred city of Buddhism on the island. The sacred city was established around a cutting from the “tree of enlightenment,” the Buddha’s Bodhi Tree (Bo Tree), brought there in the 3rd century BC by Sanghamitta, the founder of an order of Buddhist nuns. With the exception of the period of invasion of the Tamil princes, at the beginning of the 2nd century BC, Anuradhapura remained the religious capital of Ceylon for approximately ten centuries. The Tamil invaders were expelled in 161 BC. by Dutthagamani who re-established Buddhism in place of Brahminism and endowed Anuradhapura with extraordinary monuments. Anuradhapura was sacked and taken by the Pandyan kings during the 9th century and then returned against the payment of a ransom. The city never recovered after its destruction in AD 993 and having lost its position of capital, it was deserted in favor the new capital city of Polonnaruwa.

Gamini tended to avoid the main roads and elected to drive us on many local back roads to our destinations. It later became apparent that the local back roads with little or no traffic were faster than the main roads with heavy traffic and the local busses. Anuradhapura is a huge UNESCO World Heritage site and Gamini drove us to the individual sights that we wanted to visit. Our first stop was to visit a couple of ancient cave shelters before continuing to the Isurumuniya Temple and archaeological museum. The Isurumuniya rock temple at Anuradhapura was built during the 3rd century BC and was very impressive. The moonstone is a widespread architectural characteristic in Sri Lanka. It is found at the base of a short staircase and is in the shape of a half-moon. Two balustrades flank the sides of the staircase and terminate with two large vertical stones called “guard stones.” The moonstone and guard stones at the Isurumuniya Temple were intricately carved and served to welcome visitors. The small Isurumuniya Archeological Museum contains the famous rock carving known as the “Isurumuniya Lovers” in addition to many other rock carvings and exhibits.

While at Anuradhapura, we visited the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Sacred Bo Tree (Ficus religiosa), that was brought to Sri Lanka from India by Princess Sanghamitta, a Buddhist nun. The Sri Maha Bodhi is considered to be the oldest recorded tree on earth and was a sapling of the Bo tree in Budda Gaya in India under which Prince Siddhartha attained Buddhahood.

We visited several stupas including Ruwanweliseya or the “Great Stupa” which stands 300 feet tall and is regarded as the most important monument at Anuradhapura. Gamini said that this stupa is white-washed once every year. The Jethavana Stupa was the central ritual monument of the Jethavana Monastery which was established in the 3rd century BC. This stupa is the tallest brick structure in the world – at the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, this stupa was the third tallest structure in the world with only Pyramids 1 and 2 in Egypt being taller.

Other highlights at Anuradhapura included the Kuttam Pokuna, or twin ponds; the Samadhi Buddha; and the moonstone at the entrance of the Abhhayagiri monastery ruins considered to be the finest moonstone in Sri Lanka.

During our drive back to our hotel, we detoured to visit the massive reservoir at Kalavewa that was constructed during the 4th century AD and to visit the 13 meter high Aukana Buddha statue carved out of solid granite dating back to the 5th century AD. Although the literature recommended visiting the Aukana Buddha during the morning when the sun is shining on it, we made the most of our late afternoon visit.

Gamini picked us up at the hotel early on the morning of March 28th to go to the Lion Rock of Sigiriya UNESCO World Heritage Site. This fortress-citadel was founded 1,500 years ago by King Kassapa (447-495 AD). The king transformed this 600-foot high rock into an impregnable fortress after he displaced some forest dwelling monks which relocated to another large rock nearby. Sigiriya was re-discovered in 1853 and offers visitors a gallery of 5th century paintings coupled with landscaped gardens and paintings of 23 women, mostly in pairs and usually consisting of a lady and her maid. The maidens in the Sigiriya murals have been identified as ladies in the court of Kassapa and included his queens, daughters, maid servants, and concubines. The Lion Terrace is situated half way up the rock and guards the entrance leading up to the summit. The main palace was situated on the summit and overlooked the gardens and surrounding area.

There are more than 1,000 steps to the summit and it was a very invigorating morning climb. As we descended from the summit, we came across a snake charmer who showed off his skills at charming a cobra in exchange for some money to allow us to take photographs.

After lunch, we embarked on a two-hour jeep safari in the Hurulu Eco Park, a Sri Lanka Government protected wild elephant sanctuary. The dirt roads in the park had deep ruts from the prior rains and required four-wheel drive vehicles. In addition to several beautiful birds and quite a few wild elephants, we saw a Sri Lankan Jackal and a couple of mongooses. The Sri Lankan Jackal is a species of the Golden Jackal found in southern India and Sri Lanka – spotting and photographing it was the highlight of our wild elephant safari. In addition, the safari offered us an opportunity to see some of the Sri Lanka scrub jungle and natural elephant habitat.

Gamini picked us up at the hotel the following morning to embark on a day trip to Polonnaruwa, the second capital of Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa was the seat of government from the middle of the 11th century to the 13th century. While Anuradhapura extended over an area of 18 square miles, Polonnaruwa can be divided up into four main zones. The Parakrama Samudra, sometimes called the “Sea of Parakrama,” is an enormous irrigation reservoir that was built by King Parakramabahu I. It covers 5,940 acres, can irrigate 18,500 rice paddies, and bears witness to Polonnaruwa’s glorious past.

Upon arriving at Polonnaruwa, we drove along the dam that forms the Parakrama Samudra to the Potgul Vilhara complex where the large 12th century statue carved out of a giant rock, and often referred to as “The Sage,” is situated. Nearby the statue were the ruins of several buildings, one of several at Polonnaruwa that once housed the sacred Tooth Relic from the Buddha – the Tooth Relic of Buddha is currently housed in the Tooth Temple at Kandy. Our next stop was at the Polonnaruwa Archaeological Museum and the adjacent Dipauyana (Island Park) palace grounds which included King Nissanka Malla’s lion throne, his council chamber, the remains of his summer house, and bathing ponds.

The third area that we visited was much larger and was accessed alongside a road several kilometers long. This area contained the ruins of King Parakramabahu’s seven story palace, his council chamber, and royal baths. Other very notable structures included a 7th century Circular Relic House; the Thuparama image house; Atadage, the first Tooth Relic Shrine in Polonnaruwa built in the 11 century; Hatadage, the second Tooth Relic Shrine built in the 12th century; and the Gal Pota or “Stone Book” inscribed in a single piece of granite measuring eight meters high and 4.25 meters wide. The area also contained some Hindu shrines that have been restored.

Further away is the Gal Vihara which is described as one of the finest group of sculptures in the world. It consists of four sculptures of the Buddha carved from a huge single granite rock – two seated, one standing, and one reclining. One seated Buddha is within an artificial cave and is surrounded by various deities including Brahma and Vishnu, an interesting combination of Buddhist and Hindu sculpture. The standing Buddha is seven meters tall, and the reclining Buddha is fifteen meters long.

We continued on to the Lotus Pond and to the Tivanka Image House. It is called Tivanka (meaning three bends) because the giant Buddha image inside is bent at three places, namely the shoulder, the hip, and the knee. It is also famous for its 12th century paintings that depict certain incidents from the Jataka stories and the life of Buddha. On the way back to the hotel, Gamini drove us past the large white statue of Buddha in Sigiriya which we had seen from the top of Sigiriya Rock the day before.

After checking out of our hotel on March 30th, Gamini drove us to Dambulla where we climbed to the principal shrine 600 feet above the plains, known as Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya, or the golden cave temple. The facade of the caves was constructed in 1938 and has five cave temples. The cave temples are spectacular with paintings and many Buddha images. As we continued on toward Kandy, we stopped at a small house beside the road where the resident family demonstrated a multitude of uses and products that are derived from the coconut. We also stopped at a spice garden where we saw many different spice plants – before leaving, our guide treated us to a personal showing and sales pitch for many spice products and medicinal spice products.

En route to Kandy, we visited the Naranga Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site. This temple was reconstructed during 1975. It is situated beside a large reservoir and is said to be at the center of Sri Lanka.

We arrived at Kandy mid-afternoon and checked into the Queen’s Hotel in downtown Kandy. This hotel was one of the original colonial hotels in Sri Lanka and is associated with British royalty. In spite of the sloping second story hallway and creaky room floors, the Queen’s Hotel was a wonderful place to spend the night. Shortly after checking into the hotel, we met Gamini in the lobby and went to visit the Kandy National Museum. The museum was interesting and the caretaker, once he realized that I had paid extra for the privilege of taking photos in the museum, took an extra special interest to make sure that we saw all of the very best exhibits. After the museum, we struck out on our own to explore downtown Kandy and to search for an Internet café. We visited a combination Buddhist and Hindu temple where Jan received a blessing from a Buddhist monk. That evening we took Gamini to dinner at a local Kandy restaurant of his choice where we watched some of the semi-final Cricket match when India beat Pakistan.

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, Gamini took us to the Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Tooth Relic of Buddha for the morning offering ceremony on March 31st. Access to this temple is currently controlled by elevated security measures since it was bombed by the Tamil Tigers terrorist attack in 1998. We visited the museum on one of the upper floors of the temple complex prior to the start of the offering ceremony. The ceremony was very elaborate and we joined the procession of people who walked past the window that is opened only during the offering ceremonies to view the Tooth Relic. Following the ceremony, Gamini took us to see the famous temple elephant that was preserved after he died and remains on display in a separate building.

After checking out of our hotel, we drove to a popular viewpoint overlooking downtown Kandy. We also stopped at a two different tea plantations en route to Colombo. The first was a small building adjacent to a hillside with tea plants and the second was at the Geragama Tea Factory. The tour of the tea factory was very interesting, especially the methods by which the same tea leaves produce many different types of tea – we sampled a cup of English breakfast tea before we continued on our journey to Colombo.

We arrived back at the Garden Guest House B&B during the late afternoon and, after freshening up, we went to the home of some friends who live in Colombo, Wilfred and Cynthia. Wilfred is a professor in Colombo and Cynthia is a medical doctor in Colombo – they are the parents of one of our friends back in Los Angeles. After we enjoyed a very nice visit and appetizers at their home, Wilfred took us to visit the Cricket club to which he belongs and where he once was a player. He picked up Cynthia and we all enjoyed a wonderful Sri Lanka rice and curry dinner at the club.

After breakfast on the morning of April 1st, Gamini picked us up for a day of sightseeing in Colombo. We visited the Kalyani Institute for Buddhist Studies and toured the temple complex. The inside walls and ceilings of the main temple were adorned with wonderful paintings and Buddha images. We also enjoyed the different sculptures on the exterior of the temples. Another very colorful and elaborate temple complex that we visited was Gangaramaya Temple and we were fortunate to be invited into a special museum section of this temple by its caretaker. Other Colombo sights included the Independence Hall, the historic Dutch reformed Church, Viharamahadevi Park, downtown Colombo, and a drive along the Indian Ocean. We enjoyed a wonderful Sri Lanka buffet lunch at the restaurant in the Grand Oriental Hotel overlooking the harbor.

We returned to the B&B, packed and rested up for our flight back to Bangkok that departed after midnight. Gamini picked us up for the last time and drove us to the airport where we thanked him for his wonderful service – for anyone who might wish to employ him in the future as guide and driver, his name is Gamini Jayasinghe and you can contact me for his email address.

Our flight to Bangkok was uneventful and after clearing customs at Bangkok, we checked into our flight to Phuket. After checking into our hotel at Patong Beach on April 2nd, Jan determined that given the lack of effective Internet service and unexpected events at her office, she really needed to cut her trip short and return home. The following morning I was able to re-book her flight from Bangkok for April 4th and booked a flight for her to Bangkok that evening. She left for Bangkok that night and returned home.

I took the early afternoon ferry to Phi Phi Island on April 4th and spent two nights at Phi Phi with a snorkeling trip to Mosquito Island on April 5th. Each time that I snorkel at Mosquito Island, the coral has deteriorated from my prior visits – too many tourists have extensively damaged the coral and it was the last good snorkeling site at Phi Phi Island. This may well end up being my last snorkeling trip to Phi Phi Island.

I took the ferry to Ao Nang on April 6th to be in place for Nhong, my tour guide, to pick me up for my trip to the far south of Thailand the following morning. I was amazed at how much Ao Nang was built up since my last visit several years ago. Before, there was an abundance of Indian tailors; this time, there was an abundance of Indian restaurants. Fortunately for me, the dinner buffet at Bernie’s Place was still operating and had not changed over the years – dinner at Bernie’s was just like old times.

Nhong arrived at the hotel with a van and driver as I was finishing breakfast on April 7th. The driver’s wife, a school teacher in the Manang district of Satun province, also accompanied us as we set off for Satun Province. Our first stop was at the picturesque Wang Sai Thong Waterfalls in the Manang district of Satun. Here water cascades down the slopes of limestone mountains where the water forms plunge pools at the bottom of the mountain. The unique thing about the Wang Sai Thong Waterfalls is that pools of water cascading into each limestone basin appear as if the lotus has bloomed. It also appears as if you were inside a cave with the roof of the cave open to the sky. These waterfalls are off of the tourist beaten path and difficult to get to without someone familiar with the area.

After the waterfalls, we visited Phu Pha Pet Cave in the Manang district of Satun. This is the largest cave in Thailand, the third largest cave in the world, and has only recently been open to the public. We paid our fees, rented our cave headlights, and climbed the 335 steps to the cave entrance. We obtained a local cave guide at the cave entrance who accompanied us on our tour of the cave. Access to the cave requires crawling through a small cave entrance after which the cave becomes enormous. Out of the entire 18 acres and seven floors of caves here, only two floors are open to the public for exploration. Stairs lead to different levels of the cave and one of the most interesting sights is the giant Jade Rock or Stone of Phuphaphet in a chamber which is illuminated by daylight from an opening near the ceiling of the chamber. Although this cave is not one of the more beautiful caves that I have visited, it was well worth the visit.

Our third and final stop for the day was at Rim Varee Bungalows where we hired a couple of river kayak canoes for a river canoeing trip down the Jed Kod River through the Jed Kod Cave. Nhong and I shared a canoe while our driver, his wife, and the guide shared the second canoe. Nhong had never been river canoeing and we managed to capsize our canoe on two separate occasions: once before we reached the cave, and once more when we ran into a bamboo tree that had fallen across the river after we had exited the cave. Nhong lost her camera into the river when we first capsized, and the canoe people managed to recover it from the river bottom the following day after we had departed for Tarutao National Park. The portion of the trip through the cave was in total darkness, required cave headlights, and was much longer that I had anticipated. We were picked up by the canoe people at a bridge several kilometers downstream from where we began our trip.

We spent the night at the Rim Varee Bungalows and continued on to Pak Bara the morning of April 8th to take a speedboat to Kho Lipe (Lipe Island) which is one of the islands in the Adang Archipelago of Tarutao National Park. The speedboat made several stops en route to Pattaya Beach, Koh Lipe’s main village area, where we transferred to a longtail boat that took us to the opposite side of Koh Lipe to the Andaman Resort. We had somewhat primitive fan-cooled bungalows at the resort and moved the following day to slightly better bungalows that faced the beach. My main purpose for going to Tarutao National Park was to snorkel some of the islands which were touted as still having some very good coral.

On the morning of April 9th, we hired a longtail boat for the day and set off to do some snorkeling. Our first stop was at the island of Koh Hin-ngam which has a beach covered with small black rocks. From the beach we snorkeled along the east side of the island and viewed some spectacular coral and marine life. Our second stop was at Jabang where beautiful colorful soft corals could be observed. Our third stop was at Koh Hin-son (sometimes spelled Koh Hin-sorn) and then on to Koh Rokroy (sometimes spelled Koh Lokloy) where we ate lunch. After lunch, we visited Koh Rawi where we snorkeled back toward Koh Rokroy and enjoyed some more very good coral. Our last stop was at Koh Yang but the coral there was extensively damaged and therefore a huge disappointment.

On the morning of April 10th, we hired the same longtail boat for a half day and left early to go back to Jabang – we were the first boat there, the water was very clear, and the soft coral was beautiful. From Jabang we went back to Koh Hin-ngam and snorkeled along the west side of the island where the coral was not as spectacular as along the east side but where we saw large numbers of different species of fish. Our last stop was along the west side of Koh Adang where the coral was once more a disappointment having been extensively damaged. We returned to the resort and packed up to return to the mainland. Our longtail boat took us back to Pattaya Beach where we transferred to a speedboat and returned to Pak Bara. Nhong and our van delivered me to the Hat Yai airport for my evening flight to Bangkok.

I spent much of April 11th drying out my clothes and snorkel gear to prepare for my long flights home the following day. I believe that my future snorkeling trips to Thailand will most likely be confined to Mu Koh Surin National Park and Tarutao National Park.

February 2011
Sofia, Bulgaria

Travel Notes

For the past four years when Europe winter airfare goes on sale, I have booked a trip to Europe sometime during February and this year was no exception. I arrived at Sofia, Bulgaria, during the afternoon of Friday, February 15. The airport at Sofia is nearly new and I hired a taxi to take me to the Best Western City hotel which was situated in downtown Sofia. The roads from the airport to the city center were very good and there was not very much vehicular traffic. The pedestrians in Sofia always have the right-of-way and the vehicular drivers were very courteous. The downtown area has some wonderful architecture and was fun to explore on foot.

The Sofia weather forecast called for rain and snow during the weekend. Since the weather was overcast with no rain, I decided to immediately explore some of the outdoor sites that I planned to visit and save the museums for a day of inclement weather. My hotel was within two blocks of the Seveta Alexander Nevski Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Sofia. Since the cathedral, with its golden domes, is a highly visible center city landmark, exploration on foot was quite easy. During that first afternoon I was able to visit the Russian Church of St. Nikolai, the Rotunda of St. George, Seveta Petka Church, and the Central Hali Shopping Center. I was also able to observe Syndol Palace, the Military Club, the statue of Saint Sofia, the Central Synagogue, the Banya Mosque, several city squares and parks with interesting statues, the Archeological Museum, the National Art Gallery, the National Assembly, and numerous other architecturally pleasing structures. Although the streets were very good, many of the sidewalks were paving stones that were uneven. While crossing a street via an underground tunnel, I walked passed the Eastern Gate and part of the old city wall.

It was getting dark by the time that I returned to my hotel and, due to some wireless Internet difficulties, had to move to another room. After making the move and getting a shower, I set off to find a restaurant for dinner. I finally settled on the Taj Mahal Restaurant near my hotel. The restaurant was packed and I enjoyed a wonderful Indian dinner.

It snowed during the night which changed to intermittent rain in the morning. I decided to visit the Archeological Museum and the National Art Gallery. The Archeological Museum is housed in a former mosque and contains some of the best ancient gold and bronze artifacts that I have ever seen – the gold artifacts from the 6th and 5th centuries BC were superb. The National Art Gallery is housed in the former royal palace and the building itself is a wonderful showplace for the art. I also walked to the National Theater building and then visited the Natural History Museum. On the way back to the hotel, I visited both the Seveta Alexander Nevski Cathedral and the Seveta Alexander Nevski Cathedral Crypts, which have been converted into a gallery displaying old Bulgarian religious art. I returned to the hotel and located a restaurant for dinner with Bulgarian food which was delicious.

It snowed Saturday night and I was greeted by a winter wonderland on Sunday morning. After breakfast, I took a taxi to the Boyana Church which is situated in a wooded area about ten kilometers from Sofia. The fresh snow made the church and woodlands very beautiful. It is a UNESCO World Heritge site and the frescoes are magnificent. When I left the church, I took a taxi to the nearby National History Museum. Once again I was treated to magnificent 6th to 4th century BC artifacts. Some of the most spectacular artifacts included a gold wreath from a royal grave from the mid-4th century BC and the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure from the 4th century BC – simply amazing! Since there were no taxis at the museum, I asked a group of people which way I should walk to find a taxi. A young Bulgarian lady said that she was going to catch a bus and that I could go with her to the bus stop. When she realized that there were no taxies nearby the bus stop, she called for a taxi on her mobile phone before she boarded the bus – eventually the taxi arrived and transported me back to my hotel.

The following day I checked out of the hotel and went to the airport to begin my journey back home, having just completed my fourth annual long winter weekend somewhere in Europe.

See pictures from Sofia

See pictures from India and Thailand

January 2011
India/Thailand

Travel Notes

After spending three nights in Bangkok to help adjust to the time zone changes en route to India, I arrived at the Mumbai International Airport at Mumbai, India at about 10:00 PM on Thursday, January 20. Of course, my car and driver arranged by my hotel was nowhere to be seen. After circling the arrivals area several times just to make sure that my car and driver were not there, I went to the “Prepaid Taxi” booth and hired a taxi to my hotel. I was instructed to follow a person to find my taxi and we finally located my taxi car number, a tiny rather old taxi. After tipping everyone who played any part at all in getting me to my taxi, it didn’t take long in the local street traffic to realize that I was back in India.

The following day, I flew to Aurangabad and was pleasantly surprised to see a man holding up a sign with my name in large letters. At least my mobile phone SMS text messages to the hotel recommended travel office had indeed secured my hotel transfer. As I walked toward the car, another gentleman came up and introduced himself to me as Majad, the travel agency owner. After checking into my hotel and prior to going to my room, Majad and I settled on a small car with driver to be provided each day for my stay in Aurangabad. We also discussed the tourist attractions that I wanted to see with all of the costs negotiated and agreed upon. My driver would meet me in the hotel lobby at 9:00 AM the following morning to go to the Ellora Caves and to the Daulatabad Fort.

On Saturday morning, my driver arrived about ten minutes late and we proceeded to the Ellora Caves which are about 34 kilometers from Aurangabad. I usually ride in the front seat with my driver and the traffic in India is incredible – traffic lanes painted on the roads appear to be of no concern to the drivers. After a while watching my driver dart in and out of tiny spaces in traffic, creating multiple lanes out of a single traffic lane, and managing to just miss and to just be missed countless other vehicles; I began to feel comfortable with his driving skills. After all, I am back in India!

Since I was having some concerns about being able to visit both the caves and the fort in one day, I instructed my driver to go to the caves first. Upon arriving at the Ellora Caves, I bought my entry ticket and got the mobile phone number of my driver to be able to send an SMS if I needed to contact him. I declined the services of a guide to the caves and purchased a small guidebook to both the Ellora and Ajanta caves from a young boy who also wanted to sell a large well-illustrated book. Another man who came to be known as Samad, was persistent in trying to sell me a carved elephant and followed me as I walked from cave to cave.

The Ellora Caves are rock cut caves and number thirty four (34) in total. The caves were all excavated from the mountain by hammer and chisel. Caves 1 to 12 are Buddhist caves; Caves 13 to 29 are Hindu caves, and Caves 30 to 34 are Jain caves. The Buddhist caves were excavated from 500 to 700 AD; the Hindu caves from 757 to 900 AD; and the Jain caves 900 to 1100 AD. The caves contain elaborate sculptures as well as beautiful columns. Several of the caves have some remnants of beautiful paintings that are still visible.

I started at Cave #1 and proceeded to visit each of the other caves in order, Cave 2 through Cave 34. Nearly all of the caves contain beautiful sculpture panels on the walls. Cave 16 is by far the most interesting from an architectural viewpoint. It is named Kailas and is the highest peak of cave architecture in the world. The giant cutout which was carved out of the solid mass of rock to create this largest cave temple has no parallel in the world. The carving work was started out at the top and ended with the completion of the ground floor. While carving, the huge middle mass of the rock was preserved for the temple, providing vacant surrounding space for the multi-storied side galleries. It is difficult to imagine that this marvelous creation was carried out with only chisel and hammer.

While visiting Cave 32, a caretaker came over to me and took me to see some of the beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings – most of the tourists who visit this cave probably don’t realize the paintings exist in some of the dark shadowy areas of the cave. I am very appreciative for his assistance in making my visit to Cave 32 special. By the time I finished my visit to Cave 34, it was nearly 3:30 PM. Needless to say, I had no time left to visit the fort and would have to put it off for another day.

The original plan was to go to the Ajanta Caves on Sunday, January 23. The Ajanta Caves are about 120 kilometers from Aurangabad and the typical driving time is roughly two hours. Because my driver arrived at the hotel nearly an hour late on Sunday morning, Majad and I were forced to change my itinerary – I would visit the Daulatabad Fort today and postpone the Ajanta Caves until Tuesday. The fort was magnificent. It is a combination of the Ground fort and the Hill fort which my guidebook says is rarely found in India.

According to my guide book, some historians believe that the Rashtrakut Kings who built the world famous Kailas Cave of Ellora, might have also built this fort. The earliest recorded history of this fort dates from 1187 AD. Originally this fort was known as Deogiri, a hill of gods. In 1327 Mohmmed Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi, made this fort the capital of India and renamed it as Daulatabad, a city of fortune. The fort is constructed on an isolated pyramid-shaped natural mountain peak 200 meters above sea level. The rock around the fort has been chiseled so skillfully that climbing the fort was almost impossible. The fort has two moats – one around the fort which was dry and another around the citadel which was always filled with water. The fort is surrounded by three ramparts which are known in India as Kots. The first is Amberkot which surrounded the old town. There are two more Kots on the way to the citadel, Mahakot and Kalakot.

The Mahakot has eight gates which do not oppose one another meaning that the age-old practice of breaking doors open by the use of elephants was impossible here. The creation of the wet moat for entering the citadel was a unique strategy as the water level could be raised to flood the v-shaped crossing steps. After crossing the moat there was another strategy of dark passage (known as Andhari) with a zig-zag rock cut passage-way with stairs in darkness for entering the citadel. The guide book describes the citadel as invulnerable and invincible and that it was conquered only by treachery.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, a miniature replica of the Taj Majal. It is the only example of Mughul architecture of its kind in the Deccan plateau. It was built in 1679 by Aurangzeb’s son in a tribute to his mother, Begum Rabia Durani. It is situated within the city of Aurangabad and is a landmark. It is currently undergoing some exterior renovation and, while it is well worth a visit, it lacks much of the splendor of the famous Taj Majal in Agra.

On Monday morning, a new driver and I went to the Aurangabad Caves which are situated just outside of Aurangabad. They consist of nine rock cut caves, believed to have been excavated between the 2nd and 6th centuries. Several of the caves have intricate carvings and sculptures. Cave 4 is supported by twelve columns carved with scenes depicting stories from the Jataka tales. Cave 7 has stunning carvings of women adorned with jewels. The main attraction is the sculpture of a “Bodhisatva” praying for deliverance.

While returning to the hotel, we stopped at Panchakki, a 17th century water mill. The name has been derived from the mill that crushed grain for the pilgrims. It also houses a garden with several fish tanks which had way too much algae to be considered picturesque. I spent the balance of the afternoon resting some sore muscles in anticipation of hiking the Ajanta Caves the following day.

Tuesday, January 25, was my last chance to visit the Ajanta Caves and Majad had assured me that my driver would pick me up at the hotel at 8:00 AM. I was surprised when the hotel front desk called me at 7:30 AM as I returned to my room from breakfast, to inform me that my driver was waiting for me. I grabbed my backpack and went to the lobby to meet my driver. My second surprise was that I had another new driver – he was an older man who spoke very limited English. I became more reassured after I showed him a picture of the Ajanta Caves and he nodded and said yes. Although his small car appeared to have seen better days, I was determined to make the two hour journey to the caves. His driving style was very different from my previous drivers – he drove a little slower but the traffic near-misses were still a part of driving in India.

The journey to the Ajantra Caves took approximately two hours and thirty minutes over some of the worst highway conditions that I have ever encountered on any major roads. The roads were paved, or had been paved at some time, with some good sections that changed abruptly into sections littered with countless potholes, some which could better be described as miniature sink-holes. We transversed many deep potholes that impacted the suspension of the car so violently, I began to wonder if the car was durable enough to even make it to the caves. My only concern at the moment was just to make it to the caves – I could always manage to get back to my hotel after visiting the caves. I guess the huge trucks manage to rapidly damage the highway surfaces.

Although the roads were designed to be two lane highways, the Indians somehow manage to squeeze them into three, four, and sometimes five lanes of congestion with the motorbikes, oxen carts, tractor & wagons, auto-rickshaws, small cars, trucks, buses, and enormous trucks. The old saying that “missing by an inch is as good as missing by a mile” certainly applies on the streets and highways in the vicinity of Aurangabad.

As we rounded a bend in the road along the top of a mountain, my driver pointed off in the distance to a large complex on the valley floor and said “Ajanta Visitor Center.” After arriving at the center, it became a challenge to try to figure out how to hook up with him when I would be ready to return to Aurangabad. Previously, I had gotten the car identification numbers and the mobile phone numbers of my drivers and would send an SMS message for them to meet me. This time, when I sent a test SMS to my driver, I saw it arrive on his phone but he did not know how to access the SMS and his English impaired our communications. A young Indian man who spoke very good English came to my rescue and told me in which car park my driver should park in and directed me to the special pollution-free buses for the four kilometer drive to the caves. He said that he operated shopping stall #47 in the visitor complex and asked me to remember him as #47.

Whereas the Ellora Caves belonged to the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain religious faiths, the Ajanta Caves are all Buddhist caves. In addition, the Buddhist caves at Ellora belonged only to the Mahayan sect of Buddhism. Both the Buddhist Hinayan sect and Mahayan sect have separate caves at Ajanta. The Ajanta Caves are estimated to have been excavated from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD and were lost for many centuries until accidentally discovered in 1819 – John Smith, a British captain, caught a glimpse of Cave 10 during a hunting trip from the present site of View Point.

It is believed that Siddharth as Bodhisattva had passed through several rebirths before he attained the highest position called Buddha. All of the stories related to his past births are called Jatak Katha. Whereas the Ellora Caves are famous for their rich sculpture-panels depicting Jatak Katha, the Ajanta Caves are famous for colorful paintings depicting Jatak Katha.

After arriving at the caves and purchasing my admission ticket, I began my hike to the caves. Although there are 30 caves in total, only 26 caves numbering 1 through 26 can be visited. I started at Cave 1 and proceeded to Cave 26. Flash photography is banned at the caves and the caves have special low intensity lighting installed to gently illuminate the magnificent wall and ceiling paintings within the caves. Caves 1, 2, 16, and 17 are entirely painted, including the walls, ceilings, pillars, and corners. Although I was able to capture a few existing-light photos, I purchased a couple of books on Ajanta for the beautiful photographs of the paintings.

After visiting Cave 26, I hiked down the floor of the canyon, crossed the river and hiked up the opposing side of the mountain to an overlook point to view a panorama of all of the caves. The Ajanta caves are along one wall of a horseshoe shaped canyon with the Waghora River running through the canyon. At one end of the canyon, the river flows down seven waterfalls from the mountain plateau to canyon floor. I walked along the edge of the plateau to get a better aerial view of the river, the waterfalls, and the caves before returning by special bus to the visitor complex. As I walked into the visitor complex, #47 was there to greet me and to show me his shop. I purchased a pair of small rock carved elephants out of my gratitude for his assistance to me and then he accompanied me to the parking lot where we found my car but no driver. I waited at the car for a few minutes while he managed to locate and return with my driver.

The drive back to Aurangabad took nearly three hours over the same miserable highway conditions. Shortly after departing Ajanta, a car which had passed us a few minutes earlier and another jeep-like vehicle were pulling off the road in opposite directions – apparently they had some sort of traffic side-swipe mishap. Fortunately my excursion to Ajanta ended well and my driver’s car was a little bit more dilapidated than when we began our journey about nine hours earlier. Majad met us at the hotel and I settled my account with him. I also expressed my appreciation for the car and driver service that he provided to me.

On Wednesday afternoon, Majad sent a car to take me to the airport to catch a flight back to Mumbai. There are very few flights to and from the Aurangabad airport and there are a very large number of airport security people employed. Consequently the security screening process was intense and my carry-on bag with my computer, cameras, mobile phones, and associated electronics was x-rayed and then emptied with the contents x-rayed again. After repacking my carry-on, it was hand searched two additional times before I finally boarded my flight to Mumbai. Perhaps the large number of security people need to demonstrate intense screening to justify all of the people employed.

After arriving at the Mumbai Domestic Terminal and claiming my one checked bag, I located the “Prepaid Taxi” counter and gave the young lady a copy of my Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport confirmed reservation. She appeared to be having some difficulty as she consulted with an associate and then gave me my pre-paid receipt. I finally located my taxi and on the way to the hotel the taxi driver was insistent in taking me to the Mumbai International Airport. It turned out that the young lady was not familiar with the Holiday Inn hotel and simply routed me to the international airport. The taxi driver insisted that the pre-paid fare was insufficient to go beyond the international terminal. I finally convinced the taxi driver to take me directly to the hotel for which I gave him an extra 200 Rupees.

As I was departing from the Holiday Inn the following evening, I learned that the hotel was nearly brand new, having been open only nine months. That might explain the difficulty that the young lady at the taxi stand was having. My return flight to Bangkok was uneventful and I planned to spend some time in the far north of Thailand before returning home.

I flew to Chiang Rai and booked into the Starbright Hotel which is situated in the city center near the Night Bazaar. I spent some time walking in the vicinity of the hotel to become familiar with the local neighborhood. Chiang Rai Province is situated in the far northeast and includes the Golden Triangle of Thailand. Chiang Rai city is very relaxed and laid back compared to Chiang Mai, with relatively little automobile traffic on the smaller streets. The Night Bazaar is situated adjacent to the bus station and draws large numbers of the local population as well as tourists. It has two food courts with very reasonable prices and is a very popular dining area for the locals – I ate all of my evening meals at the Night Bazaar.

I hired a tuk tuk to visit Chiang Rai city local tourist attractions. Wat Rong Khun, the white temple, is located 5 kilomerers south of Chiang Rai and was spectacular as it glistened in the morning sunshine. Although it may well be the most popular local attraction, I was really impressed by my visit to the private museum Oub Kham Museum. This museum is an Ancient Lanna Heritage Conservation Center founded by Mr. Julasaak Suriyachai to preserve the precious heritage of the ancient Northern Lanna Kingdom. In addition to the marvelous precious artifacts, I loved the architecture and statuary of the museum. The museum website is www.oubkhammuseum.com.

The Hilltribe Museum and Education Center is described as the best place to learn about tribal people of Northern Thailand. It is operated through the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) headquartered in Bangkok. The PDA recommends that tourists visit the Hilltribe Museum before booking a tour to tribal villages. I found the museum to be well worth a visit.

The King Megrai Great Memorial celebrates the king who founded the Lanna Thai Kingdom in 1296 – Lanna, land of a million rice fields. King Megrai was the ruler of Nakhan Hiran Ngnen Yang (an ancient town on the bank of the Mekong River around Chiang Sean). The hilltop City Naval Pillar was erected in 1989 to commemorate King Megra’s declaration during 1262 of the hill to be the city navel or spiritual center of the city and dependent country.

I visited many local Buddhist temples in Chiang Rai. The Wat Phra Kaew complex stood out as one of the most interesting. It houses Phra Chedi which dated from the founding of the temple and is where the famous Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434. It also houses Phrachao Lan Tong, the largest, most beautiful Palawa style Buddha in Thailand. It also houses Hong Luang Saengkaew, built to preserve the heritage of the temple complex, and contains a very nice museum.

Other local temples that I visited included Wat Jed Yod, Wat Klang Wiang, Wat Phra Singha, Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong, and Wat Ming Muang. They were all beautiful and are well worth a visit.

For a one-day trip, I booked a car and driver to visit the ancient city of Chiang Sean on the bank of the Mekong River and then to the famous Golden Triangle where the countries of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand all come together. The drive to Chiang Sean took about an hour and we visited the hilltop temples of Wat Phra That Chom Kitti and Wat Chom Chang. My driver parked at the base of the hill and there are 388 steps up the hill to reach the top. Both temples were worth the hike and the view toward the Mekong River was quite good. Part way up the hill, I came upon the ancient temple of Wat Shan Seanuk.

We continued north to the Golden Triangle. I was impressed with just how beautiful the tourist complex was on the bank of the Mekong overlooking the Golden Triangle – so many photo opportunities! After eating lunch at the Golden Triangle, we drove back to Chiang Sean to visit the ancient temples of Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Pak Sa. Both of these ancient temples were well worth visiting. The ancient city of Chiang Sean had once been surrounded by an old city wall and moat – a portion of which was visible adjacent to Wat Pak Sa. Before returning to Chiang Rai, we also stopped at the Chiang Sean National Museum which was interesting but was not as impressive as I had been led to believe from tourist brochures.

I returned home via a short stopover in Bangkok and plan to return to explore more of the far northern region of Thailand in the near future.

October 2010
Thailand

Travel Notes

I arrived at Bangkok, Thailand, on 8 October 2010 and stayed four nights at a hotel in the Chinatown section of Bangkok. Since this was the first time that I had been to Chinatown, I decided to explore the area which also happens to merge into a "Little India" section. I spent much of the first day meandering through different shopping areas, and food courts and becoming familiar with the local neighborhoods. In addition, while I was searching Chinatown tourist sites on the Internet, I came across references to Bangkok unusual attractions which included the Bangkok Corrections Museum and Chinatown's Wat Pathum Khongkha.

Since the Bangkok Corrections Museum was located a couple of blocks from my hotel, it was my first place to visit on my second day. It is a museum that depicts and preserves gruesome aspects of Thai prison history and the brutal prison life before reforms were made to the penal system. The old penal system was based on retribution through severe punishment and suffering – the exhibits utilize life-size figures to depict the tools for brutal punishment of prisoners. It is currently situated on the site of a former maximum security prison built in 1890 on Maha Chai Road. In 1987, the Thai government decided to demolish the Maha Chai Road while preserving three blocks, a cellblock, a side of the prison wall, and two watchtowers to accommodate the prison museum. The remainder of the area occupied by the prison was converted into a public park – Romanni Nart Park was officially opened on 7 August 1999.

Wat Pathum Khongkha is best remembered as being used as an execution site for members of the Royal Family in the early Rattanakosin period. Several members from the first and third regimes were disposed of on execution stone at the temple. In accordance with ancient traditions, dictating that no royal blood should touch the ground, the victim was placed in a red velvet sack and beaten to death with a scented sandalwood club. I visited the temple grounds but the temple buildings were padlocked.

I walked from Wat Pathum Khongkha to visit the Chinatown Gate. Wat Tramit is a very large and beautiful temple complex across the street from the Chinatown Gate and is certainly well worth a visit. I took a taxi from Wat Tramit back to my hotel and in retrospect I wish that I had walked back to the hotel to have better experienced Chinatown.

I decided to take a bus to Koh Chang, an island south of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. The bus ride lasted several hours before we finally arrived at the ferry terminal for the ferry to Koh Chang. Thailand had been experiencing periods of heavy rains with considerable flooding. The road from the ferry to my Koh Chang hotel at White Sands Beach clings to the side of mountains and the rains had caused landslides which had eliminated half of the road in several places. It also continued to rain while I was on the island, but I was able to explore portions of the island between intermittent heavy rains. I did take a pickup truck taxi to Bang Bao at the southern tip of the island where the landmark white lighthouse is located. The road to Bang Bao and from my hotel to the ferry reminded me of the Road to Hanna in Maui, Hawaii.

Heavy rain continued all night before my early morning hotel checkout. Fortunately the road back to the ferry remained passable with several delays in the areas of the landslides. The rain continued throughout the bus trip back to Bangkok.

I spent the night at a hotel near the Bangkok International Airport to catch my flight to Phuket. I spent some time at Phi Phi Island and at Koh Lanta before returning home on October 31.

September 2010
Egypt

Travel Notes

Jan and I flew to Cairo, Egypt, on September 16, 2010, to join the Viking River Cruises Pharaohs and Pyramids Tour. We arrived at Cairo on the afternoon of September 17 and were escorted to the Sofitel El Gezirah hotel where we would spend our first three nights in Egypt. This hotel was situated on an island in the middle of the Nile River near the Egypt Opera House. We settled into the hotel and since we were on our own for dinner, we decided to eat dinner at the Sofitel Kababgy Restaurant which specializes in kebab dishes. After admiring the dinner that was served to the couple seated at a nearby table, we asked our waiter to provide the same dinner for us – an Egyptian cold appetizer special and a hot mixed grill special. While we were enjoying the array of cold appetizer dishes, our waiter brought a portable grill to our table to keep the grilled chicken and lamb hot while we ate them. This was one of the best dinners that we had while in Egypt.

After a short orientation on the morning of September 18, we boarded our bus and our first stop was at the Saqqara monuments (Saqqara is also frequently spelled as Sakkara). This is the home to the Step Pyramid and tombs of several Egyptian high priests. Our guide, Ahmed Wasfat, told us that the Step Pyramid is probably the oldest pyramid in Egypt. While visiting the pyramid, several local vendors had Jan pose on a donkey and had me pose on a camel with the pyramid in the background – they also took marvelous photos of us with Jan’s camera for which we had to tip them handsomely. While at Saqqara, we also visited the tomb of the high priest Ka-Gmni Oyn VI and admired the colorful inscriptions within the tomb. Upon leaving Saqqara, we stopped at a “carpet school” to see how Egyptian carpets are woven and of course, visited the carpet sales showroom where several people purchased some carpets. We then continued to a local restaurant for lunch and I was impressed by the mechanical driven spits above a large bar-b-que pit.

After lunch, we continued to Giza Plaza to visit the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. We all had the opportunity to ride camels while viewing the pyramids and also more photo opportunities. We made two stops at the pyramids and a final stop close to the Sphinx. The Three Great Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerionos are the last of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to remain standing, and we were thrilled to finally visit them. We returned to the hotel and decided to skip an optional light show at the pyramids in favor of a buffet dinner at the hotel as part of the tour package. The dinner and buffet breakfasts that we had at the hotel as part of the tour package were all quite good.

We departed the hotel early on the morning of September 19 to visit the Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammad Ali which is situated within the Citadel. The Citadel is a prominent structure that was fortified by Saladin and his successors in the 12th century to protect against attacks by crusaders. Today the Citadel houses more than 60 mosques and the most famous among these is the Mosque of Mohammad Ali, built during the first half of the 19th century. It is sometimes called the Alabaster Mosque. Our bus took us from the Citidel to the Cairo Museum of Ancient Antiquities. The museum was our last scheduled tour stop for the day and was truly magnificent – a person could easily spend a couple of days wandering through it. Although we had previously seen two King Tut exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum of Art, those exhibits only displayed a tiny portion of the entire King Tut exhibit in Cairo. The King Tut exhibit was phenomenal! The other highlights of the museum were the two rooms with the Royal Mummies on display – the tour did not provide tickets to see the Royal mummies so we paid for our own admission. We rank the Royal Mummies as a display that should not be missed. In order to have more time at the museum, we abandoned our tour bus and chose to walk back to our hotel. It was an interesting walk along the Nile in scorching heat and the hotel air conditioning was our reward at the end. That evening we elected to take the optional visit to the Khan el-Khalili Souk (bazaar) and to have an Egyptian dinner at a local restaurant within the bazaar. The meal at the restaurant was just average but the bazaar provided a wonderful unique look at Cairo and also should not be missed when visiting Cairo.

We received our wake-up call at 4:00 AM on the morning of September 20 in order to fly to Luxor and arrive there in time to do some serious temple tours. Upon arrival at Luxor, our bus took us to visit the Dendara Temple. Ahmed told us that many tour groups do not visit this particular temple and that Viking added it as an extra visit. We were impressed by the carvings and colors within the temple. The Egypt Air inflight magazine had a feature article on this temple as part of the celebration of the Egyptian New Year 6252 which began around September 11. One carving on the ceiling of a small second story temple structure is the Dendara Zodiac – it is a circular rock carving that contains the signs of the zodiac alongside another carving of a lady who swallows the sun each night and gives birth to a new sun each morning. Another small ceiling near the back of the ground floor cubicles depicts this lady and the sun in vivid colors. This temple exceeded my expectations for the temples along the Nile and set the stage for many exquisite temple visitations to follow.

After leaving the Dendara Temple, we proceeded to our cruise ship, the Movenpick M/S Royal Lily to check in to our cabins and to have lunch. Viking River Cruises currently has its own ship being constructed on the Nile and booked space aboard the M/S Royal Lily which was operated by Movenpick Hotels for our Viking cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Although Movenpick hotels are usually pretty good, the “good ship Movenpick M/S Royal Lily” proved to be a bit of a disappointment as the dining room staff appeared to be inexperienced and not properly trained and with some of the food being of marginal quality. Aside from the food service situation, life aboard the Royal Lily was pleasant. After lunch we visited the Temple of Karnak and the Luxor Temple. Both of these temples are spectacular and are must see temples.

We woke up early the following morning in order to meet the 5:10 AM optional hot air balloon excursion to the West Bank. We boarded a small ship which took us downstream on the Nile and across to the West Bank where we boarded small vans that transported us to the hot air balloon launch site. The hot air balloons were very popular and soon quite a few balloons were in the air gliding over the Luxor Valley on the West Bank with several temple sites including the Hatshepsut Temple visible below. We watched the sun rise over the Nile and landed on a small road a relatively short distance from where we initially ascended in our balloon. The balloon ride was interesting and the baskets were rectangular so that every participant had an unobstructed view over the side – it was well worth the extra cost.

After successfully landing the balloon and paying the tips to the local people who were photographed by the balloonists, we boarded the small vans and were driven to a parking lot adjacent to the statues of the Colossi of Memnon where we rejoined our Viking tour bus. We then visited the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Medinet Habu before returning to the ship for lunch. Cameras and photographs are forbidden within the Valley of the Kings but some very nice books are available for sale by the local vendors. Although our admission ticket included entry to three of the tombs within the valley, we had time to visit only two tombs due to long entry lines. The interiors of both tombs that we entered were magnificent and photos just do not do justice to these masterpieces. We left the Valley of the Kings and continued on to the Temple of Hatshepsut, built for one of Egypt’s female rulers, and which has largely been reconstructed. The last temple visitation at Luxor was Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple of Ramses III, and it was spectacular. The carvings and colors within the temple were superb.

At 1:30 PM on September 21 we set sail up the Nile to Edfu and sailed through a lock during late afternoon. We reached Edfu sometime during the night and after breakfast on the 22nd, we boarded a bus to visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu. Large crowds of people beat us to the temple and we had to contend with crowd gridlock within the inner temple sanctuaries. This temple was also superb with magnificent rock carvings. A highlight of this temple is a rock carved boat within the inner sanctuary that must be viewed through a doorway – this doorway was nearly impossible to reach during our visit due to the masses of people within the temple. Back on the ship, we continued sailing upstream to Kom Ombo while a tour of the ship’s bridge, engine room and kitchen was offered before lunch for interested passengers – Jan took the tour and I passed on it.

We arrived Kom Ombo mid-afternoon and had a shore excursion where we walked to the double temple of Kom Ombo dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus, the falcon god – another spectacular temple. That evening the ship had a Galabya party and a belly dancer – Jan wore her new white Galabya to the party (purchased from vendors who threw them onto the ship from small boats).

We reached Aswan during the night and after breakfast on September 23, we took a small boat to the island of Phila where the Temple of Isis had been relocated and reconstructed during the construction of the Aswan High Dam during the 1960s. By then we had come to expect that our temple visitations would only occur at the finest temples in the region, and the Temple of Isis was no exception – it was a splendid temple. The small boat traffic and docking congestion made this temple excursion somewhat unique. Our next stop was at the Aswan Nubian Museum which presented a good overview of the Aswan High Dam construction, the affected area to become Lake Nasser and the relocation efforts by many countries world-wide to relocate temples to high ground that would otherwise have become submerged by the rising waters of Lake Nasser. In fact, all of the temples that we would visit alongside Lake Nasser had been relocated to higher ground. The museum also had some wonderful statues and other Egyptian artifacts on display.

Later in the afternoon, we were taken to a dock on the Nile below the old low dam constructed by the British in 1902. We boarded a Felucca sailing ship for a short sailing voyage to experience a traditional wooden sailing ship of the Nile. The voyage took us around several small islands in the Nile river and Ahmed pointed out several landmarks including the famous Old Cataract Hotel and the Mausoleum of Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Ismali Muslims. For our last night aboard the Royal Lily, the ship hosted a “Nubian party” with entertainment provided by local Nubians – the entertainers were very good and of course, they pulled in some members of the audience for added participation.

We disembarked from the Royal Lily on the morning of September 24 and flew to Abu Simbel aboard a DC-9-31 aircraft operated by Air Memphis with our tour group as the only passengers on board. After arriving at Abu Simbel, we boarded our Lake Nasser cruising ship, the Movenpick M/S Prince Abbas – a somewhat older vessel than the Royal Lily. Our Prince Abbas cabin was smaller than our Royal Lily cabin but the Prince Abbas food was by far superior and the food service was much more professional compared to the food service aboard the Royal Lily.

After lunch, we walked to the Temples of Abu Simbel which were relocated and reconstructed on higher ground during the construction of the high dam. The Abu Simbel temples were simply amazing and are dominated by the great Temple of Ramses II with the 60 feet tall statues of Ramses with his queen and daughters at his feet at the front of the temple. The original temple was situated such that on two days every year it would capture the rising sun’s glow as it reached the interior of the temple sanctuary – the relocated temple is similarily situated to continue to capture the sun’s glow on February 22 (Ramses II’s birthday) and October 22 (his coronation day). Photography within the temples was forbidden. We opted to go to the optional sound and light show that evening and the temples at night were magnificent.

The following morning, September 25, the captain of the Prince Abbas sailed in front of the temples to provide us with the ultimate photo opportunity of the Abu Simbel temples glistening in the early morning sun. We then set our course to the north and sailed to view the temple of Qasr Ibrim, perched on top of a small island where landings have been prohibited by the Egyptian Government – our “temple sail-by” provided ample views of this small temple. We continued sailing to Amada and, after lunch, we visited the two temples at Amada via a small motorboat and walked to the temples. These temples exceeded our expectations and after visiting the second temple several local people appeared with a couple of small Nile crocodiles. I couldn’t resist the possibility to get my hands on a crocodile and one of the locals placed the larger crocodile in my outstretched hands. While people were busy photographing me with my crocodile the other person amused himself by placing the smaller croc first on top of my hat and then over my left shoulder – I was not intimidated by the second croc over my shoulder and it provided people with a few good photos.

We continued sailing and the ship had a Nubian show that evening which Jan attended while I was catching up on some much needed sleep in our cabin. We arrived at Wadi El Sebua sometime during the night. After breakfast on September 26, we visited two temples at Wadi El Sebua via a small motorboat. Once ashore, we walked to the first temple and had the choice of walking about one mile to visit the second temple or taking our last opportunity to ride a camel to the second temple – Jan and I opted for the camel ride. Both temples also exceeded our expectations and as we walked back toward the beach to board our motorboat to return to the ship, a local person arrived who had a Nile crocodile for folks to view. It was somewhat larger than the bigger crocodile that experienced the day before at Amada. Once again, I reached out and the crocodile was given to me. After people took a few photographs, I passed the crocodile to Jan who after some photos passed it to Mayuri from Florida for the photo finale. It would be our last encounter with Nile crocodiles during our cruise on Lake Nasser.

As we continued sailing southbound, we viewed the film “Documentary film on the Nubian Monument Salvation” which documented the enormous undertaking by many countries world-wide to relocate many of the Nubian temples that would soon be gobbled-up by Lake Nasser during the 1960s. Ahmed gave a lecture about the Muslim religion and Egypt which was very good followed by a lively question and answer session. We arrived at Aswan that evening to complete our cruise of Lake Nasser.

On the morning of September 27, we made our final temple visit by taking a small motorboat to the Temple of Kalabasa which was the largest free-standing Nubian temple – it was dedicated to Isis and the Nubian solar and fertility deity, Madulis. Construction began on this temple in 23 AD by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus. It was also relocated here from its original location in the village of Kalabasa about 30 miles south when the High Dam was constructed. This temple complex presently overlooks the High Dam and was very impressive.

We returned to the ship via our motor boat and disembarked for a bus ride across the High Dam with a tourist stop mid-way across the dam en route to the Aswan airport for our flight back to Cairo. After arriving back at Cairo we spent our last night at the Intercontinental City Stars hotel and had our last Egyptian buffet dinner at the hotel. After precious little sleep, on Tuesday, September 28, we departed Cairo at 5:54 AM on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, to begin our long journey back home.

See pictures from Egypt

July 2010
Sydney, Australia

Travel Notes

I flew to Sydney, Australia, on July 6th for a long weekend visit primarily to hopefully tour the tall ship HMB (Her Majesties Bark) Endeavour which is normally docked at the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney. The current HMB Endeavour is a replica of the original circa 1780s HMB Endeavour, the vessel that Captain James Cook sailed during his famous world-wide voyages. I had visited the Endeavour during July 2009 but was unable to tour the ship because it was undergoing a refit program to replace one or more of the masts.

I arrived at Sydney early morning on July 7th and took the train from the airport to Central Station. Since it had been raining, and rain continued to look imminent, I elected to hire a taxi to the Holiday Inn Darling Harbour hotel. I chose this hotel because it was located nearby most of the places that I intended to visit. Since my room would not be available for several hours, I checked my luggage with the hotel concierge and walked to the Australian National Maritime Museum to verify that the Endeavour was in port and returned to the hotel as it began raining once again. The rain continued most of the day and into the evening.

The following morning was cloudy as I returned to the maritime museum and was finally able to board the Endeavour. The ship is magnificent and the museum has volunteers stationed at different parts of the ship to give historical information and to answer questions from the visitors. According to the museum brochure, there are 18 miles of rope, 750 wooden blocks, and 28 sails spreading 10,000 square feet of canvas. The foremast is 119 feet, 11 inches; the main mast is 127 feet, 11 inches; and the mizzen mast is 78 feet, 9 inches, all made from Douglas Fir. The windlass with its two red carved sailor heads raises and lowers the anchors – the two largest anchors weigh nearly one ton each. The ship’s bell marked time and was struck each half hour. Eight bells started and ended each four-hour watch.

The lower deck extends the full length of the ship. The firehearth area is situated below the foredeck area and near the forward end of the lower deck. It contains the huge iron stove (firehearth) that was state-of-the-art in 1768 where all of the food was cooked. The cabins and workshops around the firehearth belonged to the carpenter, boatswain, and sailmaker. The crew’s mess deck, with swinging tables and hammocks, was situated just aft of the firehearth area. Each sailor had just 14 inches in which to sling his hammock at night – these were taken down and stowed each morning. Today, 36 voyage crew sail with the ship, relaxing and sleeping here in their numbered hammocks just as Cook’s men did in the 18th century. The midshipmen/mates’ mess and officers' cabins are situated aft of the crew mess deck area and extend to the stern of the ship.

The after deck was situated directly above the lower deck area occupied by the midshipmen/mates’ mess and officers cabins. The after deck contains the great cabin, the captain’s and gentlemen’s cabins. The area between the cabins was the commissioned officers’ mess.

The quarter deck was at the stern of the ship and was the preserve of the captain and officers. There is a large capstan (a vertical winch) that was used to hoist heavy spars and yards and to maneuver the ship at anchor. Ten wooden bars are inserted and pushed around by up to thirty sailors – this still operates by muscle power today. The wheel (helm) is manned by two helmsmen, one on each side. It is connected to the tiller by ropes which run around the large wooden drum and through a set of blocks. Pens for sheep, pigs, and poultry were kept at the stern.

Some areas of the ship were not accessible during my tour. These included the hold at the bottom of the ship and modern additions such as the engine room and the 21st century deck with showers and marine toilets.

The sun actually came out while I was touring the ship and then the clouds began to reappear as I entered the maritime museum to have a look at the new temporary exhibits that were not present last year. As I left the museum to walk back to my hotel, light misty rain began to fall. Shortly after I arrived back at my hotel heavy rain resumed and continued for the remainder of the day.

Saturday morning was once again cloudy so I decided to walk to the Powerhouse Museum – the museum for science and design. It is advertised as one of the most popular museums in Australia. One of the highlights was a vast collection of steam powered devices including the first locomotive in New South Wales, the Boulton & Watt engine, a steam powered carousel, stand alone steam engines, and many industrial machines from the age of steam power. I was intrigued by a huge box kite that appeared to be used for flying a person to altitude. The air and space section had replicas of a Russian lunar surface explorer, space capsules, and a weightless laboratory that visitors could enter and experience an illusion of being weightless. Another of the museums favorite attractions is the Strasburg Clock model built by a Sydney clockmaker, Richard B. Smith, at the age of 25 as a centenary ‘gift’ to the state of New South Wales. He began work on Australia Day in 1897 and three years later the clock was on display at the Technological Museum (as the Powerhouse Museum was then called).

I returned home on Sunday, July 11th.

See pictures from Sydney

May 2010
Maui

Travel Notes

I flew to Maui, Hawaii, on May 27th for a weekend visit. I rented a car and drove to my hotel, the historic Best Western Pioneer Inn, at Lahaina. It was originally built in 1901 and the addition to the hotel in the 1960’s maintained the original design. It has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operated hotel in Hawaii. I had a room with a balcony that overlooked the square where the Lahaina Banyan tree grows. The banyan tree was planted in the early 1900’s and has grown over the years to be nearly one acre in size – truly a Maui landmark. I also enjoyed walking around Lahaina and admiring the architecture and sculptures.

While at Maui, I visited the Maui Ocean Center which is a very nice aquarium. I particularly enjoyed the reef fish exhibits which displayed the different kinds of fish found at various depths of the reefs. I also drove the road to Hana with its 617 curves and 56 one-lane bridges while managing to enjoy some of the gorgeous scenery along the way.

I drove to the summit of Haleakala National Park which is 10,023 feet above sea level. The summit area was above the clouds and I had to drive thru the clouds to reach it. The multi-color views of the volcano crater from the Kalahaku Overlook and from the summit area were spectacular. I would like to return to the park and hike some of the trails within the crater.

Another highlight of my brief visit was the Iao Valley State Park which is a valley that contains a rain forest and is not very far from the Maui airport. The main attraction is the Ioa Needle (Kuka‘emoku) which is a geological formation that rises to an elevation of 2250 feet above sea level and is covered with lush vegetation.

Prior to returning home on May 31st, I also explored the coastlines of West Maui and South Maui. My favorite beach area was Honokohau Bay along the West Maui coast which I would like to explore with snorkeling gear on a return trip next year.

See pictures from Maui

See pictures from the Europa and South America

March-April 2010
South America - Ushuaia to Chile aboard the Europa

Travel Notes

I booked a reservation as a crew trainee aboard the tall ship Bark Europa for the voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Valparaiso, Chile, as part of the tall ships South America Bicentennial celebration. The Europa was scheduled to join the celebration at Ushuaia after completing her scheduled Antarctica voyages. The Chilean Government was in charge of the Chilean segment of the celebration and the tall ships were to sail around Cape Horn Island and then sail through the Canal Beagle (Beagle Channel) from East to West. The ships would then continue to sail through the fjords into the Strait of Magellan to Punta Arenas, Chile. The ships were to continue from Punta Arenas through the Chilean fjords to Talcahuano. After exiting the fjords, there was to be a tall ships race to Valparaiso, Chile. Due to the earthquakes in Chile, the tall ships scheduled visit to Talcahuano as well as many of the Chilean on-shore festivities were cancelled but the ten tall ships drew huge crowds of people who came out to view and to tour them at Punta Arenas and at Valparaiso.

I arrived at Buenos Aires on March 18th and spent two nights at the Jacaranda Studio & Suite B&B situated in Palermo Soho. I had the studio apartment and Lillian, the owner, made me feel right at home. Just a few doors away on the other side of the street is the Efimero Festin restaurant which I found to be superb – Carolina, the co-owner and chef, prepared a special salad for me as well as her wonderful curry with rice main course.

After spending a couple of days in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I flew to Ushuaia to board the Europa. While waiting to collect my checked baggage, I met four other passengers from the plane who were also joining the Europa. The tall ships were docked along the pier and were a spectacular sight from the taxi en route to my hotel. Although I had been to Ushuaia several times before, I had never taken the Beagle Channel (Canal Beagle) boat tour to the penguin island to see the Magellan Penguin colony. After I checked into my hotel, I booked a reservation to go to the penguin island the following morning.

The trip to the penguin island took most of the day and, after returning to the dock, I walked along the pier to view some of the tall ships. I boarded the Europa and renewed some acquaintances with some of the permanent crew from my prior voyages – some were leaving after the last Antarctica voyage and some others were just arriving for the current voyage. I made arrangements to bring my luggage aboard the following morning prior to the official afternoon boarding time.

I boarded the Europa at 4:30 PM on March 22nd at Ushuaia, Argentina, and settled in for the voyage. That evening Ushuaia put on a large fireworks display on the pier as part of the final evening celebration for the tall ships. The Europa departed Ushuaia on March 23rd at 11:20 AM as part of the Parade of Tall Ships with a military band playing for us as we departed from our position at the dock. This would be my fourth voyage aboard the Europa. The crew consisted of regular crewmembers and crew trainees like me.

After shipboard indoctrination, the crew trainees were divided into four watch teams – Red, White, and Blue. I was assigned to the Blue watch team. The Red, White, and Blue watch teams were assigned watch schedules covering twenty four hours per day. The watch duties consisted of stationing two people on the forward bow deck as lookouts and having one person steering the ship from the helm. In addition, any available crew trainees were requested to assist the regular crew with configuring the sails during the voyage. When the ship was anchored, the watch members performed anchor watch duties.

The initial rotation schedule for the Blue watch was as follows:

March 23 – 2 PM to 4 PM
March 24 – midnight to 4 AM
March 24 – noon to 2 PM
March 24 – 8 PM to midnight
March 25 – 8 AM to noon
March 25 – 4 PM to 8 PM
March 26 – 4 AM to 8 AM
March 26 – 2 PM to 4 PM when the Blue watch continued to repeat the above schedule rotations for the remainder of the voyage. The final Blue watch was on April 13th from 4 AM to 8 AM and occurred as an anchor watch just prior to sailing into position for the Parade of Tall Ships sailing into the Valparaiso Harbor on April 13th.

The weather during our Blue watches in the fjords was generally cold with occasional rain showers which provided many spectacular rainbows. The weather warmed up as we approached Acud and we had an occasional star filled night. During the voyage we experienced many magnificent sunsets, sunrises, moonrises, and moonsets. I enjoyed being able to occasionally see the Southern Cross with the two pointing stars and to try to estimate our heading before confirming the course with the ship’s compass.

Two Chilean pilots boarded the Europa at Ushuaia to oversee our voyage to Cape Horn and then through the fjords North to Acud, Chile, where the Europa entered the open Pacific Ocean to sail as part of the tall ships race to Valparaiso. We were fortunate to have had Jordie Piana on board as a guide. Jordie currently resides in Chile and has been doing marine research in the Chilean fjords for the past several years. Jordie was able to negotiate a special course with the pilots and Chilean Government for the Europa that included zodiac landings and special fjord glacier visits that were in addition to the regular tall ships itinerary with the caveat that the Europa would join the other tall ships at specified times and places.

We sailed eastbound from Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel (Canal Beagle) and then south through other channels to Cape Horn Island. We sailed around Cape Horn Island early in the morning of March 23rd and the Chilean Government took photos of the tall ships sailing past Cape Horn. After sailing around Cape Horn, we sailed back to the Beagle Channel and continued sailing westbound past Ushuaia. We made our first zodiac landing at Holland Glacier situated near the entrance to the north fork of the Beagle Channel. We hiked up a mountain for a better view of the glacier and to see the native vegetation.

We continued sailing westbound in the north fork of the Beagle Channel and then sailed northbound up the Garibaldi Inlet (Seno Garibaldi) to the Garibaldi Glacier where we made a zodiac landing at a cave adjacent to the glacier. We returned to the Beagle Channel and continued westbound exiting the Beagle Channel and continuing to sail northeast bound through other Chilean channels. We entered Ainsworth Bay (Bahia Ainsworth) where we bartered with some local fishermen for some fish and a large sack full of scallops. We made a zodiac landing at Bahia Ainsworth where we viewed some elephant seals and hiked to an area to see several beaver dams.

We continued sailing northeast through the channels and into Almirantazgo Inlet (Seno Almirantazgo). We anchored overnight at the entrance to Parry Bay (Bahia Parry) on March 27th so that we could sail into this uncharted channel early the following morning. We began sailing southbound in Bahia Parry and sailed all the way to the end where five glaciers feed into the bay. We returned to Seno Almirantazgo and sailed eastbound to Albatross Island which is situated near the end of the inlet. Jordie has been doing research on a Black Browed Albatross colony that was discovered on the island during 2003 when they named the island Albatross Island. We made a zodiac landing and were fortunate to find several young albatross chicks still remaining on their nests – we were the only group other than researchers to have visited the island with Jordie.

We sailed back to the entrance of Seno Almirantazgo and then northbound to the Strait of Magellan where we rejoined the tall ships at Punto Arenas on March 29th. We spent a couple of days at Punta Arenas where I visited the cemetery, the Maggiorino Borgatello museum, and walked around exploring the downtown area. We departed Punta Arenas on March 31st as part of the Tall Ships Parade of Sail and continued westbound through the Strait of Magellan past Cape Forward which is the southernmost portion of land on the continent of South America. Upon exiting the Strait of Magellan, we sailed northbound through the Chilean channels.

As we continued northbound through the channels, we made a zodiac landing at the Fairway Island Lighthouse where we met the lighthouse keeper and his family. As we continued northbound, we entered into Amalia Inlet (Estero Amalia) and sailed eastbound to the end to view the Skua Glacier. After sailing back out of Estero Amalia we continued northbound through the channels to our next zodiac landing which was at the village of Puerto Eden. We continued northbound through some very narrow channels and made our last zodiac landing at Locos Island (Isla Locos) where we viewed many South American fur seals – these fur seals are a different species than the Antarctic fur seals that I had seen on prior trips to Antarctica.

We continued northwest to Acud where our Chilean pilots disembarked on April 6th, and we rejoined the other tall ships to prepare for the tall ships race to Valparaiso. Soon after we began sailing northbound out of Acud, we encountered quite a few blue whales with several surfacing near the starboard bow of the Europa. Encountering the blue whales was really exciting since sighting blue whales is a relatively rare experience. Klass, the Europa Captain, said that in his over forty years of sailing, this was only the third time that he has been fortunate enough to see blue whales.

The tall ships race was postponed for a couple of days due to lack of wind and the ships continued sailing further north hoping for better wind conditions each following day. The race was finally started at 9:00 AM on April 10th, and the Europa crossed the finish line at 2:06 AM on April 11th. After finishing the race, we anchored at Green Lagoon (Laguna Verde) just south of Valparaiso.

On April 13th at 7:00 AM, the Europa sailed into position for the Parade of Tall Ships sailing into the Valparaiso Harbor. Each of the ten tall ships was greeted at the dock by a military band playing music and by people in local costumes dancing. Thousands of people came to the dock every day to view and to tour the ten ships until they sailed away as another Parade of Tall Ships on April 18th.

In addition, during the voyage, Jordie prepared an electronic Europa Voyage Logbook that each crewmember received upon disembarking at Valparaiso. Since I believe that it sets a new standard for voyage logbooks, I have attached it here (it is a large PDF file, so please be patient while it downloads). I disembarked from the Europa during the morning of April 16th and took a taxi to my hotel, the Harrington B&B. After washing a few shirts, I continued exploring Valparaiso and vicinity.

Valparaiso is a picturesque and colorful port city on the western coast of Chile that encompasses many large hills somewhat similar to Lisbon, Portugal. Although the hillside and hilltop neighborhoods are accessible by roads, many have funiculars which transport passengers up and down the hills to the level portion of the city between the coastline and the hills. The port of Valparaiso is now home to a huge container ship operation and is adjacent to the oldest part of Valparaiso (old city). Much of the picturesque old city remains in a state of disrepair. Many buildings in the old city are vacant and some have only the original exterior walls remaining while the city hopes to eventually restore much of the old city. The old city was one of my favorite places to explore but some people are occasionally victims to purse snatchers, camera snatchers, and such. One of my favorite Valparaiso restaurants was the Mariscos Anita restaurant that was situated on a corner in the middle of the old city – I frequently met Paul Hicks, another Europa sailor, there for lunch. Paul and I frequently teamed up to explore many parts of Valparaiso, Vina Del Mar, and Limache.

I found the architecture of Valparaiso to be extremely interesting. Many of the older buildings were fabricated from corrugated steel which was transported to Valparaiso by ship. It was a strong construction material that was very easy to stack in large quantities for shipment to Valparaiso.

Valparaiso has more than a dozen funiculars. Although some tourists aspire to ride all of the funiculars, I only rode three of them. The first was Funicular Artilleria (Assensor Artilleria) to the top of Artillery Hill (Cerro Artilleria) which directly overlooks the container port and the Bateria Esmeralda. The Bateria Esmeralda is the Chilean Navy port where the tall ships were docked for the bicentennial celebration festivities. Cerro Artilleria is home to the Chilean Naval Museum and the “blue house” which is visible from much of downtown Valparaiso. I enjoyed visiting the naval museum and the surrounding hilltop overlook area with street vendors. Instead of returning by the funicular, I walked the winding streets from Cerro Artilleria to the downtown old city in order to explore the local neighborhood.

The second funicular that I rode was Assensor Concepcion to the top of Cerro Concepcion which was the hilltop area where my B&B was situated. It was a charming and colorful upper class neighborhood which overlooked the Turri Clock, the bay, and a newer downtown portion of Valparaiso. It was from this hilltop overlook that I watched as the Parade of Tall Ships sailed away from Valparaiso on April 18th to continue the bicentennial celebration regatta.

The third funicular that I rode was Assensor Espirita Santo from Victoria Plaza area to the top of Cerro Bellavista. This area is one of the most colorful areas in Valparaiso and is the home of the Open Air Museum where murals have been painted on retaining walls and on buildings. Cerro Bellavista was one of my favorite areas to explore.

Avenue Brasil is one of the main streets in Valparaiso that runs parallel to the shoreline. It goes past several picturesque plazas and has several monuments situated in the center median of the avenue. The largest plaza in Valparaiso appeared to be Plaza Sotomayor which is home to the Lost Heroes Monument and appeared to separate the old city from the newer parts of Valparaiso. It is where I observed a large collection of old restored automobiles on display one afternoon and a military band in concert in the evening.

Paul and I took the train for a day trip to visit Limache and Vina Del Mar – the train runs from Valparaiso to Limache. Limache is a small inland city which was colorful and fun to explore. It is located in an area that has been irrigated and where local farmers grow large amounts of produce. Vina Del Mar is an upper class city to the north of Valparaiso and appears to be more modern that Valparaiso.

My main objective at Vina Del Mar was to visit the archeological museum (Museo de Arquelogica) which reportedly has a large collection of original items from Easter Island. When we arrived at the museum, we found that it had sustained earthquake damage and was closed for repairs. We found that unlike Valparaiso which is built mostly on rock, Vina Del Mar was built on softer ground and consequently suffered more extensive earthquake damage than structures at Valparaiso. We took a taxi from the museum to the Naval Artillery School (Escula de Armamentos) which overlooks the ocean and then walked several kilometers along the shoreline back to Vina Del Mar. We stopped along the way at Castillo Wulff, a landmark structure on the coast which is now an art gallery.

I took the bus from Valparaiso to the main bus station in Santiago on April 19th and then took a taxi to Caso Moro, my bed & breakfast hotel. It was situated on a residential street near a university and also very near to the central downtown area. Walter and Marcelo operate this wonderful B&B and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. In fact, one evening they prepared a wonderful traditional Chilean dinner for the guests at the B&B – complete with appetizers, pisco sours, dinner, wine, coffee or tea, and desert. That was the best meal that I had while I was in Chile.

While in Santiago, I walked around much of the downtown area as I explored central Santiago. One of my most memorable visits was to the Pre Columbian Art Museum – it has an amazing collection of artifacts on display. I visited the Plaza de Armas where I entered the Cathedral of Santiago and observed many monuments. The Palacio La Moneda is the presidential palace and it faces two huge plazas that are home to many monuments. I ate lunch one day at the Central Seafood Market and explored the old train station (Estacion Mapocho) which is now an art gallery. I also explored the neighborhood in the vicinity of the La Vega Produce Market.

I thoroughly enjoyed walking around downtown Santiago and admiring the architecture and picturesque buildings. I was also amazed at the number of open area parks in the downtown area. One morning I took the subway train to the Santiago Sculpture Garden which was very enjoyable to explore. I then took the funicular to the top of San Cristobal Hill to visit the statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks Santiago. The funicular stops approximately half way up the hill at the entrance to the Santiiago Zoo for people who are visiting the zoo. After visiting San Cristobal Hill, I walked through Parque Forestal from the Plaza Italia back to the central downtown area. Parque Forestal is a very long park that contains sculptures and monuments as well as the Bella Artes Museum which also houses some wonderful sculptures. I very much enjoyed my time at Santiago and would like to make a return visit at some future time.

I flew from Santiago to Buenos Aires on April 22nd and spent a couple of nights back at the Jacaranda Studio & Suite B&B. While in Buenos Aires I re-visited the Efimero Festin restaurant where Carolina greeted me by name as I entered the restaurant and prepared two more wonderful meals for me. I flew home from Buenos Aires on April 24th.

February 2010
Bucharest

Travel Notes

I arrived at Bucharest, Romania, during the afternoon of Friday, February 5, 2010. After clearing Romanian Immigration, I found an ATM and procured some Romanian new Lie to pay for expenses in Bucharest. The weather was partly cloudy and cold with lots of snow on the ground. I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel and rested up after my long flights from Los Angeles before leaving the hotel in the evening to explore the local neighborhood. I stayed at the Hotel Venezia which faces the Piata Mihail Kogalniceanu in central Bucharest about one km from the main downtown intersection at piata December 1989. It was cold and dark when I left the hotel and I was amazed to find that the sidewalks were covered with snow and ice which made walking difficult – nearly everyone was slipping and sliding as they walked along the sidewalks. I walked to the Piara December 1989 and explored the University subway station and admired the architecture of the buildings. I returned to my hotel and made a list of the tourist attractions that I most wanted to see the following day.

After breakfast on Saturday, February 6, I got a tourist map and directions to the nearest subway station from the hotel front desk and braved the snow and ice covered sidewalks to the subway. I purchased a ten trip subway ticket and headed off to Piata Romana (Romana Square) to see the 5^th Century B.C. bronze Lupa Capitolina (Capitoline Wolf) statue that was cast in the Tiber Valley. It is approximately life-size and depicts the she-wolf suckling a pair of infant human boys, representing the legendary founders of the city of Rome, Romulus, and Remus.

I located the 331 Bus and made my way to the 27 meter tall Arcul de Triumf (Arch of Triumph). The first wooden triumphal arch was hurriedly built after Romania had gained its independence in 1878 so the victorious troops could march under it. Another temporary arch, built on the same site in 1922 after World War 1, was demolished in 1935 to make way for the current triumphal arch which was inaugurated in September 1936. After walking around the intersection at the arch, I took the bus back to Piata Romana and then took the subway to Piata December 1989. I admired the statue of Michael the Brave and, with some help from a bus ticket salesperson, I took another bus to the 42 meter tall Foisorul du Foc (Fire Observation Tower). It was used by the firefighters until 1935 when it became ineffective as more high buildings were being erected in Bucharest and the telephone reduced the need for a watchtower. It was turned into a Firefighters’ Museum in 1963.

I walked from the Fire Observation Tower to the Templul Elen (Hellenic Temple) which is also known as the Greek Church. It was built between 1893 and 1900 by the Greek Government for the Greek diplomatic representation in Romania. Since there was no nearby bus stop, I continued walking back toward city center and came to Piata Pache Protopopescu which had an interesting statue, presumably of Mr. Protopopescu. I continued walking until I reached a bus stop and took the bus back to Piata December 1989 and admired the Bucharest National Theater. I walked past the Sutu Palace and decided to walk along I. O. Bratianu toward Piata Unirii. I passed Piata St. Gheorghe and the beautiful church Bis. Ort. St. Gheorghe. I also passed the Roman Catholic church Bis. Rom.-Cat. Baratiei en route to the historical monument Templul Coral (Coral Temple) built in 1866, 1932 and 1945. When I arrived at the Coral Temple, it was once again undergoing renovation. As I continued on toward Curtea Veche (Old Princely Court) I came across a wonderful tiny church, Bis. Ort. St. Ioan, situated near Piata Uniril. The weather was deteriorating and snow grains were in the air as I arrived at Curtea Veche. Curtea Veche was reportedly built as a place of residence during the rule of Vlad the Devil in the 15^th century. It is now an archeological site and operates as a museum which I decided to tour. A portion of the museum consists of underground excavations and the caretaker accompanied me as a guide.

After visiting the museum, I took the subway from Piata Uniril to the Izvor subway station at Parcul Izvor to explore the area of the historical old city that was demolished by Nicolae Ceausescu to make room for the Parliament Palace which is the world’s second largest building (after the US Pentagon) and formally named “Casa Poporudu” (People’s House). One-ninth of Bucharest was reconstructed to accommodate “Casa Poporudu” and its surroundings. Casa Poporudu, which was built in 1984 by Nicolae Ceausescu, spans 12 stories, has 3100 rooms, and covers 330,000 sq meters. The building has a vast collection of marble rooms, with 100 percent of the marble and all of the original decorations coming from Romania.

As I walked along B-dul Libertatii to Casa Poporudu the weather continued to deteriorate into blowing snow flurries. Casa Poporudu is so large that I had to cross over to Piata Constutiei in order to squeeze it into a single photograph. B-dul Unril is an enormous street that runs from Piata Constutiei eastward through Piata Unirii and beyond. I could only imagine how beautiful Casa Poporudu would be on a clear summer day as viewed from B-dul Unril during the afternoon when the sun would be shining on it. Since the weather continued to deteriorate, I walked back to my hotel and decided to try to visit several museums on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the snow increased into near blizzard conditions during the evening and heavy snow was still falling on Sunday morning. After breakfast, I decided to brave the weather and I walked through heavy snow to the Izvor subway station and took the subway to the University Station to go to Bucharest Municipal Museum in Palatul Sutu (Sutu Palace). Palatu Sutu was built between 1833 and 1834 in the Neogothic architectural style. The interior décor was very beautiful with a massive staircase to the second floor and a huge mirror behind the landing midway up the stairway. As one stands in front of the stairway from both the ground level and the second story, a clock has a prominent position on the reflection in the mirror – the clock runs backward and has a backward dial face so the reflection in the mirror depicts the correct time. The museum had quite a few objects relating to the history of Bucharest as well as some objects from prehistoric times.

As I departed from the museum, heavy snow was still falling with a strong wind blowing. I decided that it was not prudent for me to take long walks on the treacherous sidewalks to the other buildings and museums that I had planned to visit, so I returned to my hotel. That evening I requested a very early wakeup call and arranged for a 3:00 a.m. taxi to the international airport to catch my 5:40 a.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

The taxi was on time and the snow continued falling. As we departed the hotel, the taxi nearly became stuck in the snow on one of the narrow streets. After regaining traction and successfully making it to a main street, we continued to the airport as fleets of snowplows were busy plowing snow. Large equipment was also being used to scoop up piles of snow and to load it into large trucks for transport to someplace away from the streets of Bucharest. Upon arriving at the airport, I was glad my journey through the snowstorm had been successful and that I was able to see most of my high priority sights during my long weekend at Bucharest. After checking into my flight, I actually looked forward to the long flights home.

See pictures from Bucharest

January 2010
India

Travel Notes

I arrived in Mumbai, India, at about midnight during the night of January 6, 2010, after spending a couple of days in Bangkok, Thailand, en route from Los Angeles to India. After clearing Indian Immigration, I located my driver from the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel which is situated beside Lake Powai in North Mumbai. There was not much traffic between the international airport and the hotel that late at night and after clearing the various hotel security checkpoints, I checked into the hotel. Hotel security in Mumbai is very comprehensive following the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The Renaissance Mumbai hotel security routine consisted of the car being stopped at a remote checkpoint where the car and contents were searched by security personnel with a large dog, and a second checkpoint before entering the hotel. At the second checkpoint both me and my luggage were screened – my luggage was passed through a metal detector and also hand searched, I was directed through a metal detector and patted down by a security person. In addition, there was a tent at the checkpoint where women were screened by female security personnel. This was the usual routine for each time I would return to the hotel.

After breakfast the following morning, I arranged for a hotel car and driver to take me to South Mumbai to the Gateway of India to catch the ferry to Elephanta Island. Elephanta Island is situated eleven kilometers east of South Mumbai beyond the Mumbai Harbour. It is noted for the Elephanta Caves – beautiful rock-cut cave temples dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. The literature dates these cave temples to a period between 600-635 AD, and the cave sculptures are most impressive.

As we departed the hotel, this would be my first look at Mumbai in the daylight. The visibility was approximately 2.5 km visible with smoke in the atmosphere. The drive to the Gateway of India was approximately 30 km and took about one and one-half hours. I was immediately impressed by the large numbers of black and yellow auto-rickshaws and black and yellow taxis. My driver informed me that all of the black and yellow auto-rickshaws and taxis were powered by clean natural gas (CNG) – quite a contrast to the auto-rickshaws in Thailand (tuk tuks with their two-cycle always-smoking engines). I would estimate that nearly forty per cent of the automobile traffic that we saw were CNG black and yellow taxis and auto-rickshaws – so far ahead of the United States in clean motor vehicle energy!

As we continued our drive toward South Mumbai, my driver also told me that the population of Mumbai was about nineteen million people and that about forty per cent of them live in the slums of Mumbai. The slums can be found nearly anywhere and co-exist beside modern residential areas. My driver also said that the government builds large apartment complexes and gives them to people living in the slums and that many of these people later sell them and move back into the slums. After crossing the Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge which is still undergoing construction, we entered South Mumbai. My driver also informed me that auto-rickshaws are banned from entering South Mumbai. South Mumbai had a very different look with tree lined streets and abundant vegetation.

We drove past the Oberoi Trident hotel which was one of the hotels attacked in November 2008 and continued to the Gateway of India which was built in 1927 and is the city’s most enduring symbol. After parking the car, we walked past the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel which is situated across the street from the Gateway of India and is still undergoing repairs from the November 2008 terrorist attack. I boarded a ferry to Elephanta Island and enjoyed the one hour boat ride to the island. The dock for the ferry is approximately one km from the island and people can either walk or take a small train along the new jetty to the island – I chose to walk. After reaching the island, it is approximately another km up a mountain to the caves via a very long rock stairway. Merchants lined both sides of the stairway from top to bottom selling souvenirs to tourists and a couple of restaurants were also situated alongside the stairway. Although I hiked up and down the stairs, it was possible to hire several people to carry you up and/or down the stairs in a chair supported by two long poles attached to the sides of the chair.

Upon reaching the top of the stairway, I paid my entrance fees and set off to explore the cave temples. There are at least seven cave temples on the mountain numbered #1 thru #7. Cave temple #1 is the largest and most elaborate and is the main attraction. I decided to pass up cave temple #1 and hike to the farthest away temple and then work my way back. After passing cave #5, I encountered a barricade and sign stating that Cannon Hill and caves #6 and #7 were currently closed to the public. I marveled at how much labor must have been expended chiseling these cave temples out of the mountain rock mountain and to also carve the beautiful and intricate deep-relief sculptures. I then explored cave temples #5, #4, #3 and #2 as I made my way back to cave #1. Cave #1 is truly spectacular. It is an unusually large excavation which is supported by rows of massive pillars – the main portion of the cave shrine has 26 supporting rock columns. The walls of the cave shrines have panels with spectacular deep-relief sculptured scenes. The temple faces to the North where one enters through a porch and there are two additional porches to the East and West, both of these leading to courtyards of subsidiary shrines.

After exploring the cave temples, I ate lunch at a restaurant about halfway down the mountain and then hiked back to the ferry dock. After another hour ferry ride back to the Gateway of India, I located my driver and returned to my hotel continuing to marvel at the large quantity of CNG black and yellow vehicles on the streets.

On the morning of January 8, I arranged for another hotel car and driver to go to the Kanheri Caves. The Kanheri Caves consist of 109 rock-cut caves near the top of a mountain in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The term Kanheri has been derived from a Sanskrit term “Krishnagin” which means “black in color.” The caves are situated about 1,500 feet above sea level and have been chiseled out of a gigantic basaltic rock mountain. The cave sculptures depict the Buddha in numerous forms. These caves are dated from the 2^nd Century BC to the 9^th Century AD, and many were the abode of Buddhist monks. The literature states that the Kanheri Caves are an excellent illustration which portrays the rise and fall of Buddhism in India. Exploring the area also allows the visitor to view many watercourses of the ancient water system and cisterns for the caves. The majority of the caves are small cells with a stone platform to serve as a bed. Several of the caves are quite large and have elaborate inscriptions and deep-relief sculptures.

After paying my entrance fees, the first cave that I came to was Cave #1. Caves #1, #2, #3 and #4 are situated side by side. Cave #1 remains unfinished and may have been intended to be two stories high. Cave #2 is larger and has two stupas with beautiful sculptures on the surrounding walls. The literature states that Chaitya Cave #3 is the largest and most architecturally elaborate cave at Kanheri. It is the most important cathedral or Chaitya of the Kanheri caves. The Chaitya is a Buddhist shrine and typically is a long hall with an arched ceiling with two rows of pillars that further divide the hall into a central nave and two narrow aisles on either sides of the nave in its longer axis. Almost at the inner extreme of the hall is a stupa with a hemispherical top, the object of worship in the Chaitya. Cave #3 is the second largest cave Chaitya in India, the largest being the Chaitya of Karla near Pune. In addition to an elaborate entrance and spectacular sculptured scenes, it has two gigantic figures of Buddha that are approximately 6 meters tall – these are some of the tallest images of Buddha in India. Cave #4 is a small cave with a stupa and the background of the stupa is carved with Buddha in different postures.

As I continued to hike toward additional caves I marveled at the stairs, terraces and footpaths that are all carved out of on the surface of the hard volcanic rock. I was also impressed at the Kanheri waterworks which included channels carved in the rock and cisterns. The views of the surrounding landscapes and caves were spectacular. Additional caves that I found to be of exceptional interest were Cave #34 which was a dark cave with some paintings of Buddha on the ceiling, and Caves #11, #41 and #67 which all had elaborate sculptures.

After hiking back to the parking lot, we drove to the Jain Temple that is situated adjacent to the entrance to the park. I briefly visited the temple and then we drove back to my hotel. I spent the remainder of the afternoon downloading and editing photos.

Since I had arranged for a late checkout on January 9, I arranged for another hotel car and driver for a half-day sightseeing trip of Mumbai. The hotel said that they would provide a guide for Mumbai sightseeing at no additional charge. I met my driver and Aziz, my guide, after breakfast and we set off to explore some of the tourist sights of Mumbai. Although the guide was no charge, he appeared to be employed by several high end stores geared for tourists that I would be required to visit during our sightseeing. As we departed the hotel, my guide asked me what was of particular interest for me to see and I gave him a list that I had prepared. I commented at how little traffic there was on the highway and Aziz informed me that there is much less traffic on a Saturday morning.

We crossed the Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge and entered South Mumbai to proceed to Dhobi Ghat. Dhobi Ghat is an enormous outdoor laundry employing over one thousand people where residents of Mumbai take their clothes to be washed and ironed professionally. Aziz informed me that the Dhobi Ghat laundry originally laundered the uniforms of the British soldiers stationed at Mumbai prior to India’s receiving independence from Great Britain. Aziz also said that somehow the laundry manages to keep track of each person’s individual items of clothing – an amazing sight indeed. Our next stop was at Mani Bhavan, the three story house where Mahatama Gandhi lived from 1917 to 1934. It is now a museum to the lifelong achievements of Gandhi.

We continued on to the Hanging Gardens situated on the crest of Malbar Hill. These are magnificent gardens above reservoirs constructed in 1921 to contain 30 million gallons of water as the municipal water supply of Mumbai. The Tower of Silence on Malbar Hill is adjacent to the Hanging Gardens and visibility of the tower is obscured by trees and foliage. The Tower of Silence is the open grounds where the Parsis leave the bodies of their dead to be eaten by vultures and only persons of Parsi descent are permitted entrance. As we descended from Malbar Hill, we drove beside the Tower of Silence compound and observed a large number of vultures circling above the grounds.

We continued our Mumbai tour by viewing sights that included the Rajabi Clock Tower, Wilson College, the Post Office, Town Hall, and the Police Headquarters. We also drove past the Leopold Cafe and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (also known as Victoria Terminus) – both of these locations were targeted in the November 1008 attacks. We also drove through the Dharavi slum district and then visited the St Thomas Cathedral, a very beautiful old church. We stopped at several of the tourist shops and stores required by Aziz.

Although I was not interested in tourist shopping, I was hoping to locate a guidebook to the Kanheri Caves that I had visited yesterday. Aziz took me to several bookstores and finally to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel. We checked out the hotel bookstore and then went to the hotel restaurant overlooking the Gateway of India. Aziz made several telephone calls and finally located someone with a used guidebook. While I ate lunch at the restaurant, Aziz left and returned with the used guidebook – I could hardly believe how hard it was to locate a copy of the guidebook but Aziz was persistent. After lunch, we met my driver and I said good-by to Aziz before we drove back to the hotel.

After returning to the hotel, I checked out of my room, went to the lounge and took a few photos of Lake Powai. I noticed a large crocodile sunning itself on the bank of the lake – cattle grazing nearby and less than a kilometer away several small boys were swimming in the lake. On the opposite side of the hotel large modern high rise buildings towered above an area of slums. Later in the evening, I took the hotel car to the International Airport to catch my flights back to Bangkok and onward to Phuket, Thailand.

I arrived in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, during the evening of January 10. I was planning to rest up at Patong for a couple of days and then continue on to either Phi Phi Island or to the Similan Islands for snorkeling with the fish among the beautiful coral. After dinner on January 11, I was hit by a motorcycle taxi with a paying passenger aboard as I was waiting to cross a road near my hotel. The motorcycle taxi was on the wrong side of the road, and I never saw the impact coming. I regained consciousness in the Patong Hospital Emergency Room while undergoing treatment. I received very good treatment for my injuries and, after I was discharged, I took a taxi back to my hotel. I spent the next several days resting and returning to the hospital where they changed the bandages for my wounds. I am fortunate that I did not see the impact coming and did not have time for my muscles to tense up which probably accounts for no broken bones. I flew home from Bangkok on January 20. My doctor in Los Angeles removed the stitches from my head and right ear after I returned home – the sprains to my left wrist and hand, left knee, right hand, and neck will probably take some time to mend, but all is well that ends well.

November 15, 2009
Laos & Thailand

Travel Notes

Subsequent to booking an airline ticket to Thailand, I sent an E-mail to Mr. Soulinga in Laos to see if he was still an official Lao Government approved tour guide and if he would be interested in accompanying me for travel in Laos during November. I had previously hired Soulinga to be my Government approved tour guide for my trip to Laos during April 2007. After a couple of weeks, I received a reply and we worked out a travel itinerary where he would provide transportation and would be my driver and tour guide for my visit to Laos. With the Laos travel in place, I decided to return to Phuket and Phi Phi Island while in Thailand before meeting Soulinga in Laos.

I arrived in Thailand and spent a few days at Phi Phi Island and returned to Mosquito Island for snorkeling. The coral is still in decent shape at Mosquito Island and I was fortunate to spot a Leopard Shark approximately three meters long sleeping on the sea floor in relatively shallow water. I had seen small reef sharks in the Andaman Sea on prior occasions but his was the first large shark that I had seen. Although the shark tended to blend into the sea floor, I managed to get a couple of photos. The remainder of my snorkeling was relaxing among the spectacular coral and beautiful fishes.

After Phuket, I spent a couple of days at Udon Thani, Thailand while coordinating final Laos travel details with Soulinga. I took a taxi from Udon Thani to the Friendship Bridge at 7:30 AM on the morning of November 8 and carried my luggage through Thai Immigration as I was processed out of Thailand. The Friendship Bridge spans the Mekong River between Nong Khai, Thailand, and Vientiane, Laos. I then boarded a bus which transported me across the bridge to the Laos Immigration station. After completing the “Visa on Arrival” procedures, I was processed into Laos. I was greeted by Soulinga as I exited Lao Immigration and we took my luggage to the mini bus that he had provided.

Our first stop was to be at Phonsavanh to visit the Plain of Jars. During my April 2007 visit, we had driven Laos Highway 13 North to Vang Vieng and back to Vientiane. Highway 13 is the main Laos North/South highway and extends from southern Laos to the China border in the North. Although it is the main highway, it is a two-lane road that tends to be treacherous to drive as it snakes its way through the mountains in northern Laos. Of course, most of our travel would be on Highway 13 with the remainder on another two-lane road, Highway 7, from Phoukhoun to Phonsavanh. Highway 7 runs from Phoukhoun eastward to the Vietnam border and is equally treacherous as it also snakes its way through spectacular rugged mountains. Many small Lao ethnic hill-tribe villages are situated alongside of Highways 7 and 13. I was impressed by the number of satellite television dishes in the various hill-tribe villages.

We stopped for lunch at Kasi which is situated north of Vang Vieng. As we continued north to Phoukhoun, the mountains became much more rugged and the mountain landscape was spectacular and our average speed was approximately 20 miles per hour. The only bridges on Highway 13 are to cross rivers and streams. When we reached Phoukhoun, Highway 13 veered to the left and we took Highway 7 eastbound toward Phonsavanh and the mountains became increasingly more rugged. As we approached Phonsavanh, the mountains became much less rugged and there were areas where large rice patties were possible. We arrived at Phonsavanh at about 5:30 PM, and I checked into the Vansana – Plain of Jars hotel. My first travel day consisted of more than ten hours traveling by taxi and my mini bus. Soulinga and I discussed my desire to visit Sites 1, 2, and 3 of the Plain of Jars in the morning before continuing on to Luang Prabang and we decided to leave the hotel at 7:00 AM. After a long travel day and with an early morning ahead of me, I opted to eat dinner at the hotel and went to bed early.

The Plain of Jars is a large area that extends around the town of Phonsavanh from the southwest to the northeast where huge jars of unknown origin are scattered about. The jars were created from solid stone – most from a stone similar to sandstone but some were made from granite. Nobody knows the origin or purpose of the jars which are several thousand years old and weigh up to three tons each.

Due to its proximity to North Vietnam, this area was situated on the “Ho Chi Min Trail” and was one of the most heavily bombed areas in Laos between 1964 and 1973. In addition, defoliant which was also dropped on the area during the Viet Nam war, eliminated large parts of the forest. I was reminded that children in Laos are injured daily from unexploded ordnance remaining after the carpet bombing campaign during the war. The tourist office in Phonsavanh has hundreds of different bomb casings and recovered ordnance in the courtyard in front of and alongside the tourist office/museum building.

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Unexploded Ordnance Program (UXG) cleared the Plain of Jars 1, 2, and 3 between 27 January 2005 and 28 March 2005. It was a joint project with UNESCO, the National Tourist Authority of LAO PDR and the Ministry of Information and Culture with funding provided by nzaid. Square stone markers, one half red and one half white, designate the safe zone within the sites – areas between the white have been UXG sub-surfaced cleared and areas opposite the red designate areas that were not sub-surfaced cleared but only visually cleared of UXG on the surface. Bomb craters are still visible within the sites and visitors to the sites are advised to remain only in the areas indicated by white.

Although Phonsavanh was shrouded in thick fog in the morning of November 9, Soulinga and I left the hotel at 7:35 AM and drove through the fog to Site 3. Our plan was to go to the furthest away site first and then stop at the other sites on the way back to Phonsavanh. Site 3 (Hia Hin Lat Khai) is situated about 35 km southwest of Phonsavanh on a hill-top near and is accessed by taking a 2 km hike along rice paddy dykes and up the hill. We completed the hike through the rice paddies and up the hill to Site 3 which has approximately 150 jars amid several bomb craters. Many of the jars suffered from bombing damage but I found the site to be fascinating. The lingering morning fog added some extra allure to the site.

Site 2 (Hai Hin Phu Salato) is approximately 25 km from Phonsavanh and consists of two small sites on two small hills bisected by a dirt road. This site had approximately 90 jars, more bomb craters, and some large tree roots were entwined around and within a couple of the jars. Site 2 was a very photogenic site with the lingering morning fog.

Site 1 (Thong Hai Hin) is the largest site with approximately 250 jars, most of which weighing 600 kg to one ton each. A small portion of the site is on a hill-top and the remainder is on a relatively flat area below the hill. The site also has another hill with a large limestone cave where people sought refuge during the bombings. The largest jar which weighs nearly 6 tons is situated on top of the small hill. Site 1 is 15 km southwest of Phonsavanh and is the one most often visited by tourists. After visiting site 1, I was very glad to have insisted on visiting Sites 2 and 3 which I found to be far more interesting than Site 1.

After a brief stop in Phonsavanh at the tourist office where we visited the small museum and viewed the remnants of the bombing ordnance, we began to backtrack on Highway 7 toward Phoukoun at 9:51 AM. We ate lunch at Phoukhoun and turned northbound on Highway 13 to continue our journey to Luang Prabang. Highway 13 continued through spectacular mountains and through numerous hill-tribe villages to Luang Prabang and we arrived at my hotel, Villa Santi Resort Hotel, at approximately 5:30 PM. Since we had just finished another very long travel day, I elected to eat diner at the hotel.

Soulinga met me at the hotel the following morning, November 10, and we visited several Buddha temples in Luang Prabang – Vat Xieng Thong was a very impressive temple that had an entrance overlooking the Mekong River. After visiting some temples, Soulinga chartered a boat for a 25 km trip up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Cave. Pak Ou is a well-known Buddhist site and is a place of pilgrimage. The cave contains thousands of statues and statuettes, in the traditional Luang Prabang style, mainly of Buddha. Rock stairs connect a second deeper cave higher up the mountain known as Tham Phum. We visited both caves and then ate lunch at a restaurant situated across the Mekong from the caves. The boat trip on the Mekong was relaxing and the scenery was superb.

Later in the afternoon, we hiked up to the top of Mount Phousi – Luang Prabang’s holy mountain. The climb to the top entails more than 320 steps but the temples at the top are exquisite. The views from the top of the city and the Mekong are superb. Tourists gather at the top to watch the sunset over the mountains and we joined the others to wait for the sunset. We ate dinner in Luang Prabang and then visited the night market – the city blocks off several blocks of a main street to allow the people to set up the night market. The market was very colorful and a pleasure to walk through – the merchandise for sale was primarily food items and Lao handicrafts.

We visited the Royal Palace on November 10. Luang Prabang was the original capital of Laos and after the Communist takeover on 1975, the king and queen were sent to re-education centers further north and disappeared. The new Communist Government moved the capital to Vientiane and converted the Royal Palace at Luang Prabang into a museum. Photography is prohibited inside the museum and the museum showcases the former kings and queens of Laos.

After visiting the Royal Palace, we drove 37 kms south of Luang Prabang tto the Kung-Si Waterfalls. These waterfalls are very beautiful as they cascade over the limestone mountain and into turquoise pools of varying sizes. The hike along the stream beside small cascading waterfalls before reaching the much higher main waterfalls is very beautiful. An Asiatic Black Bear conservation project is situated adjacent to the entrance to the trail to the waterfalls. This is home to many rescued Asiatic Black Bears in their native habitat and tourist donations are solicited to help support the project. I took Soulinga to an Indian restaurant in Luang Prabang for dinner and learned that it was his first time to eat at an Indian restaurant – the food was quite good and was a diversion for the local Lao food that I had been eating for the past several days.

We departed Luang Prabang at about 8:30 AM on November 12 and drove back to Vientiane. We drove through Phoukhoun at 11:45 AM and stopped for lunch at Kasi. We stopped for gasoline at Vang Vieng at 2:35 PM and arrived in Vientiane at 5:35 PM. Since nearly everyone in Laos cooks by burning wood and many people also burn rubbish in open bonfires, the air quality deteriorated rapidly during the last 37 kms before reaching Vientiane.

Soulinga dropped me off at Lao Immigration at the Friendship Bridge at approximately 6:15 PM. I bid good-bye to Soulinga and I was processed out of Laos. I caught a bus across the bridge to Thai Immigration where I was processed into Thailand. I took a taxi from the Friendship Bridge to Udon Thani and was surprised to see Christmas decorations along the main street in Udon Thani. I flew back to Bangkok on November 14 and continued home the following day.

See pictures from Laos and Thailand

September 23, 2009
Ireland

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at the Dublin International Airport on the evening of September 12 and took the 747 city bus to downtown Dublin. Once we discovered that the bus stop was within three blocks of our hotel, we walked to our hotel. That evening we went for a walk to explore a portion of downtown Dublin and O’Connell Street near our hotel.

The following Sunday morning was a beautiful day with bright sunshine. We walked from our hotel past the Customs House and the Famine Statues along the River Liffey to the tall ship barque Jeanie Johnston. The Jeanie Johnston was built during the 1990s and sailed to North America during 2003 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Ireland famine. It is a replica of the original barque Jeanie Johnston which was built in 1847 and transported over 2,500 people during 16 voyages from Ireland to North America. The ship is now a permanent part of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and is operated as a sail training ship.

We reversed direction and walked west along the River Liffey to St. Michan’s Church which was closed, and continued to the Old Jameson Distillery. After touring the distillery, we continued west to Heuston Station and on to the Kilmainham Gaol – the old city jail that was operational from 1796 until 1924. The tour of the jail was extremely interesting and was intimately connected with Ireland’s struggle for independence. After touring the jail, we continued walking east to the Guinness Storehouse museum – the home of the original Guinness brewery. We really enjoyed the Guinness tour and they taught me how to pour the perfect glass of Guinness. The view of Dublin from the top of the Guinness Storehouse was picture perfect. As we continued walking east toward our hotel, we passed the Christ Church Cathedral and ate dinner at an Indian restaurant in the Tavern Bar district of Dublin.

On Monday, September 14, we met our bus on O’Connell Street for the Hill of Tara and Newgrange tour that I had reserved before arriving in Dublin. The bus tour was a day trip north of Dublin to County Meath which was terrain of the pagan High Kings of Ireland where the Hill of Tara, the ancient seat of the rulers of Ireland, and the neolithic burial tombs of Knowth, Newgrange, and Dowth are located. Our tour drove through the Boyne Valley past Slane Castle, the Hill of Slane, and the site of the Battle of the Boyne. We stopped at the Hill of Tara and at the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre. We were transported by shuttle bus from the visitor centre to the 5,000 year old passage tomb of Newgrange for a guided tour. The guide speculated about the significance of the carved Entrance Stone of Newgrange before escorting us into the passage to the inner portion of the tomb. This passageway is illuminated by the rising sun during the winter solstice. These ancient passage tombs predate the pyramids in Egypt and have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The visitor centre opened in 1997 and contains a museum with artifacts and has an audio-visual display.

On Tuesday we checked out of our hotel and caught a taxi to the Budget car rental facility where we picked up our rental car – a Nissan Micra with manual transmission. We also rented a portable Garmin GPS navigation unit since many of the streets in Dublin have no street signs posted – we had never used a Garmin unit before.

Our next stop was to be our hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Budget assistant who took us to our rental car, programmed our Belfast hotel into the Garmin. When I asked for an instruction manual for the Garmin, he replied that they had instructions in Hungarian and other eastern European countries but did not have any instructions in English. As we drove away from the rental car facility, the “Garmin lady” instructed us when and where to turn. Since the attendant did not set up the Garmin to display the map, we were relying solely upon the verbal instructions of Ms. Garmin.

All went well until we were north of Newgrange on the motorway and Ms. Garmin told us to bear left and to take a round-about. When we continued on the motorway, Ms. Garmin began to say “recalculating” at which point we realized that when she said to bear left, she really had meant for us to take the next exit on the motorway. She then recomputed our position and began to provide revised directions. We tried to follow her verbal instructions as best we could and we would soon get used to her saying “recalculating.” We finally entered Belfast and after many encounters with Ms. Garmin’s recalculating and arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we decided to take the Hop On-Hop Off bus sightseeing bus tour of Belfast. The bus tour was very interesting and included the Titanic’s Dock & Pump-House where the Titanic was built and launched, Parliament buildings at Stormont, downtown Belfast, and past the wall murals along Shankhill Road and along Falls Road. As the tour bus passed the hockey arena constructed for the new Belfast hockey team, the tour guide joked that they decided not to name the team the “Belfast Bombers.” After completing the bus tour we walked to City Hall which unfortunately was closed for renovation. We continued on to the Crown Liquor Saloon, which is preserved by the National Trust, and ate lunch next door at Robinson’s Bars. We then walked back to our hotel which was located near the university. That evening, we experimented with the Garmin unit to program in the first stop for the following day and found that we were able to display the map function which proved to be most helpful.

On Wednesday, September 16, we checked out of our hotel and drove north to Bushmills, the home of the Old Bushmills Distillery, which was licensed in 1608 and claims to be the world’s oldest licensed distillery. The distillery continues to operate as a distillery and the tour was very interesting. We then proceeded two miles east of Bushmills to the Giant’s Causeway, another World Heritage site.

The Giant’s Causeway is a geological wonder consisting of more than 40,000 bassalt columns. These columns are mostly perfect hexagonals and were formed during the cooling of molten lava. Access to the columns is by either walking along a private roadway or by hiring a shuttle bus to the columns – we chose to walk along the road and enjoy the seaside views of northern coast. After visiting the Giant’s Causeway, we continued east along the coast to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. This is a rope bridge over an 80-foot (24 meter) chasm to an island salmon fishery. Of course, I paid the fee for the privilege of walking across the rope bridge.

Our last stop of the day in Northern Ireland was at the Dunluce Castle ruins on the northern coast to the west of Bushmills. The castle ruins date from the 14th century and stand on a black basalt cliff 30 meters above the ocean. The cliff is not hard columnar basalt like the Giant’s Causeway but is a softer type made up of round boulders which are prone to erosion. After eating lunch at the Dunluce Castle tourist center, we programmed the Garmin to the city of Athlone in central Ireland to be close to Clonmacnoise, one of Ireland’s most important monastic sites. As we drove toward Athlone, Ms. Garmin continued to not recognize new roads and road construction and we continued to go through the “recalculating” routines. The Garmin unit directed us onto some small roads in the direction of Athlone and dusk was upon us as we entered the town of Mullingar. We noticed the Granville Arms hotel on the main street in Mullingar and were able to secure a room for the night. The hotel had a wonderful ornate Victorian decor with stairways galore and no lifts.

On Thursday morning, September 17, we programmed the Garmin to Clonmacnoise and we by-passed Athlone. Ms. Garmin directed us to Clonmacnoise via small roads. The monastic site of Clonmacnoise was beside the River Shannon and was very impressive. There was a small castle ruins nearby also overlooking the River Shannon.

We reprogrammed the Garmin to the town of Kinvara on the west coast of Ireland. Once we arrived at Kinvara, we admired the Dunguaire Castle and secured a room at a bed and breakfast for the evening. We then programmed the Garmin as best we could to visit the Corcommroe Abbey ruins, the Burren and the Poulnabrone Dolmen, and the Cliffs of Moher. The Burren (which means great rock) is a national park and covers 200 square miles of lunar-like limestone formation. The Poulnabrone Dolmen is an ancient tomb that dates from 2500 BC and is situated on top of the Burren. Upon leaving the Poulnabrone Dolmen, the Garmin directed us along tiny back roads over the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher tower roughly 650 feet above the ocean and stretch for five miles along the west coast of Clare. They are one of the most popular tourist destinations on the west coast, and the tourist facilities have recently been beautifully updated.

On Friday, September 18, we drove to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park near Limerick. The original Durty Nelly’s Pub is situated next to the castle and has been copied all over the world. After touring the castle and folk park, we continued to Limerick where we walked around the downtown area to visit the Treaty Stone, King John’s Castle, St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Bourke House and the Bishop’s Palace. We continued on to Cork and toured the famous Blarney Castle and gardens – of course we made a point of kissing the Blarney Stone. Since the Old Midleton Distillery was located nearby in Midleton, we toured the distillery and I was selected by our distillery tour guide to participate in a panel of eight people to taste test three different whiskeys: Jameson Irish whiskey, Jack Daniel’s bourbon whiskey, and Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch whiskey – the Jameson was the unanimous choice. The Old Midleton Distillery ultimately merged with Jameson which accounts for the Jameson in the samples taste test.

We had planned to stop at the tourist office near the distillery after our tour but it closed while we were in the distillery. As we were walking to our car, a man was leaving his flat said “hello.” We talked for a couple of minutes and when I asked him if he knew of any bed & breakfasts nearby where we might spend the night, he said maybe. He said that his niece stayed at one recently when she visited him and he then went back into his flat to look it up. He called the bed & breakfast and they had a room available which we secured – another example of the nice people in Ireland.

On Saturday, September 19, we admired the Lismore Castle as we drove through Lismore en route to Cahir. We walked around Cahir’s Castle at Cahir and continued on to Cashel to visit the Rock of Cashel and the remains of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was impressive and well worth a visit. We wanted to visit the Waterford Crystal factory in Waterford and drove some distance out of our way to squeeze it in. Much to our surprise, we found that the Waterford Crystal factory had been closed earlier this year and all that remained was a visitor center with a short audio-video presentation and crystal pieces on display with some pieces offered for sale – a major disappointment for us.

Upon leaving Waterford, we programmed the Garmin to take us to the Jerpoint Abbey ruins near Thomaston. After many small back roads and several “recalculating” episodes, we arrived at Jerpoint Abbey. The abbey was very interesting with wonderful stone sculptures. We continued on to Kilkenney and parked near the river in downtown Kilkenney to hopefully locate a tourist office or somewhere to spend the night. After walking for several blocks along the main street, we found the tourist office and secured a bed & breakfast within walking distance of the downtown area. Before going to our bed & breakfast, we walked up to the Kilkenney Castle and visited the Kilkenney Design Center. We also stopped by a very ornate pub called the West Bank. After dinner we walked around Kilkenney in search of some Irish Celtic music but were not successful in finding any.

On Sunday, September 20, we stopped by the Glendalough ruins on our way back to Dublin to return our rental car. The Glendalough ruins are nestled in the Wicklow Mountains and are part of popular day trips from Dublin. We continued on to Dublin and with the help of Ms. Garmin and many “recalculating” episodes. We finally found a gas station and then arrived at the rental car facility to return our car. Jan complained that the Garmin must have had outdated software, describing the frustrations of not having operating instructions in English and that the unit didn’t seem to recognize many of the main highways. The Budget car rental person checked out the Garmin and then apologized to us saying that a prior renter had the Garmin configured to avoid main roads and that Budget failed to properly check out the Garmin when we rented the unit – suddenly we knew why Ms. Garmin consistently wanted to take us on secondary and small back roads. Budget voluntarily reversed the charge for the Garmin. In retrospect, we probably saw a lot more Ireland via the secondary roads than we would have on the main roads.

Dublin was crowded with people celebrating the all Ireland football playoff between Cork and Kerry – pubs were overflowing with people and throngs of people were making their way to the stadium. After the game ended with Kerry winning, the celebrations continued all over downtown Dublin well into the night. Since it was early afternoon, we caught the Hop On-Hop Off bus and took a sightseeing tour of the city. It was fun to watch the football fans from the upper deck of the sightseeing bus. Later, we walked to the Tavern Bar district to join in the festivities and to eat dinner. There were people everywhere and some really great street performers – truly a night to remember in Dublin.

On Monday, September 21, the weather was overcast as we walked to Trinity College. As we entered Trinity College, we realized that it was the first day of the “freshie” rush week with booths set up and masses of students milling about. Once we located the entrance to the library where the famous Book of Kells is housed, we noticed that the line of people waiting to enter the library stretched a very long distance down the courtyard. Since the weather was starting to deteriorate into a light mist, we decided to skip the library and to walk to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. On the way to the cathedral, we passed the statue of Molly Malone and walked along several pedestrian-only streets admiring the Georgian architecture along the way. As we entered the St. Patrick’s Park adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we visited the wall along Bride Street dedicated to Irish literary artists and admired the cathedral. The largest church in Ireland has stood at this location since 1191, close to the legendary well where St. Patrick is said to have baptized the first Catholics.

We caught the Hop On-Hop Off bus at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and rode it to the stop near the Old Jameson Distillery to make a return visit to St. Michan’s Church to hopefully tour the famous crypts under the church. Since we arrived about an hour before the scheduled tour, we ate lunch at the Jameson distillery restaurant before touring the church and the crypts. St. Michan’s Church was said to have been founded by the Danes in 1095 and Handel is said to have rehearsed his Messiah on the clavier here in front of a vast audience. Burial crypts located below the church contain centuries-old natural mummies preserved by the limestone walls and the presence of methane gas. A very knowledgeable tour guide escorted us into the crypts and gave us the historical background of the crypts and mummies. He explained that the four famous mummies in one crypt consisted of two female mummies on either side of a male mummy approximately 400 years old in the foreground and a male mummy from the Crusades over 800 years old at the back of the crypt. Some of the crypts belong to individual families and can still be used by the family descendants for future interments if the family so desires.

After departing the church, we walked eastbound along the River Liffey to the Ha’penny Bridge and crossed the river into the Tavern Bar District before returning to our hotel. After a short rest, we decided to go to Tavern Bar for our last dinner in Dublin – the festive crowds from the prior night’s celebrations were nowhere to be found and we ate a relatively quiet dinner at a local pub. A very early flight on Tuesday, September 22, began our return trip home with our fond memories of this trip to Ireland.

See pictures from Ireland

July 23, 2009
Boston to Halifax aboard the Europa

Travel Notes

I arrived at Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on the evening of July 11 and took the hotel shuttle bus to my hotel. The tall ships from the Atlantic Challenge 2009 were moored in the Boston Harbor and were participating in the Sail Boston 2009 festival. The following morning, I took a taxi to the Boston Harbor and, as I walked through the archway at 50 Rowes Wharf, the tall ship Europa emerged into view in all of her glory. I checked in on board the Europa and placed my luggage in my cabin. This would be my third voyage on the Europa, and I was thrilled to find several regular crew members from my prior voyages on board. I was also looking forward to sailing again with two friends, Winslow and Julia, from my first voyage in 2007. I met Julia and Winslow at noon aboard the Europa and together with a friend of Julia, arranged for a small taxi boat to take us around the Boston Harbor to view all of the tall ships in the harbor – a great way to avoid the throngs of spectators on the waterfront.

The weather was superb and the ships were picturesque. The USS Constitution was moored at her permanent location in the harbor but her upper masts had been removed due to deterioration – hopefully restored masts will soon be re-installed. She was moored aft of the United States Coast Guard tall ship USS Eagle which would sail with us onward to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

After our taxi boat ride around the harbor, we walked along the waterfront and found a nice place for lunch overlooking the harbor. We returned to the Europa for the official 5:00 p.m. boarding time. After an orientation briefing from Captain Klaas, we ate dinner on board and stowed our luggage for the voyage to Halifax as part of the Tall Ship Atlantic Challenge 2009 and to participate in the Nova Scotia Tall Ship 2009 Festival. The Sail Boston 2009 festivities continued well into the night at the harbor.

The Europa departed Boston at about noon on July 13. The crew consisted of regular crewmembers and crew trainees like me. After another shipboard indoctrination, we were briefed on the abandon-ship drill which included a demonstration on the use of our one-size-fits-all bright red cold water exposure suits and life vests which were stored above our bunks. We also received climbing instructions and were fitted with climbing harnesses.

The crew trainees were divided into three watch teams: Red, White, and Blue. I was assigned to the Red watch team. The Red, White, and Blue watch teams were assigned watch schedules covering twenty four hours per day. The watch duties consisted of stationing two people on the forward bow deck as lookouts and having one person steering the ship from the helm. In addition, any available crew trainees were requested to assist the regular crew with configuring the sails during the voyage.

The rotation schedule for the Red watch was as follows:

July 13 – noon to 2 p.m.
July 13 – 8 p.m. to midnight
July 14 – 8 a.m. to noon
July 14 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
July 15 – 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.
July 15 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
July 16 – midnight to 4 a.m.
July 16 – noon to 2 p.m.
July 17 – midnight to 4 a.m.

As we sailed out of the Boston harbor, the Russian tall ship Kruzenshtern sailed off of our port side and the USS Eagle sailed behind us. Many other ships and small boats sailed nearby to wave at us and to take photographs. The Kruzenshtern is the second largest tall ship in the world and unfortunately the upper portion of her forward mast broke off during a storm near Bermuda. The weather was beautiful for the voyage to Halifax and I never needed to suit up in my foul weather sailing apparel. As we neared Halifax, the tall ship Concordia was off our starboard side and the USS Eagle remained behind us.

The Halifax Harbour Pilot ship met the Europa at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 17. As the Europa sailed into the harbour, all three watch teams assisted in furling all of the sails. In addition, a media person took a picture of the Europa sailing into the harbour which ended up on the front page of the Halifax Metro newspaper. The Europa was initially moored at Pier 25 to refuel before continuing to her assigned mooring location along the southern side of Purdy’s Wharf – situated between the Marriott Halifax Harbourfront hotel and the Casino Nova Scotia. The tall ship Picton Castle from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, was moored along the northern side of Purdy’s Wharf. After clearing Canada customs, each of us was given a crew badge which entitled us to special privileges during the festivities at Halifax. More than forty different ships participated in the tall ships festival and all were moored along the waterfront. In addition, Halifax expected the festival to attract approximately 80,000 tourists.

The city of Halifax hosted a huge free party on Thursday evening for the crews from all of the tall ships at the festival. The party was at the Cunard Center, required presentation of our crew badges for admission, and included a BBQ buffet dinner with two beverages and live on-stage entertainment. Our crew badges also entitled us free admission to all of the tall ships that were open to the public, free or discounted admission to many Halifax attractions, and free passage on the Halifax Harbour ferries. After Winslow and I left the party, we walked along the waterfront and admired many of the tall ships moored there.

The weather was overcast on Friday as I walked along the waterfront and toured more than twenty of the tall ships. The tall ship HMS Bounty, which was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, for MGM Film Studios’ 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlon Brando, was extremely interesting – the ship’s figurehead is exquisite. Although the ship is supposed to be a replica of the original HMS Bounty, some of the ships interior dimensions were increased to accommodate the filming of the movie. The ship Bluenose II, also built at Lunenburg, was also very impressive. It is a replica of the original ship Bluenose which appears on the Canada ten-cent coin. The ship Captain Miranda had sails and canvas deck curtains that had been painted by an artist – a crew member graciously took a photo of me at the stern in front of one of the painted deck curtains. Some other spectacular tall ships included the Sagres from Portugal, the Cisne Branco from Brazil and the Kruzenshtern from Russia. I was unable to tour the USS Eagle on Friday and decided that I would try again on Saturday.

A “Halifax heavy fog” enveloped the harbour during the night and remained all day Saturday. On Saturday morning, I was lucky enough to be able to observe a re-enactment of an invasion manned by people in colonial garb rowing small boats through the fog past the stern of the Europa. It was unfortunate that the fog probably obscured much of the spectacle from many people watching from along the waterfront.

The fog remained and it was raining as I disembarked from the Europa at noon on Saturday to take a taxi to my hotel in Dartmouth – a city across the harbour from Halifax. I took the ferry on Saturday afternoon from Dartmouth to Halifax to tour the USS Eagle in the rain and fog and to also visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The museum has a deck chair recovered from the Titanic disaster on display. Another interesting exhibit is a reconstructed deckhouse of the Nova Scotian coastal schooner Rayo as it would have appeared in 1940. A landscape painting outside of the cabin window moves as sounds of the ship creaking in the water are played – when a person enters the cabin, the brain is fooled into believing the cabin and the ship is actually moving.

I met Winslow and Julia at the ferry terminal at 5:30 p.m. and we rode the ferry to Dartmouth where we ate dinner at my favorite restaurant in the Halifax area, the La Perla Dining Room. Of course, our dinner at La Perla was superb – great food, wonderful atmosphere, and good friends.

As I departed Halifax on Sunday morning for my flights back to Los Angeles, I reflected on how wonderful it was to be a crew member of the Europa as we sailed into Halifax and to participate in the festivities at Halifax.

See pictures from Boston to Halifax

June 10, 2009
Sydney, Australia

Travel Notes

I arrived at Sydney early in the morning of June 6 and took the train from the airport into the city to my hotel. To my surprise, the hotel had a room available when I arrived at about 9:00 a.m. After a short rest, I went for a walk, bought a bratwurst sandwich for lunch, and explored the neighborhood near my hotel. I gathered up some tourist brochures, set about planning my weekend activities, and was surprised to learn that Monday would be an Australian National Holiday.

My first stop on Sunday was at Sydney Wildlife World located at Darling Harbour adjacent to the Sydney Aquarium. It is advertised to contain the largest variety of Australian plants and animals under one roof. It contains nine unique habitats spanning across three floors representing environments from all over Australia – these habitats are home to 130 different Australian species. Wallabies and wombats roam freely in the open air semi-arid grassland habitat. Visitors can walk through the upper level of the tropical rainforest habitat where they are surrounded by thousands of colorful butterflies. In addition to having marvelous nocturnal habitat exhibits with possums and quails, it also has a Cassowary bird, and a large variety of insects like the Giant Australian Cockroach.

After leaving Wildlife World, I walked across the Pymont Bridge to visit the Australian National Maritime Museum. I was amazed at the size of the museum and the large number of vessels in its collection in the harbour. Although admission to the museum is free, there was a charge to tour the Daring class destroyer gunship HMAS Vampire, the Oberon class submarine HMAS Onslow, and the restored 19th century 3-masted barque tall ship James Craig. There is also an Attack class patrol boat HMAS Advance, which is a working ship and is not open to the public. The museum also has a fleet of ten small vessels, including the Commonwealth Lightship 4, CLS 4 Carpentaria, which is one of four unmanned light ships built at Coclatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney.

The museum also has a magnificent replica of Captain James Cook’s famous discovery ship, HMS Endeavour. Since it was undergoing some refit repairs and the top masts were removed and down on the main deck, it was closed to the public until June 27. This ship is referred to as the best exhibit at the museum.

In addition to the fleet of ships, the museum also has the Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, which was built 70 km south of Townsville in 1874. It had been dismantled, moved to the museum, and reconstructed. The lighthouse was open to the public and the rotating light mechanism operated similar to a grandfather clock with a weighted chain serving to provide the momentum to drive the gears and rotate the lens assembly. A second Tasman Light lens assembly was on exhibit inside the museum building.

The building that houses the museum is quite large and is filled with a myriad of nautical exhibits including aboriginal exhibits. In addition to the museum’s usual exhibits, the museum had a special “Charles Darwin – voyages and ideas that shook the world” exhibition on loan from the British Museum. This exhibition was celebrating the 200th anniversary year of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150 year anniversary of the publication of his famous evolutionary theory, “On the Origin of the Species.” The exhibit had a model of the ship, HMS Beagle, on which Darwin sailed around the world under the command of Captain Fitzroy. A replica of Darwin’s cabin on the Beagle was part of the exhibition.

The collection at the maritime museum was so extensive that I made a return visit to the museum on Monday. In retrospect, I wish that I had explored the museum’s web site and become more familiar with the museum before going to Sydney.

I visited the Sydney Aquarium on Monday. I had visited the aquarium on a prior trip to Sydney so this was my second visit to the aquarium. I was interested in seeing the Dugongs again. The Dugongs are related to manatees and are similar in appearance and behavior but have a fluked tail like a whale. I was also interested in the Moon Jellies and the iridescent squids – both of which I observed late at night in the Southern Ocean while on watch during my 2007 voyage aboard the Europa. I believe that the water in the large tanks with the Dugongs and the large fishes was not nearly as clean as it had been on my prior visit.

My last stop was at The Rocks Discovery Museum. The Rocks is the oldest part of the city of Sydney; it is next to the Circular Quay and at the base of the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I took the train to Circular Quay where the street performers had taken advantage of a beautiful sunny Monday afternoon to perform for bystanders. The discovery museum has exhibits depicting cultural and historical aspects of the area and the development of Sydney. One exhibit that fascinated me was an animated map of the world which depicted the exploration, conquests, and changes in the possessions of different countries in conjunction with major historical events up to the present time. The map display would change with each major historical event along with a brief description of the event such as the fall of Napoleon, European wars, and so forth.

As I departed Sydney on Tuesday afternoon on my flight back to Los Angeles, I reflected on a marvelous three day weekend trip – sunny days, friendly people, and good museums and attractions to visit.

See pictures from Sydney

See pictures from India and Thailand

April 11, 2009
India

Travel Notes

After spending two nights in Bangkok to help adjust to the time zone changes en route to India, I arrived at the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, India, at about 10:00 pm on April 8. The airport was immaculate and was so unlike the airport at Delhi that it was hard to believe that I was actually in India. After clearing immigration, I located my driver from the Marriott Hyderabad hotel and an ATM machine to obtain some additional Rupees – the ATM machine declined to give me any money which was reminiscent of the ATMs in Montevideo, Uruguay, last year. I figured that since I should be able to apply my airport transfer cost to my hotel bill, I would try to find another ATM the following day. Upon leaving the airport with my driver, I soon realized that I was, in fact, back in India – the roads and streets were in typical India poor condition, and the 21 km drive to the hotel took nearly one hour with little traffic.

I encountered another surprise upon arriving at the Marriott hotel. Even though the Mercedes and the driver were from the hotel, we were stopped at a barricade as we turned into the property from the street, quite a distance from the hotel, where several security people surrounded the car, opened the doors and the trunk, instructed us to remain in the car, and had a big black dog sniff around and inside the vehicle. After passing the inspection and sniff tests, we drove up to another security checkpoint, also some distance from the hotel entrance, where I was directed through a metal detector, my luggage was hand searched, and I was patted down by a security person. After passing the second inspection, I was allowed to proceed to the hotel lobby to check into the hotel. Hotel security in India is a very serious matter, and I would be subjected to these same security procedures every time I returned to the hotel during my time at Hyderabad.

After breakfast the following morning, I went to the hotel concierge to check out my options for hiring a car and driver for sightseeing around Hyderabad and for a possible side-trip to Warangal. The hotel had a range of vehicles for rent with driver included for what I considered to be quite reasonable – Ford Fiesta being the least expensive and Mercedes S Class being the most expensive. I immediately decided that the Ford Fiesta would be adequate. The concierge gave me a Hyderabad tourist map, and we determined how best to see the sights on my list. I reserved the Ford Fiesta for 10:00 am to go to the Golkonda Fort with a possible second stop at the Qutub Shali Tombs.

The concierge also gave me directions to the nearest bank ATM relatively close to the hotel. The hotel is situated along the Eastern side of Hussain Sugar Lake along Tank Bund Road which runs on top of Tank Bund. Tank Bund is a dam on the Hussain Sugar Lake and is famous for statues of thirty-three eminent personalities. Hussain Sugar Lake was constructed in 1562 and is the largest lake in Hyderabad. One of the world’s tallest monolithic statues of Buddha which stands 17.5 meters high and weighs 350 kg, stands on the “Rock of Gibraltar” in the middle of the lake. The ATM was located along Tank Bund Road and I marveled at several of the statues as I walked to the ATM – the ATM was “Larry friendly” and gladly dispersed Indian Rupees to me. I also decided that I would try walk along Tank Bund to look at the statues one afternoon when the sun would be better for photographs.

I met my driver with the Ford Fiesta at 10:00 am, and we drove to the Golkonda Fort. The hectic traffic in Hyderabad en route to the fort was typical India – trucks, buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, bicycle-rickshaws, motorcycles, motorbikes, bicycles, ox carts, hand carts, occasional cows, goats, etc., and nonstop horns as people jockey for position in the masses of traffic and somehow avoid injuring pedestrians. We arrived at the fort and, since I was amazed at how large it actually was, I decided to hire a guide who, in retrospect, was well worth the money.

Golkonda is the second largest fort in India. It dates back to the 13th century and was built in a granite hill 120 meters high surrounded by massive crenellated ramparts constructed of large masonry blocks weighing several tons. It has an outer wall about 11 km long with 87 semicircular bastions, eight gateways, four drawbridges, royal apartments, halls, temples, and mosques. The massive gates were clad with metal and were studded with large pointed iron spikes to prevent elephants from battering them down. It is also renowned for its water system, ventilation system, and acoustic system – a hand clap at a central point below the dome in the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the “Bala Hisar” pavilion, the highest point nearly a kilometer away. The hand clap served to warn the residents in case of danger. My guide demonstrated the reverberating hand clap at the entrance – later when we were at the Bala Hisar pavilion, my guide signaled to an associate at the entrance and we clearly heard the associate’s hand clap from entrance. The Golkonda Fort was number one on my list of sights and it exceeded my wildest expectations.

A downside with seeing one of the very best attractions first is that the remaining attractions might be disappointing. Such was the case with the Qutub ShahiTombs. These are the tombs of the Qutub Shahi kings and are situated to the north of Goloconda. The tombs were built in Persian, Pathan, and Hindu architectural styles using gray granite with stucco ornamentation. They are said to be the oldest monuments in Hyderabad and the only tombs of their kind in the world where an entire dynasty has been buried at one place.

Upon arriving at the tombs and paying the entrance fees, I was met by a man at the entry gate who asked to see my ticket. After he scrutinized my ticket, he directed me toward the first of many tombs and told me that it was the tomb of Queen Hayat Bakshi Begum, and that the two smaller adjacent tombs belonged to a singer and a dancer who were very close to the Queen. At this point, I realized that this man was a tour guide and that there would not be any way to dismiss him as a guide. As we continued on to another tomb, he demanded that I give him 300 Rupees which he would give to the three women caretakers at the tomb – this was allegedly to help compensate them for their work at the tombs. In retrospect, I believe that he probably walked over and spoke with the women and then pocketed the money himself. At another tomb, he asked for another 100 Rupees for a male caretaker and settled for 50 Rupees which he gave to the man. He then said that his job was done and demanded an exorbitant fee for his service as a guide, which I rejected and subsequently gave him a much reduced amount. A word of advice is to specifically reject the services of a guide at most attractions unless you really want a guide. I continued to walk around among the tombs for a little while longer noticing that with the exception of one small garden area, most of the area containing the tombs was parched earth with largely neglected tomb structures.

After departing the tombs, my driver and the Ford Fiesta once again braved the endless Hyderabad traffic as we returned to the hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel, we once again embarked upon the extensive security procedures to gain admittance to the hotel. I finished my day by meeting with the concierge to schedule the Ford Fiesta and a driver at 7:30 am for a long side trip to Warangal the following day.

Warangal is a historic city located about 160 kms northeast of Hyderabad and is reportedly mentioned in Marco Polo’s travel diaries. Major attractions at Warangal include the Thousand Pillar Temple and the Warangal Fort. In addition, the village of Kolanupaka is located about 80 kms from Hyderabad along the road to Warangal and is home to the famous 2000 year old Jain Temple of Mahaveer and to the Kolanupaka Museum.

I met my driver at 7:30 am on Friday, April 10, for my side-trip to Warangal. Since we would have a long drive to Warangal in the Ford Fiesta, I decided to ride in the front seat with my driver. As soon as we entered the streets of Hyderabad, I realized that I would need to become accustomed to having the India traffic up close and personal – entrusting my personal safety entirely to my driver and the Ford Fiesta and becoming accustomed to spine-chilling-near-accident conditions. The map shows the road between Hyderabad and Warangal to be a major highway – it is mostly a two-lane road that is used as a three lane road by the drivers battling each other for positions in the traffic. The highway traffic was typical India where size matters – enormous overloaded trucks, buses, self-propelled combines, trucks, tractors and wagons, automobiles, auto rickshaws, motorcycles, motorbikes, bicycles, donkey carts, ox carts, bicycle rickshaws, hand-drawn rickshaws and carts, pedestrians, dogs, cattle, and goats. In addition, the police set up checkpoints along the highways where they randomly select vehicles to be stopped and searched – we were stopped and searched three times. We also passed three accidents during the side trip to Warangal.

We arrived at Warangal at 10:15 am and at the Thousand Pillar Temple at about 10:30 am It is said to be one of the finest examples of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture. The Thousand Pillar Temple was built in 1163 by Ruda Deva in the style of Chalukyan temples, star shaped and triple shrined. The three shrines are dedicated to Lord Shiva, and it is said to be one of the finest examples of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture. The one thousand carved pillars and a majestic monolithic black basalt Nandi bull are said to be unique to this temple.

Our next stop was at the ruins of the Warangal Fort which was completed in 1261 AD. As we approached the fort, we passed through four huge Sanchi-type gateways. This gateway was truly magnificent. Although most of the fort is in ruins, a section of the ruins contains delicate sculpture and stone work. I climbed up to the top of a large granite hill using steps that had been hewn out of the granite. The granite hill with several structures overlooked a beautiful lake and the entire area was occupied by the ruins of the fort. There were a few other areas of walls and temples remaining but, for me, the gateway and section with the delicate sculptures and motifs made the trip worthwhile. My driver accompanied me at most of the sites that we visited, and his presence seemed to prevent the local guides from approaching me.

We departed Warangal at about 12:30 pm and headed back toward Hyderabad to Kolanupaka to see the famous Jain temple and the Kolanupaka Museum. My driver was getting sleepy as we got closer to Kolanupaka and stopped several times to ask for directions. We finally arrived at the Jain temple and my driver got a short nap while I visited the temple complex. Kolanupaka was the second capital town of Kalyani Chalukyas during the 11th century AD. During that period, the village was the religious center of Jains and ranks among other great Jain centers in Southern India.

A twenty year long renovation of the 2,500 year old Sri Shwethambar Jain Tirth temple was recently completed. The renovation involved about 1,000 craftsmen, including stone cutters. No photography is allowed within the outer wall of the temple complex but the temple interior has marble inlays and sculptured marble that, in my opinion, rivals that of the Taj Mahal in Agra. In addition, the temple has beautifully carved statues of Tirthankaras. The temple complex is magnificent inside and out and should not be overlooked by tourists in the vicinity.

Since my driver did not know where the Kolanupaka Museum was located, I asked the people at the Jain temple complex for directions. Of course, I couldn’t understand what they were trying to tell me, so I woke up my driver and they told him how to get to the museum. It was not easy as it involved locating a small unmarked dirt road nearby which ultimately led us to the Hindu Someswara Temple where the State Department of Archaeology and Museums established a sculpture gallery. This museum is very well done and was well worth the time it took to find.

By now, my driver had gotten enough sleep to be able to continue on in the ever challenging traffic to our next stop – the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yaadagririgutta about 60 kms from Hyderabad. This temple complex is situated on top of the 300 meter high Yadagiri hill. We arrived about 40 minutes before the entrance to the temple was scheduled to open while a huge crowd of worshippers were waiting under large bamboo covered shaded areas. Since we were running short on time, I opted to walk around the outside of some of the temples and to take a few photos. We also opted to stop briefly at an attraction that appeared to be some type of amusement park that we had passed along the side road to the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. After taking a few photos we made our way through the ever-present traffic back to Hyderabad. After clearing the now very familiar security drills I entered the hotel at about 5:30 pm, a very worthwhile but exhausting ten hour day.

I slept in on Saturday morning and met my driver with the Ford Fiesta at 11:00 am to go to several local Hyderabad attractions. Our first stop was at Charminar which was built in 1591 by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah. It is a beautiful granite structure with four minaret towers in the four corners. It is situated within the old portion of the city of Hyderabad and is adjacent to the Mecca Masjid Mosque, which was constructed in 1694 and contains some bricks brought from Mecca. I climbed the stairs to the center level of Charminar and viewed the city from each of the four sides – Golkonda Fort was visible in the distance through the haze.

My next stop was at the Chowmahalla Palace – the seat of the Asafjahi dynasty built by Nawab Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II in 1780. The palace was huge and a movie set was being constructed in a courtyard in front of one of the large buildings in the center of the palace complex. There is a section of the palace that houses a collection of old automobiles dating from approximately 1906 to 1952. Other buildings have preserved furnishings, clothing wardrobes, and historical exhibits. As I entered the gate to the palace, a local guide approached me, but I turned him away telling him that I did not want or need a guide – I then explored the palace on my own.

We continued on to the Salar Jung Museum which has over 40,000 objects and 38 galleries. Cameras and mobile phones are not allowed inside the museum and people are searched as they enter. I wanted to take a look at some of the exhibits focusing on India and of the famous sculpture “Veiled Rebecca” – a delicate marble statue of a woman seen through her veil. I visited the galleries from India and located the “Veiled Rebecca” which is truly amazing. On the way out, I stopped at the museum store and purchased a DVD which purportedly contains images of entire museum collection.

Our next stop was to be at the Nizam’s Museum of which my driver was unaware. We located it on my tourist map and set out to find it. After asking directions and making several U-turns, we finally located the museum. Admission cost was 70 Rupees and I decided not to visit the museum after I realized that the photography charges were 50 Rupees per snap – an amount that I considered to be unconscionable.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Bira Mandir temple built in sculpted white marble on top of a hill near the Hussain Sugar Lake. After taking a couple of photographs, we returned to the hotel and the ever-present hotel security routines.

Since Sunday, April 12, was my last day at Hyderabad, I slept in and confirmed that my 6:00 pm late hotel checkout was still in place. I spent much of the day working on my travel notes and decided to take a 2:00 pm walk along Tank Bund to look at the 33 statues. I stopped at the concierge station to inquire about how many Rupees should be paid to an auto-rickshaw driver for a trip from the hotel to the far end of Tank Bund. I was told that a fair price would be about 20 to 30 Rupees and I decided that I would not pay one Rupee more than 30 Rupees. As I exited the hotel driveway, I was approached by an auto-rickshaw driver who requested 200 Rupees which I rejected out of hand and told him 30 Rupees maximum – his countered with 100 Rupees which I also rejected and continued walking. As I walked along Tank Bund I was approached by a second driver who wanted 100 Rupees – I continued walking and a third driver stopped and after some negotiation we settled on the 30 Rupee amount. As we drove along Tank Bund, he continued to try to entice me into going to additional places for 200 Rupees – when we arrived at the end of Tank B und, I exited the auto-rickshaw and gave the driver the 30 Rupees. I then walked back along Tank Bund in blistering hot weather, admired the monolithic Buddha statue in Hussain Sugar Lake, saw two boys riding a camel, and the 33 statues along Tank Bund – mission accomplished.

After clearing the hotel security system for probably the last time, I entered the hotel and the folks at the concierge desk asked me if I took an auto-rickshaw. They were flabbergasted that I was quoted 100 to 200 Rupees but were impressed that I stuck to the 30 Rupee figure that they had given me earlier. Keep in mind that foreigners visiting India are frequently targeted for highly inflated prices, and bargaining seems to be a way of life.

My last transaction with the hotel concierge was to book the Ford Fiesta and driver at 8:00 pm to take me to the airport to catch my overnight flight to Singapore and connecting flights to Bangkok and Phuket. When I departed the hotel, I was surprised to find a driver with a Toyota SUV instead of the familiar Ford Fiesta for my trip to the airport.

March 25, 2009
Portugal

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at the Lisbon International Airport during the afternoon of Friday, March 6 and procured a taxi voucher from the tourist office for transportation to our hotel. Our taxi driver was a well dressed man who spent a fair amount of time making sure that he knew how to get to our small hotel in downtown Lisbon. He escorted us out of the airport terminal and told us to wait by the curb while he got the taxi which turned out to be a very new Mercedes. During the ride to our hotel he tried to entice us into using him for future sightseeing in and around Lisbon – his argument was that while Lisbon public transportation was good, much time would be wasted using it to see the sights of Lisbon whereas he knew how best to see Lisbon and vicinity. I took his card, but remained determined to see Lisbon by walking and by using the public transportation system.

Lisbon is described as a city constructed on seven hills. During the ride to the hotel, I began to fully appreciate the steep hillsides and the very narrow winding cobblestone one-way streets. Our hotel was in downtown Lisbon and was situated near the very top of the hill which is normally accessed by the Lavra Funicular. Unfortunately, the Lavra Funicular was undergoing repairs and was not operating which meant that we had to walk up and down the very steep hill using the narrow cobblestone sidewalks along the very steep narrow winding streets to get downtown or to any of the nearest metro stations. An alternative route consisted of steep cobblestone stairs and narrow cobblestone sidewalks that were adjacent to the Lavra Funicular tracks. In addition to walking around the different neighborhoods of Lisbon, we got a lot of additional strenuous exercise coming to and going from our hotel.

It was dark outside by the time we checked into our hotel and we decided to explore the local neighborhood. The reception person at the hotel gave directions for getting to Rossio Square and some areas with restaurants for us to explore. In addition, she said that one of her favorite restaurants was a little neighborhood restaurant on the left side of the street down the hill from the hotel. We found the restaurant and some diners in the restaurant helped us to decipher the menu entrees – they said that the soup of the day is usually the vegetable course for Portuguese meals. After a very good and inexpensive dinner, we continued making our way down the winding streets to Rossio Square in the Baxia area of the city. The Baxia (lower quarter) is the hub of the of the city center and is a level area situated between the hilly Alfama area and the hills of the Barrio Alto and Chaido neighborhoods. We explored the immediate vicinity around Rossio Square before returning to our hotel. The climb back up the hill was our first endurance test of just how high up the very steep hill our hotel was located – the cobblestone pavements provided an additional challenge.

We obtained our three day public transportation passes Saturday morning and took the metro to the Santa Apolonia station which is connected to the Santa Apolonia train station. After we purchased our train tickets for our side trip to Coimbra, we went back to Rossio Square to begin our first day of sightseeing in Lisbon by walking to and exploring some of the Alfama area of the city. Much of the city of Lisbon was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 but the Alfama area and the Belem area escaped largely unscathed. The Alfama is hilly and is described as the birthplace of the city. The Alfama streets are very narrow, sometimes consisting of stairs from one level of the hill to another. With the help of some local people, we finally made our way through a myriad of small narrow cobblestone streets and stairs up the hill to the Castelo da Sao Jorge. The Castle of St. George is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Lisbon and we explored much of it. Upon leaving the castle, we continued making our way to a Tram 28 stop where we boarded the tram to go to the Monesterio da Sao Vincente de Fora. Tram 28 is one of the trolley lines in Lisbon and has a route that links several of the city’s historic districts. After a close encounter with a pickpocket on a very crowded Tram 28, we exited the tram and walked to the monastery. We continued past the monastery to the Church of St. Engracia which was designated as the National Pantheon in 1916. From the National Pantheon we continued down a number of winding streets until we once again arrived at the Santa Apolonia metro station. After a short metro ride and another climb up the hill, we arrived at our hotel for a late afternoon rest stop. That evening we once again descended to the downtown level area for dinner.

On Sunday morning we purchased train tickets and took a day trip to Belem which is a district west of Lisbon adjacent to the River Tagus. Belem may be best known for Torre de Belem (Belem Tower) and the Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument – both are must see attractions. The Belem Tower was built in 1515 as a fortress to guard the city and became a prison under Spanish control in 1550. The Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument is made in the shape of a caravela ship as used by the early Portuguese explorers during the 15th and 16th centuries. It has statues along both sides of the monument which depict explorers, royalty, mathematicians, writers, and artists. Both of these attractions are situated along the river front bank of the Tagus River. A statue of the Fairey III-B biplane “Santa Cruz,” which was flown across the Atlantic Ocean in 1922, is located in the park adjacent to the Belem Tower. Parco do Imperio is a park located across the main road and railroad tracks from the monument and tower. Adjacent to the park stands the Mosterio dos Jeronimos and the Museo National de Arqueologia. We visited both the archeological museum and the monastery – the cloisters in the monastery are exquisite.

After a short rest at our hotel we decided to once again ask the hotel receptionist for a neighborhood restaurant recommendation. I figured that we would stay in the neighborhood and didn’t bother to take my guidebook and map with me when we left the room. The receptionist recommended a restaurant in the Barrio Alto area and gave me a less than satisfactory tourist map with some sketchy directions. We headed down our hill to the Baxia and then up another hill to the Bario Alto neighborhood where I became disoriented on the winding streets – alas the map that I had lacked sufficient detail to figure out exactly where we were and which direction to go. We asked several local people and were given different directions by different people – it was reminiscent of our afternoon in Izmir, Turkey, when we were trying to find the archeological museum. I finally found a street name on the map which went in the correct direction and eventually we arrived at a park next to the Gloria Funicular which descended down to the Baxia at a location nearly opposite of the Lavra Funicular up to our hotel. This park and funicular were within a couple of blocks of the street where the restaurant was located – we finally arrived at our hotel after walking the hills of the Barrio Alto for well over an hour. The restaurant was nearly full and the food was very good but was considerably more expensive than we had been paying for meals – it was our night to splurge. After dinner we took the Gloria Funicular down to Baxia, then walked up the cobblestone sidewalks and stairs adjacent to the Lavra Funicular and continued to our hotel – a real short cut from the restaurant back to our hotel.

On Monday morning we took the metro to the Terreiro do Paco station adjacent to the Tagus river and began exploring the Baxia. We visited the Praca do Comercio, the Arco do Triunfo, and walked along Rua Augusta and several other Baxia streets. We took the Elevador de Santa Justa (Santa Justa Lift) up to the exit adjacent to the Convento do Carmo e Museo Arqueologica. We took this opportunity to visit the archeological museum within the convent which has the walls still standing after the earthquake but instead of reconstructing the roof, it was left as a reminder of the devastation caused by the earthquake – a most impressive sight. After visiting the museum, we returned to the elevator and back down to Baxia. We continued walking around Rossio Square and Praca da Figueira, a small square to the east of Rossio. Since we did not visit the Se (Cathedral) during our stroll through the Alfama on Saturday, we walked over to the cathedral and observed two interesting pipe organs in the cathedral. When we left the cathedral, we took Tram 28 to the end of the line at Martim Moniz square where we exited and then returned to the tram and rode it all the way to the other end of the line in the Barrio Alto at Campo Ourique – Tram 28 passes through several of Lisbon’s historical districts. Once again we boarded Tram 28 and rode it back to the Baxia-Chiado metro station entrance adjacent to Café de Brazileria. A statue of writer Hernando Pessoa seated at a table with an empty chair is located outside of the café and provides a place for tourists to sit with him at the table – of course, I also got my photo with Hernando at the table. After another short metro ride, and another climb up the hill, we took another late afternoon rest stop at our hotel before descending back to Baxia for dinner.

We checked out of our hotel on Tuesday morning, March 10, and took a taxi to the Santa Apolonia train station for our side trip north to Coimbra in central Portugal. We arrived in Coimbra in the early afternoon and were pleased that our hotel was in the downtown area adjacent to both the river and the old walled portion of the city. Coimbra is very hilly and has delightful narrow and winding cobblestone streets and sidewalks – access to most of the tourist attractions would require the now familiar strenuous hikes up the hills. It is also home to an ancient university which was built within the old walled portion of the city. We went to the nearby local tourist office to obtain a local map, tourist information, and specific instructions on how to go catch the bus to Conimbriga the following day – Conimbriga is home to Portugal’s most extensive excavated Roman ruins.

Armed with a Coimbra tourist map, we decided to explore portions of the old walled city. Our first stop was the medieval Torre de Anto (Anthony’s Tower), which was a gate as part of the 12th century city wall. The tower houses a small museum which provides a virtual tour of the old city wall together with a model of the old city and a museum at the top of the tower portraying aspects of the Jewish community prior to the Inquisitions at Coimbra. This museum documented the areas outside of the old city walls occupied by the Jewish community and the location of the Patio of the Inquisitions – the curator of the museum said that no Jewish community currently resides at Coimbra. We entered the old walled city through the arch at the tower and continued up the hill toward the university. We passed the Se Velha (Old Cathedral), walked among some of the university buildings, and visited the Museu Machado de Castro which is housed in an old Episcopal palace. The palace, which had been constructed over the City’s Roman forum, was the residence of Coimbra’s early bishops. The museum today is reconstructing portions of the old forum and is only partially open to the public amid the ongoing construction. That evening we explored the narrow downtown streets in the vicinity of our hotel and finally found a neighborhood restaurant tucked away in the maze of streets and walkways that had many patrons and very reasonably priced meals – our dinner was superb. We also returned to this restaurant the following evening for dinner.

We set the alarm clock on Wednesday morning to be certain that we would not miss our bus to Conimbriga and arrived at the bus stop in plenty of time. The fifteen kilometer bus trip to Coimbriga was a local bus with many stops along the way. On one occasion the bus driver encountered a parked automobile on a very narrow street and as he slowly approached the car, he reached out of his window to retract the mirror on the door of the car to obtain clearance as he passed the car. The last stop on the route was Museu Mongografico e Ruinas de Conimbriga. We spent the remainder of the morning exploring the museum and the archeological site. The Roman floor and pavement tiles at the site were exquisite.

Upon returning to Coimbra, we decided to walk through the old Jewish neighborhoods and to visit the patio of the Inquisitions. The neighborhoods were easy to locate on our tourist map, but locating the Patio of Inquisitions required the assistance of several local people. We decided to take a taxi to the university to visit the Patio das Escolas (Patio of the Schools) within the Universidade Vella (Old University). The Old University was founded in 1290 and transferred to the Royal Palace in Coimbra in 1537. Taking the taxi saved us a lot of time and provided us with the opportunity to visit the Patio of Schools.

People enter and exit the Patio of Schools through the Porta Ferrea, and we visited the Biblioteca Joanina which is reported to be one of the world’s most beautiful baroque libraries. The library was magnificent and was built in 1717 during the rein of King John V. Literature at the library detailed the measures used to protect the ancient books in the library including keeping bats in the library which feed at night on insects harmful to the books – the caretakers cover all of the tables at night and clean up after the bats each morning when they open the library. We also saw many Coimbra University students wearing black capes which, coupled with the university architecture, reminded us of the students in the Harry Potter movies. We also visited the Academic Prison; Capela do San Miguel (St. Michael’s Chapel); the Sala Grands dos Actos where degrees are conferred and ceremonies are held; and the Sala do Exame Room (Private Exam Room). Although it was getting late, we continued on to get a look at the Jardim Botanico (Botanical garden) adjacent to the university at the top of the hill and then walked the steep and winding narrow streets back downtown to our hotel – another full day.

On Thursday morning, I hiked across the Ponte de Santa Clara Bridge to visit a couple of places located across the river while Jan relaxed at our hotel. I hiked up the very steep hill to visit the Mosterio de Santa Clara-a-Novia (New Santa Clara Monastery) – it has an exquisite baroque interior. I returned down the hill to the Portugal dos Pequenitos, which is a large outdoor museum that depicts miniatures about the architecture and history of Portugal and includes small-scale reproductions of traditional Portugese houses and monuments. It is reported to be a favotite attraction of children and there were several groups with children there when I was present. I continued walking along the river and re-crossed via the Ponte Pedonal Pedro e Ines Bridge to return to the hotel. We then took the train back to Lisbon to overnight before continuing with another side trip to Sintra.

We took the train to Sintra and checked into our hotel in the heart of historic Sintra Vila at noon on Friday, March 13. We went to the tourist office and got information about the tourist bus schedule to the Moorish Castle and the Pena National Palace which are on top of two mountains overlooking Sintra – the buses were supposed to run every twenty minutes but were often much later. After lunch, we took the tourist bus up the narrow winding road to the stop near the top of the mountain for the Moorish Castle. We explored the Moorish Castle and then waited to re-board the next tourist bus. The next bus, filled with school children, did not stop, and we decided to walk on up another mountain to the bus stop for the Pena National Castle – needless to say there were many tourists who were very angry that two tourist buses had failed to stop for them. After we arrived at the Pena National Palace bus stop, we had to endure another strenuous hike up to the top of the mountain where the castle is situated. We explored the Pena National Palace and managed to catch the next bus which ended up being filled to capacity for our return to Sintra Vila. We took a late afternoon rest stop at our hotel and walked around the area looking for an inexpensive neighborhood restaurant for dinner – many restaurants in Sintra Vila are only open for lunch catering to day trip tourists from Lisbon. We walked back as far as the train station and failing to find any tempting neighborhood restaurant, we had a pizza in the train station.

We walked along a winding road to the Regaleria Palace and Gardens where we spent much of the morning and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the gardens. It was another beautiful another day with bright sunshine and we realized that we’d had bright sunshine every day in Portugal so far – we would end our trip with every day being a bright sunny day. We walked back to Sintra Vila and looked at several fountains, the clock tower, Sintra City Hall, the Sintra pillary, the Anjos Teixeira Museum and the Sintra toy museum. That evening we stumbled upon a small neighborhood restaurant with relatively inexpensive fixed-price menus and very good food.

We returned to Lisbon by train on Sunday, March 15, and when we checked into our Lisdbon hotel for the third time, we were greeted like old friends. We spent much of the afternoon walking from Rato to Barrio Alto neighborhoods, including a stroll through the Jardim Botanico (Botanical Gardens) which provided some welcome shade but which turned out to be nothing special. We returned to our hotel for another afternoon rest break and to try to decide what to do the following day – our last day in Lisbon. Since my tourist literature touted the Mercado da Riberia (also referred to as Mercado 24 de Julho) as a lively early morning (8:00 a.m. or earlier) must see meat, fish, fruit, vegetable, and flower market as being “ the very much the real Lisbon,” we decided to go there the next morning. That evening we returned to the little neighborhood restaurant down the street from our hotel for dinner.

We set the alarm clock and headed off to Mercado da Riberia arriving there about 7:30 a.m. As we entered the market, we were amazed that it was nearly empty. The building has a restaurant and bar upstairs and a local artisans market – both of which were not scheduled to open until 10:00 a.m. We went for a walk and got some breakfast at a small snack shop nearby and returned at around 8:30 a.m. to find no real change. We then walked to the Bica Funicular and rode it to the top of the hill where we visited the Miradouro de Santa Catarina viewpoint. We then took Tram 28 back down to Baxia and once again returned to the market. The market seemed to have even fewer sellers and the upstairs artisan shop failed to open on time. It turns out that this was once the thriving wholesale market which in recent years has become a retail market after a new wholesale market opened elsewhere. This market was our most disappointing visit during our trip to Portugal.

We then walked back along Rua Augusta where we shopped for some souvenirs at the small local retail stores. We continued on to Rato where we visited Parque des Amorias where a small portion of the city’s aqueduct towers above the park. We passed a synagogue, described as a rare find in Portugal, as we walked back to the metro station to continue to a popular all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant for lunch. After lunch we strolled back to our hotel for one last afternoon rest and prepared for a very early departure the following morning.

Our taxi picked us up at the hotel at 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, and took us to the airport to catch our flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and our additional connecting flights home.

See pictures from Portugal

February 28, 2009
Budapest

Travel Notes

I arrived at the Budapest International Airport during the afternoon of Friday, February 20and realized that nobody checked my passport upon entering Hungary since Hungary is now part of the European Union. While in the arrivals area of the airport terminal, I looked for an ATM to obtain some Hungarian Forinths but none was readily visible. I found an information counter and a lady informed me that the ATM was located in the far right corner of the terminal. I wandered toward the corner as she had directed me and as I arrived there I noticed a small area virtually out of sight from most of the arrivals terminal where an ATM was situated. I obtained my Hungarian Forinths and then set about to try to find out how to take the public transportation to my hotel in Budapest.

I went to a tourist information counter and a very helpful young man gave me a map, a tourist book in English, and printed instructions on how to take Bus 200E from the airport to the M3 subway station. He was just getting off work and escorted me to the bus stop where he helped me purchase my ticket from the vending machine and showed me where to meet the bus. I always appreciate receiving extraordinary help from friendly people when visiting other countries.

I rode the bus to the subway station and finally located the desk where I could purchase the three day public transportation ticket. The lady validated my 3-day ticket and I was now good to travel anywhere in Budapest for the duration of my weekend visit. As I entered the M3 subway car, I realized that it was probably Eastern European made during the occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union – it was a very basic subway car. My first stop would be the interchange terminal at Deak Ter (Deak Square) where I would transfer to the M1 subway. I finally made my way to the M1 subway and continued to the Kodaly Korond station which was a couple of blocks from my hotel. The M1 subway cars were more luxurious than the M2 and M3 subway cars. The M1 subway was actually the first underground railroad to be constructed in continental Europe and all of the M1 subway stations have been maintained and preserved in their 130-year-old original designs – what a treat to be able to journey on the M1 subway!

My hotel was close to the subway and the reception personnel were marvelous. They recommended a small Hungarian restaurant nearby and also suggested the downtown area in the vicinity of Vaci Utca (Vaci Street) as a place to walk around that evening. As fate would have it, snow flurries began as I departed the hotel and the small local restaurant was packed with no room for me. I walked to the subway and went downtown to explore the Vaci Utca neighborhood. The downtown area was beautiful at night, and the view of the Buda side of the Danube River was superb. There are many street scene statues all around the city of Budapest and I thoroughly enjoyed coming upon them as I walked around Budapest. After my exploratory walk in the continuing snow flurries and a fast food sandwich, I returned to my hotel for the evening.

The snow had stopped by morning and I took the M2 subway to the Moszkva Ter station near the top of the hill near the Buda Castle complex. Once I got my bearings after exiting the station, I walked along Ostrom Utca to the Buda Castle complex. The architecture at the Buda Castle is superb and includes the Mathais Church, Fishermen’s Bastion, the National Gallery, the Mathais Fountain, the Budapest History Museum, and many squares and statues. Although scaffolding obscured the main tower of the Mathais Church, and the visitor’s entrance was closed when I was there, the church exterior was magnificent. As I walked around the Mathais church, I observed a man sitting on a bench with a very large falcon and later saw him again at a statue behind the church at Fishermen’s Bastion. The sun had come out and I was being treated to a picture perfect day in Budapest.

Fishermen’s Bastion is a marvelous sight with flights of steps, terraces, a circular walkway, and seven turrets that resemble Magyar (Hungarian) tents. It offers superb views of the Danube and the surrounding area. I explored the castle complex and visited the Budapest History Museum before riding the funicular to Clark Ter at the bottom the hill at the entrance to the Chain Bridge. I walked across the Chain Bridge and then north along the west bank of the Danube toward Parliament. Before arriving at Parliament, I arrived at the monument erected in memory of the people that had been lined up along the river and then been killed by archers using crossbows during 1944-45. The monument consisted of two plaques in the sidewalk and sculptures of empty shoes along the concrete edge overlooking the Danube – a very somber monument. This monument was erected in April 2005 and did not show up in any of the Budapest tourist literature in my possession.

I continued north along the Danube and then walked around the Parliament building. The Parliament architecture is beautiful as were the surrounding grounds and statues. An eternal flame atop a black monument with the inscription 1956 is situated in front of Parliament at Kossuth Ter – another somber monument.

After exploring the area around Parliament, I walked south to the Basilica of St. Stephen which honors the 11^th century saint, King Stephen. It is the largest church in Budapest and took over fifty years to build. The interior is beautiful and holds the greatest reliquary of the Hungarian people, the mummified right hand of King St. Stephen. I continued walking south past the Dohany Street Synagogue which was closed on Saturday; onwards past the Hungarian National Museum to Kalvin Ter; circled around the museum through the neighborhood; and finally walked west along Rakoczi Ut to the Blaha Luzjza Ter M2 subway station. I returned to my hotel to take a nap for a couple of hours.

After my short nap, I went back to the Hungarian restaurant where I had been turned away the night before and this time there was ample space for me. I had a wonderful dinner consisting of a bowl of mushroom soup and paprika veal with dumplings. I then took the M1 subway to the Opera station and as I emerged from the station in front of the Opera House, the entire area was brightly illuminated, a large red carpet covered the sidewalk, many people among a large crowd of bystanders were waiting in a line to enter the building, and a there also appeared some ongoing police activity. I eased my way through the crowd and noticed a large concert in progress on a corner space across the street. I took a short walk through the neighborhood, made my way back to the subway station and then continued onward to downtown. I walked around the downtown area for about an hour and then returned to my hotel to plan my activities for the next day.

I had hoped to be able to visit the Memento Park (Statue Park) situated on the outskirts of Budapest but realized that I would not have time during my weekend visit. This park displays mementoes of the communist era and is advertised as “a powerful reminder of the fall of tyranny.” The park presents “a collection of public statues and memorials that were removed from the streets of Budapest after the collapse of socialism in 1989-90.” I am looking forward to visiting the park on a return visit to Budapest.

Sunday morning was another picture perfect morning and I returned to the Dohany Street Synagogue. It is the largest functioning synagogue in Europe and is described as the most beautiful in the world – it is the second largest in the world with the synagogue in New York City being the largest. The Dohany Street synagogue was constructed between 1854 and 1859. The construction of the synagogue is a unique oriental form with two slender minaret-like towers topped by onion domes and the interior somewhat resembles that of a Christian church. The synagogue has seating for 1,500 men on the ground floor and seating for 1,500 women in the galleries. There is an organ and choir installed above the ark and a Christian person is required to be hired to play the organ during the Jewish services. Because the Nazis placed a radio communications center in one of the minaret-like towers, the synagogue was heavily bombed during World War 2 (WW2). The restoration of the synagogue was not possible during the occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union, and the restoration of the synagogue was only recently completed. In addition, the synagogue houses a Jewish Museum; a mass burial graveyard from the ghetto days of WW2; a stainless steel tree sculpture with the names of missing Jews who were deported during WW2 and never returned; and a monument to Raoul Wallenberg and other people who helped to protect Jews during WW2.

After departing the synagogue, I explored Raday Utca which is reportedly one of the trendy streets for dining and nightlife in Budapest – it was mostly deserted on Sunday afternoon but I would like to explore it on a return trip to Budapest. I continued on by taking the subway to the City Park and Heroes’ Square. The City Park is adjacent to Heroes’ Square and contains the zoo, an amusement park, several museums, a lake, and open spaces. I walked through a small part of City Park and admired the architecture and watched as a large number of people were ice skating on a frozen outdoor skating area to music that was being played through loud speakers. I entered Heroes’ Square and was amazed by the monuments and the statues in the square – truly a sight not to be missed when visiting Budapest.

Since it was late in the afternoon, I went back to the Opera House and walked along a couple of streets nearby that were described in the tourist literature as having trendy restaurants before returning to my hotel. After a short nap, I decided to try the restaurant a few doors down from the hotel for dinner. I had the soup of the day which was quite tasty, the paprika beef with roast potatoes, and a cup of cappuccino for dessert – my last meal in Budapest.

I set a very early wake-up alarm for the following morning. It had begun snowing during the night and as I departed the hotel around 5:15 a.m., the snow on the sidewalks was nearly two inches deep. Fortunately I did not have far to carry my luggage to the now very familiar M1 subway station where I began my journey to the airport. After taking the M3 subway to the end of the line, I finally located the Bus 200E stop with the help of a nice Hungarian woman and continued onward to the airport. After checking in, I continued to the Lufthansa lounge where I ate some snacks for breakfast and waited for my flights to Frankfurt and home. The snow continued to fall the entire time that I was at the airport and I reflected on just how fortunate I had been to have gotten two picture perfect days for my winter weekend in Budapest.

See pictures from Budapest

January 29, 2009
Thailand

Travel Notes

I originally booked a trip to Singapore with the intent to continue with a side trip to either Mumbai or Hyderabad, India. I subsequently found that I could not make the trip to India work within my travel dates and ultimately decided to book a side trip to Thailand instead. Consequently, I booked one night at the Airport Transit Hotel at the Singapore International Airport for the night of my arrival at Singapore with an early morning flight to Bangkok the next morning and a connecting flight to Phuket.

I departed Los Angeles on the morning of January 6 on a flight to San Francisco connecting with the United Airlines flight to Tokyo and connecting onwards to Singapore. About halfway across the Pacific Ocean en route to Tokyo, the Captain made an announcement that, due to a passenger emergency, we were diverting to Anchorage, Alaska, where we would spend the night.

The diversion to Anchorage was quite a surprise, but I was able to make the most of it. The weather at Anchorage was on of the coldest days that they have had; when we diverted, the pilot said that the temperature was twenty degrees below zero – I at least had my Marmot nylon windbreaker/outer shell raincoat to wrap up in during the bus trips to/from the hotel provided by United. It was a God send for me that we diverted to a USA destination because my MCI phone card was a very low cost way to handle the total collapse of my reservations at Singapore, Bangkok, and Phuket. I was able to cancel my reservation at the Airport Transit Hotel in Singapore with no penalty. United took care of my Singapore to Bangkok reservation on Singapore Airlines so that I would not lose my return flight from Bangkok to Singapore on January 22 and booked me directly into Bangkok (BKK) on the following day. I also called the hotel in Phuket where I had prepaid room reservations for the first two nights at Phuket – the hotel was very nice and shifted my reservation from January 8-10 to January 9-11.

The only problem that I encountered was with my prepaid Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Phuket. I finally found a Thailand phone number for Air Asia on the Internet and when I called, the Air Asia reservations lady said that it would cost me 580 Thai Baht to change my reservation for the flight from BKK to Phuket (HKT) on January 8 that I would be missing. Then, when I told her that I wanted the early flight January 9, she told me that the company policy required that no schedule change could be made within 48 hours of departure and that I would need to purchase a new ticket for the flight to Phuket when I arrived at the Bangkok airport. I decided that I would not give any more money to Air Asia and I booked the early morning BKK-HKT flight on Thai Airways on the Internet from the hotel in Anchorage.

Back at the Anchorage International Terminal the following morning, nobody quite knew what the procedure would be for the throng of passengers milling around the lobby. Workers were attempting to repair the inner set of automatically operated entrance doors into the terminal but were unsuccessful and every time someone approached the automatic outer terminal doors, a huge blast of Arctic cold air swirled through the terminal lobby where we were situated. I was on one of the first buses to arrive from the hotels, and after sitting for about an hour, I was getting cold so I got up and walked over to the area where they passed out vouchers the night before and stood against the counter in hopes of getting a little warmer. Katlin, a young American lady who teaches English in Japan, suddenly said that “Larry has started queue for check-in.” It was unreal – suddenly everyone in the area began forming a line behind me, and the line was about two hundred people long. I met many interesting people during the diversion, including the passenger who was sitting next to the lady who had a stroke that caused the diversion and a radiologist from San Francisco who had come forward when United asked if there was a physician on board. Soon my line was instructed to proceed to the US Customs area and we were processed back into the boarding area for our flight continuation to Tokyo.

The flight to Tokyo was uneventful and my connecting flight to Bangkok proceeded on schedule. Since I arrived in Bangkok at midnight and my flight to Phuket departed at 7:30 am, I was contemplating just staying at the airport until check-in time for my Thai flight to Phuket. I was approached by a man in the lobby of the airport who offered me a room at a hotel about 5 minutes from the airport for 1500 Thai Baht, including transportation to and from the hotel. Since I was really tired, I took him up on the offer and was taken to an almost brand new hotel where I got a shower and a few hours of sleep before my wake-up call and return to the airport – what a good deal that was! After I checked into my Thai flight to Phuket, I had breakfast at the Thai airport lounge while waiting board my flight – all’s well that ends well.

I spent a couple of days unwinding at Patong Beach and called my friend Nhong, a lady who had been a guide on my three prior trips to Mu Ko Similan National Park. The Similan Islands are situated South of the Surin Islands in the Andaman Sea. Nhong said that she was currently still doing day trips to the Similan Islands with Thaplamu Andaman Tours and could arrange a trip for me to Mu Ko Similan. She also advised that the wind had been out of the North for several days which was producing strong waves which precluded snorkeling at some of the better snorkeling areas. I had Nhong book a four day, three night trip to Mu Ko Similan.

The trip to Mu Ko Similan ran like clockwork, and it was good to see Nhong again. I stayed in one of the air conditioned bungalows on the beach at Island 4. Since the strong winds continued from the North for three days, I took the opportunity to hike the two trails on Island 4 – the Sunset View Trail and the View Point Trail. These trails were well worth hiking and some of the scenery from the trails was spectacular. The Thai National Park Service runs the camping, bungalows, and restaurant operations at Island 4 and the camping and restaurant operations at Island 8. Although the food was quite good, some people, including me, became sick from one of the dishes that had been served at the restaurant the last night that I was on the island. I had to forego my last morning of snorkeling as I was fighting off being sick but had improved by the time we departed via the speedboat to return to the mainland. I was transported back to Patong where I spent several more days relaxing before returning to Bangkok.

I flew back to Bangkok on January 18 and spent several days sightseeing in the vicinity of Bangkok. I was intent on visiting the Tiger Temple north of Kanchanaburi and hired a car and driver for a day trip. We departed Bangkok and drove northeast from Bangkok via Route 338 to Route 4 to Route 323 to Kanchanaburi Province – an area lying adjacent to Burma. Since Route 323 follows the River Kwai northward, there are many tourist attractions in the area, including the famous River Kwai bridge. Jan & I had been at the bridge several years ago so I decided not to stop there during this trip. I decided to visit the Prasat Muang Sing Historical Park, the Tiger Temple, and a portion of the Death Railroad constructed by the Japanese during World War II that runs adjacent to Kra Sae Cave. I also wanted to include a visit to Hellfire Pass which is situated along Route 323 some distance north of the Tiger temple, but we did not have sufficient time to go there.

Our first stop was at Prasat Muang Sing Historical Park which is a Khmer temple complex and military outpost. The site is located on an elevated area high above the river Kwai. The temples were constructed during the Lopburi Period, 1157–1207. Muang Sing (City of Lions) marks the westernmost Cambodian advance of Cambodian power and provides testimony to their vast territorial claims. The Thai Government declared it a national historic park in 1987. There are two major temples that have been partially restored, a burial site and an exhibition hall. From here we continued on to the Tiger Temple.

The Tiger Temple is situated about 40 km north of the town of Kanchanaburi on Route 323. The Tiger Temple is part of the Wat Pa Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery and was established 1994. It has gained the reputation as a wildlife sanctuary. The first tiger cub arrived in the monastery in February 1999 seriously ill and subsequently died. Just a few weeks after the first cub died, two tiny healthy male cubs a few weeks old were intercepted from poachers and brought to the monastery. A few months later, local villagers presented another two male cubs. Soon the border police intercepted four female cubs held by poachers and contributed them to the monastery. As the years went by, the tigers grew up and started to reproduce. During 2003, the monastery set aside land and began construction of a large open air enclosure where each tiger would be given 1 rai of land. Today, the monastery is home to many different species of rescued animals including wild boars, deer, water buffalos, tigers, and a leopard.

Like most cat species, the tigers sleep through the heat of the day and become more active in the evenings when the temperatures cool off. All of the tigers have been hand-raised and imprinted to humans and therefore have no fear of people. The tigers have been regularly handled from a very early age and thus have become desensitized to being touched by people. This is why they are able to sleep while people sit next to them for photos. It was quite a thrill to be photographed with tigers sleeping with their heads on my lap. It also felt good to contribute donations to this monastery for all of the good work that they are doing to provide rescue facilities for so many animals.

Upon departing the Tiger Temple, we determined that we lacked sufficient time to continue north to Hellfire Pass, so we backtracked a short distance to visit a portion of the Death Railroad. The section of the railroad that we visited was adjacent to the River Kwai and passed alongside the entrance to the Kra Sae Cave. Presumably, most of this section of railroad contains much of the original trestle from the original Death railroad that was constructed by the Japanese during World War II using Allied prisoners of war. We parked at the Lumsum station, and I walked along the railroad over the trestle structure past the cave to the Thamkasae station and then walked back to the car. There were sections where the side of the mountain rock had been hewn away to make the access route for the tracks and it was a bit sobering to reflect back on the terrible work conditions endured by the workers. There are a number or prisoner of war cemeteries nearby for some of the Allied soldiers that perished during the construction of the railroad. From here we returned to Bangkok after a full day of sightseeing.

During my time in Bangkok, I decided to visit the Royal Barge Museum, which I had only seen from a distance while traveling on the Chao Phraya River. I was impressed by the number of barges that were in the museum including some remnants of barges that were damaged during the bombing of Bangkok by Allied forces during World War II. Some of the barges had gunpowder cannons installed in the figurehead portion of the bows and the intact barges were in immaculate condition.

I also returned to the Grand Palace, the Bangkok National Museum, and Wat Pho. It had been more than eighteen years since I had visited the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, and they were both more magnificent than I had remembered. The National Museum, which was free when I was there several years ago, now has an admission charge and houses the Royal Cremation Carriages.

The Royal Cremation for Princess Galyani Vadhana, an elder sister of King Bhumibol Adulyade, had been conducted during mid-November 2008 at the royal crematorium which had been erected in an open area near the Grand Palace. The royal crematorium had been specially constructed for the cremation and was in the process of being disassembled as we drove past the area on our way to the Grand Palace. The following web site link provides pictures and commentary on the royal cremation: In pictures: Royal Cremation Ceremony for Princess Galyani Vadhana - ThaiNewsLand - Thai News Review

I flew from Bangkok to Singapore and spent a couple of days enjoying the food before returning home on January 24 – the fish head curry at the Banana Leaf Apollo restaurant on Race Course Road was superb as always.

During the flights home, I upgraded to business class for the Tokyo to Los Angeles flight. On that flight, United Airlines Tokyo-based flight attendant, Katherine Frame, proved that it is actually possible to cook a marvelous filet mignon steak on a 747 airplane – thanks again, Katherine!

See pictures from this trip

Photos from the Europa

October 26, 2008
South America

Iguazu Falls
Travel Notes

I took an Aerolineas Argentina flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu on October 23. We were above heavy clouds for most for the flight and the clouds became broken as we got closer to Iguazu. A brief period of light sunshine peeked through the clouds as we approached Iguazu and the Iguazu Falls became visible on the right side of the airplane. The pilot made a circle so the passengers on the left side of the plane, including me, were able to take several aerial photos of falls illuminated by some sunshine.

Upon arrival at the Iguazu International Airport, I hired a taxi to drive me to my hotel, Hotel Carmen. Raul, the taxi driver, gave me some tourist literature to review as we proceeded to the hotel. My hotel was more than ten kilometers from the Parque Nacional Iguazu entrance (Iguazu National Park) and several kilometers from Puerto Iguazu. Since no other taxis were to be seen anywhere near to my hotel, I decided that I would be well advised to hire him while he was present.

After checking into the hotel, a few raindrops began to fall as I returned to the taxi, and Raul suggested that he take me to the Brazil side of the falls that afternoon and then to the Argentina side of the falls the following day. Although I had some concerns about Brazil visa requirements, I figured that Raul knew what he was doing as we headed off to Brazil. I gave Raul my passport and he cleared us out of Argentina and we headed into Brazil. As we crossed the Brazil border checkpoint, a Brazilian policeman stopped us and after a discussion with Raul, he requested my nationality and I gave him my passport. He spent time going through my passport and then had another long conversation with Raul. Raul explained that I would need to purchase a Brazil visa in the amount of one hundred twenty dollars US to continue onward. The cost of the visa for a three hour trip into Brazil was out of the question, and I instructed Raul to return to Argentina. Once again I gave my passport to Raul and he cleared us back into Argentina. The short trip into Brazil had consumed an extra hour and all that I had to show for it was a couple of additional Argentina stamps in my passport.

We continued back to the Argentina Parque Nacional Iguazu where I would spend the remainder of the day and Raul would meet me at the park entrance at seven p.m. I entered the park and decided to try to hike the Circuito Superior (upper circuit) and the Circuito Inferior (lower circuit) trails. I was informed by a park ranger that I should take the train and get off at the first stop to get to the circuit trails. The train is powered by natural gas and is considered to be a green train by the park. By the time I got to the first stop, the intensity of the rain had increased to heavy mist and light rain showers.

The Circuito Superior affords marvelous views of some of the northwestern portions of the falls from walkways along the side and across some portions of the falls. After I completed the Circuito Superior, I tackled most of the Circuito Inferior which affords marvelous views of some of the northwestern portions of the falls from trails and walkways at lower levels. After a brief period of very heavy rain, I hiked back to the train station and took the train back to the park entrance area where I got my admission ticket validated for a half price admission on the following day. As I waited for Raul, another driver approached me, asked if I was Mr. Larry, and introduced himself as a friend of Raul. He said that they were both employed by the same taxi company and that Raul had asked him to take me back to Hotel Carmen.

After a hot shower, I decided to check out the hotel restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a dinner buffet for twenty pesos plus beverage. Dinner was wonderful and I retired for the evening wondering what the weather would be like the following day. The sound of thunder had been non-stop from the time I arrived at Circuito Superior until well into the evening and we had extreme thunderstorms for several hours during the night. By morning, the storms had passed and after breakfast, I called Raul to take me back to the park.

I arrived at the park about 9:30 a.m. and took the train to the Estacion Garganta del Diablo where the eleven hundred kilometer catwalk takes people across the Upper Iguazu River out to the edge of Garganta del Diablo (the devil’s throat). This is the most spectacular portion of the Iguazu Falls. The river level was higher than normal and the views of the falls in the bright sunshine were fantastic. As I walked along the catwalk, remnants of prior catwalk constructions were evident and a portion of one earlier catwalk remained standing with a sign stating that the missing portion had been destroyed by a flood during 1992.

I returned by train to the central station where I exited to revisit Circuito Superior and Circuito Inferior while we had bright sunshine. This time, I also took the lower trail down to the boat docking area where passengers are ferried over to Isla San Martin (San Martin island). The ferry to the island was closed due to the high water level in the river and I was unable to go to the island.

I also decided to sign up for the Adventura Nautica (nautical adventure) offered by Safari y Adventuras. This is a boat ride on the river below the falls. The boat travels near the falls from the northwestern portion of the falls, including the San Martin Falls, around San Martin Island and part way into the Devil’s Throat Canyon portion of the falls. The boat ventures up into the heavy mist of the San Martin falls – the second most important of the Iguazu waterfalls. The tour operator provided dry bags for personal effects during the boat ride and I was glad that I had my watersport camera with me as we were being drenched by the sprays from the waterfalls. Although my raincoat offered some protection – my pants were soaked during the boat ride but had become dry by the time I returned to the park entrance.

Once again I was met by Raul’s friend who drove me back to my hotel. Another great buffet dinner at the hotel brought my final day at Iguazu to a perfect close. In the morning I will fly back to Buenos Aires to be positioned to travel to Montevideo, Uruguay on October 27 in order to meet up with the tall sailing ship, Europa.

Photos from Iguazu Falls

October 29, 2008
South America

Montevideo
Travel Notes

I took an Aerolineas Argentina flight from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay, on October 27. The flight arrived Montevideo at dusk and the taxi driver took the scenic coastline highway to the city center. It was dark by the time we arrived at my hotel and after checking in, I went two doors down the street to a restaurant/bar which the hotel recommended for dinner – I had a mixed salad and grilled chicken. After dinner I obtained a map from the hotel front desk and was pleased to learn that the hotel was situated very close to the Plaza Independencia, the old city section and the harbor area.

After breakfast, I set about exploring the old city sights and made my way to the harbor area where the Europa was docked. As I walked through the old city section, I was impressed by the large amount of trash that had accumulated along the streets. There were horse drawn carts loaded with refuse of all kinds. At first I thought that these people were collecting the garbage but it soon became obvious that they were sifting through the garbage for something of value to them. This is one way to recycle garbage, but it tends to result in a larger garbage mess by leaving the sifted garbage strewn behind. In general, I was unfavorably impressed by the garbage and litter nearly everywhere that I journeyed through the old city but the city has some beautiful architecture and plazas in spite of the litter.

I finally made my way to the tourist information center adjacent to the entrance to the harbor where I obtained some additional maps and brochures. The lady at the tourism office also pointed out the pedestrian entrance to the docks. I went to the dock entrance and after I presented my Europa boarding documentation and my passport, I was photographed and presented with my harbor area identification. I then continued into the harbor area to where the Europa was docked. The Europa looked magnificent in the mid-day sunshine and I talked briefly with two of the permanent crewmembers – I will bring my luggage to the Europa on the morning of October 30 and then return around 5 p.m. to join the rest of the crew for the voyage to Ushuaia.

The following day, I walked along the Ave 18 de Julio from the Plaza Independencia to El Oblisco. The walk was about two miles and there was much less litter along this street. There were large stores as well as local craft market areas and many small plazas with monuments. Beyond El Oblisco is Parque Battle which is a very large park with many sculptures present. After a brief stroll through a portion of the park, I decided to take a city bus back to Plaza Independencia and to spend the remainder of the day processing photos and writing a few notes on Montevideo. I am getting anxious for tomorrow to arrive so that I can rejoin the Europa for the ocean voyage to Ushuaia.

Photos from Montevideo

November 15, 2008
South America

Europa Travel Notes

I boarded the Europa at 4:30 p.m. on October 30 at Puerto de Montevideo and the Europa departed Montevideo during the early afternoon on October 31. The crew consisted of regular crewmembers and crew trainees like me. After shipboard indoctrination, we performed the abandon-ship drill – we suited up in our one-size-fits-all bright red cold water exposure suits and life vests which were stored above our bunks. After the drill, we repacked the suits and life vests and returned them to their location above our bunks where they remained for the duration of our voyage. These exposure suits and life vests had been added to the Europa this year. We also received climbing instruction and were fitted with climbing harnesses – these harnesses were much improved from the harnesses that we used during my 2007 voyage.

An improved environmental control system had been installed during the extensive refit program this summer at Cape Town – this resulted in much improved cabin air and moisture quality. New shower drains and associated plumbing which had also been installed during the refit program, resulted in dramatically improved showers aboard the ship. In addition, enhanced navigation equipment including a navigation map display panel had been added in the wheelhouse since my 2007 voyage. It was nice to be able to view the ships current location by a glance at the map display.

The crew trainees were divided into four watch teams – Red, White, Blue, and Day. I was assigned to the Blue watch team. The Red, White, and Blue watch teams were assigned watch schedules covering twenty four hours per day. The watch duties consisted of stationing two people on the forward bow deck as lookouts and having one person steering the ship from the helm. In addition, any available crew trainees were requested to assist the regular crew with configuring the sails during the voyage. Crew trainees also assisted in maintenance tasks which included sail repair, sail removal and installation, main deck table repair, and carpentry. The Day watch team initially had no specific watch duty assignments.

The initial rotation schedule for the Blue watch was as follows:

November 1 – midnight to 4 a.m.
November 1 – noon to 2 p.m.
November 1 – 8 p.m. to midnight
November 2 – 8 a.m. to noon
November 2 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
November 3 – 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.
November 4 – midnight to 4 a.m.
November 4 – noon to 2 p.m.
November 4 – 8 p.m. to midnight

The watch system was revised on November 5 to add the Day watch team to cover the watch duties from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily with the Red, White, and Blue watch teams covering the 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. watch duties. Under the revised watch system, the Blue watch schedule was as follows:

November 5 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
November 6 – midnight to 4 a.m.
November 6 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
November 7 – 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.
November 8 – 8 p.m. to midnight
November 8 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Blue watch continued to repeat the above schedule for the remainder of the voyage. The final Blue watch was on November 12 from midnight to 4 a.m.

The weather during our Blue watches was generally relatively warm with some beautiful star filled nights and magnificent sunsets, sunrises, and moonsets. It was a treat once again to be able to see the Southern Cross with the two pointing stars and to try to estimate our heading before confirming the course with the ship’s compass. Our first cold watch with some misty rain occurred during the night watch on November 1 and the weather turned progressively colder as we continued south. The two forward lookouts were pulled back to the poop deck when the sea sprayed over the forward bow deck, and on one occasion the weather and waves required all persons on deck to wear safety harnesses. The final Blue watch occurred as we approached the entrance to the Canal Beagle and was bitter cold as we sailed into the cold headwind under the power of the two diesel engines – it reminded me of some of the many cold watches that I participated during my 2007 voyage from Ushuaia to Cape Town on the Europa.

We were fortunate to have generally favorable winds for the voyage from Montevideo to Ushuaia which allowed us to sail without the assistance of the engines for most of the journey. During the voyage we saw whales, dolphins, seals, Magellan penguins, and numerous birds including Cape Petrels, Giant Petrels, Black Browed Albatrosses, Wandering Albatrosses, Antarctic Terns, Royal Cormorants, and a Fork Tail Fly Catcher. A Cuckoo bird which had apparently been blown out to sea, landed on the ship but was unable to survive.

The sea became more turbulent after we left the Brazilian current and entered the Falkland current – this made the sailing more exciting for me. The times when we encountered strong winds accompanied by large waves, added to the thrill of sailing on the Europa. After the Europa passed through the Estrecho de Le Mare, the channel between the mainland and Isla de Los Estados, we furled the sails for the last time and continued under the power of the two 360 hp Caterpillar diesel engines toward the entrance of Canal Beagle where we dropped anchor to await the arrival of the pilot to continue on to Ushuaia. The pilot arrived at approximately 7:20 a.m. on the morning of November 13 and we arrived Ushuaia in the mid-afternoon. During our approach to Ushuaia we were greeted by strong winds and brief snow flurries to remind us that the weather here changes continually.

It took about one hour to clear Argentinean immigration and we were free to leave the ship to explore Ushuaia. I took this opportunity to go to the Laguna Negrea Chocolates store to enjoy a cappuccino grande. I also phoned the Kaupe restaurant to make a dinner reservation for the following evening – Kaupe is one of my favorite restaurants in Argentina, and I always look forward to dining there. After deleting over 90 irrelevant E-mails at an Internet café, I returned to the Europa for the final Captain’s dinner and spent my last night aboard ship.

I disembarked from the Europa during the morning of November 14 and took a taxi to my hotel. After washing a few shirts, I wandered about through downtown Ushuaia. Dinner at Kaupe on November 14 was once again marvelous – I had the King Crab and spinach chowder, the King Crab Kaupe main course, ice cream with chocolate sauce, and a cappuccino.

During my last visit to Ushuaia, I observed a portion of the harbor frontage being filled in for development which turned out to be for construction of a large parking lot adjacent to the harbor – the quantity of automobiles continues to increase in Ushuaia. Even as tourism continues to increase, the city of Ushuaia still remains charming.

November 20, 2008
South America

El Calafate
Travel Notes

I took an Aerolineas Argentina flight from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay, on November 16. The flight arrived at El Calafate about mid-afternoon at the relatively new El Calafate International Airport. The airport is situated adjacent to Lago Argentino and is approximately twenty seven kilometers from the town. Lago Argentino is the largest lake in Argentina and covers an area of approximately 1,466 square kilometers with an average depth of 150 meters. I was impressed by how desert-like the area was during the taxi ride from the airport into town. As we approached the town of El Calafate, the road abruptly turned into an abandoned airport runway and my hotel was located immediately adjacent to Runway 05 – until just recently, this was the El Calafate airport.

After discussing many different tourist attraction options with the lady at the front desk of my hotel, I booked two glacier tours for my two days there – the Perito Moreno tour for November 17 and the Glacier Upsala boat tour for November 18. I then decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring El Calafate which is also situated adjacent to Lago Argentino.

The weather was very warm compared to Ushuaia, and the Lago Argentino was bright blue-green in the sunshine. Although my hotel was within walking distance to the city center, the trek into town included some gravel/dirt roads. Quite a few of the streets in El Calafate are gravel/dirt which adds lots of dust in the town. The main street was picturesque with trees down the center of the street as well as trees along one side of the street. There are shops all along the street that provide restaurants, shops, and a casino for the throngs of tourists that support the economy. After returning to the hotel, the receptionist at the front desk gave me my vouchers for the Perito Moreno tour and glacier boat ride for the following morning.

After breakfast on November 17, my driver/tour guide picked me up at my hotel in a minivan with some additional passengers, and we started out to the Glaciar Puerto Moreno which was about 80 km from El Calafate. He gave a very good guided tour in both Spanish and English. He explained that the Round Bay adjacent to El Calafate is cut off from the lake this time of year and provides a nesting ground for a variety of birds including Flamingos, Black Faced Ibis, geese, and several varieties of ducks. He said that Round Bay is the only part of the lake that freezes during the winter when it becomes a large ice skating rink. The lake water level will again be high in February as the summer glacial melt refills the lake and Round Bay will once again become connected to the lake. At one stop near town to get a good view of the lake, we saw Crested Cara Cara birds sitting on fence posts.

As we continued toward the glacier, he pointed out that the climate becomes more humid as we get closer to the Andes – much greener vegetation and trees. He also said we were very lucky to get such good weather where we could see the Andes off in the distance from El Calafate – the weather for several previous days had been cloudy with some rain near the glaciers. We also saw a Condor soaring at a low altitude above and in front of us – as our guide stopped the minivan for people to get a better look, it soared away into the distance. We took the road toward the south face of the Perito Moreno glacier and paid the Los Glaciares National Park entrance fees.

El Glaciar Perito Moreno is the most famous glacier in the national park. It is 30 km long and has a surface area of 195 square km. The front of the glacier extends approximately 4 to 5 km and rises approximately 60 meters above the lake water – the front also extends nearly 180 meters below the surface of the lake. Our guide said that there were several reasons that it is the most famous including the fact that it periodically collides with Peninsula Magallanes and forms a dam which separates two portions of Lago Argentino. The intersection of the glacier with the peninsula also forms North and South faces of the glacier. Over a period of years the water level in the lake on the south side of the glacier rises due to the dam and the water pressure on the dam increases. Finally the glacial dam “explodes” as the water destroys the dam. Tourists flock to the glacier in hopes of seeing magnificent glacier calving or the random periodic “explosions.” The park service had constructed several kilometers of pathways with wooden railings and viewing platforms along the face of Peninsula Magallanes for the tourists to view the glacier. The old pathways are being replaced with galvanized steel catwalks with beautiful varnished wooden railings – this is the first season that the new catwalks are being used. Our guide said that the new catwalks provide views that are superior to the old pathways and that the grated floors are much less slippery than the old pathways.

As we drove along the Brazo Rico channel of Lago Argentino, we stopped at a view point to have a look at the glacier before continuing on to the boat dock for close-up viewing of the South` face of the glacier. Our guide asked how many people wanted to take the 11:30 a.m. boat to the South face of the glacier and he made the reservations. During this stop, I showed my boat voucher to my guide and he said that I should give it to the person at the ticket booth. He dropped us off and said that he would return at 12:30 p.m. to pick us up. When I presented my boat voucher to the person in the ticket booth, I was told that it was not good for their boats. A man from Madrid named Paco came to my rescue and translated that the voucher was for another boat travel company. Since my guide had already departed, I purchased the required ticket and took the boat to the South face of the glacier. I soon became friends with Paco, his wife Berta, and two of their friends.

Our guide returned at 12:30 and was very apologetic about not paying proper attention to my boat voucher and promised a refund to me. It turned out that his mistake worked in my favor as my voucher was for a boat ride along the North face of the glacier – the North face of the glacier was also included as part of the extensive boat trip that I had booked for the following day. We continued to the Peninsula Magallanes viewing area where we had an hour and a half to navigate the several kilometers of catwalks to see spectacular views of El Glacier Perito Moreno and to see spectacular glacier calving several times.

During the afternoon, the sky was clear and the sunshine illuminated the glacier with white and deep blue colors. We headed back to El Calafate after a picture perfect tour and spotted a Black Crested Buzzard-eagle, some Flamingos, and some Black Face Ibis.

The following day, I was picked up at my hotel by a big bus for the journey to Punta Bandera to board a boat for the Glaciar Upsala tour – the guide checked my boat ticket as I boarded the bus and confirmed that it was correct. To my surprise, Paco and Berta boarded the bus at the next stop. Instead of bright sunshine, the weather today was overcast with some occasional small breaks in the clouds and the Andes were not visible in the distance. During the ride to Punta Bandera, the guide informed us that the iceberg ice pack had been so heavy that the boats had not been able to go up the Brazo Upsala channel to the Upsala glacier for several days and that the boat captain would make a judgment call as we approached the channel. She also said that our boat ticket had a number from 1 to 4 corresponding to the boat to which we were assigned. My ticket was for boat number 3 – Paco and Berta also were on boat 3. Boat number 3 was the Catamaran ”Chonek” and was the same kind of boat as the Catamaran “Upsala Connection.” We paid the national park fees and then located the cue for boat number 3.

We boarded the “Chonek” and headed across Lago Argentina and up the Brazo Norte channel toward Brazo Upsala. We began encountering icebergs of increasing size as we neared the entrance to Brazo Upsala. We followed the Catamaran “Quo Vadis” into the Brazo Upsala channel and inched our way among the icebergs until we cleared the ice pack and continued on the El Glaciar Upsala – it was a real thrill to actually make it through the ice to the glacier. The Upsala glacier has the largest surface among the Patagonian continental ice. It has a surface of 595 square kilometers and a length of 60 km. The width of the front is between 5 and 7 km and the height of the walls fluctuated between 60 to 80 meters – the depth of the lake in front of the glacier is about 1000 meters.

Our next scheduled visit was to Ornelli Bay but the Brazo Ornelli channel was blocked by the iceberg ice pack. We continued up the Brazo Spegazzini channel to El Glaciar Spegazzzini the tallest glacier in the national park. It has a surface of 66 square kilometers and a length of 25 km. The width of its front is 1.5 km and the height of its front measures 80 to 125 meters in its highest point.

After the Spegazzina glacier, we backtracked through Brazo Norte and continued on to Canal de los Tempanos to the North face of the El Glacier Perito Moreno. We got a brief moment of sunshine at Perito Moreno. After sailing along the North face of the glacier, we returned to Punta Bandera and ended a wonderful boat excursion among the glaciers thankful that we had made it through to the Upsala glacier. During the bus tip back to El Calafate, I observed a man on horseback with his dog riding on an Argentina ranch. Tomorrow will be another travel day from El Calafate to Buenos Aires with a free day before returning home.

Photos from El Calafate

See all photos from this trip

May 12, 2008
London

Travel Notes

The last time I visited London was during January 2006 for a long weekend. With limited time available, I booked an all-day tour that included Runnymead, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, the Cotswalds, and Bath. The tour bus had very few people aboard and we had a lady tour guide who was fantastic – she kept us all alert with her charming stories based upon her extensive knowledge of English history. After the tour, while they were taking me back to my hotel, she said her name was Berdette or Bernadette; that she was a librarian; and that her library would soon move to new facilities on Kilburn High Road near my hotel. She said that not many tourists stayed in the neighborhood and recommended a nearby restaurant. Following her instructions, I walked passed many small, nearly deserted restaurants arriving at her recommended restaurant which was packed with people. The food was delicious and relatively inexpensive.

After I booked another long weekend trip to London during May 2008, I decided to try to look up Berdette to say “Hello” and to see if she was still guiding weekend day tours. I located the address of the new Kilburn Library and Community Facilities on the Internet.

Once I arrived at London Heathrow, I purchased a day pass for underground and took the train to my hotel in Fitzroy. After checking into my hotel, I took a quick walk through the neighborhood and then I headed off to buy a local London SIM card for my mobile phone and to find the Kilburn High Library.

I arrived at the Kilburn High Library and a nice gentleman greeted me at the reception desk. As I was describing the lady tour guide with her vast knowledge of English history, he said that he knew who I was talking about, that her name was Berdette, and that she had died about a year ago from cancer. I was totally unprepared for that news and thanked him for his assistance. As I left the library, I decided to see if the restaurant was in business. It is called “Little Bay” and it was packed with local people – my late lunch was delicious.

Since I had never been inside Westminster Abbey, I went there on Saturday morning. After waiting my turn to purchase admission tickets, I decided to take the “Verger Guided Tour” of the Abbey. There were seven people signed up for my Verger tour and two additional people joined us at the first stop. The Verger tour provided access to areas that are not open to the public, and I thought the tour was very well done. After the Verger tour, I went back through the Abbey to spend some more time soaking up the history. Photographs are prohibited within the Abbey proper but are permitted in the Cloisters, Chapter House, and St. Margaret’s Church. The oldest door in Britain is situated in the vestibule of the Chapter House, and Chapter House is magnificent with wall paintings, stained glass, and mosaic floor tiles. As I left Westminster Abbey to visit St, Margaret’s Church, I found that admission to the church ended several minutes earlier – I guess I will need another visit to London to enter St. Margaret’s Church.

I continued on to the Wellington Arch and to the Marble Arch. Both of these arches were constructed between 1826 and 1830 to commemorate Britain’s victories over Napoleonic France. They were originally conceived as grand entrances to Buckingham Palace and were subsequently disassembled and relocated to their present locations.

On Sunday morning, I went to the British Museum and spent quite a bit of time re-exploring the antiquities section. I was interested to note that the English collection contained considerably more Greek antiquities than antiquities from Turkey. It was interesting to find many Greek statues from around 500 BC that came from the ancient city of Didyma in Turkey – they once resided along a section of the ancient road that I visited in Didyma in March 2008.

After exploring the British Museum for several hours, I went to the London Wall near the Tower Underground Station. The London Wall was built by the Romans as a defensive wall around “Londinium,” a strategically important Roman town on the River Tames. A statue of Trajan has been erected in front of a section of the wall that still remains today.

The weather had been beautiful from Friday through Sunday and I headed out to Heathrow on Monday morning for my flight home.

See pictures from London

April 25, 2008
Thailand

Travel Notes

Prior to departing for Thailand, I sent an E-mail to my friend Thanya, a lady who I have known for many years, advising of my travel to Thailand. I told her that I was hoping to return to the Mu Ko Surin National Park which consists of the Surin Islands. The Surin Islands are situated in the Andaman Sea to the West of Kuraburi Town and are the Northern-most islands in the Andaman Sea that belong to Thailand. Thanya replied that she had contacted Greenview Travel, that she could arrange a trip to Mu Ko Surin, and provided her new mobile phone number. She also said that she could arrange for accommodations at Patong Beach, Phuket. Since I was having difficulty trying to book a hotel in Phuket and booking a reasonably-priced flight to Phuket, I had booked two nights at Bangkok in order to have a free day to make additional travel arrangements after arriving at Bangkok. When I initially booked the trip back in January, I didn’t realize that I was arriving in the middle of the Songkran Festival, a big Thailand New Year national holiday. Songkran was the reason that it was nearly impossible to book last minute reasonably-priced hotel reservations at Phuket via the Internet.

My flight from Tokyo Narita to Bangkok was delayed for nearly three hours due to a mechanical problem with the airplane – this put me into Bangkok at about 2:00 am on April 9th. After clearing customs and taking a taxi to my hotel, it was nearly 3:30 am when I checked into my hotel. After breakfast at the hotel, I booked a flight to Phuket for the following day through the hotel travel agency – nearly all of the flights from Bangkok to Phuket were sold out. Once I had my flight to Phuket booked, I called Thanya and requested that she find me a hotel at Patong Beach for two nights, reserve a bungalow at Kuraburi Town for one night, and book a five day/four night trip to Mu Ko Surin through Greenview Travel. She called back a little later and told me that she had arranged for a car to meet me at Phuket Airport and take me to a hotel in Patong Beach and that she had reserved the trip with Greenview to Mu Ko Surin.

The following day, I caught my flight to Phuket and as I exited the terminal, I saw a lady holding a sign "LARR" – my car and driver were right on schedule. The lady’s name was Sud and she has a taxi service in Phuket. On the way to Patong Beach, she stopped at a travel agency where I booked my hotel accommodations for the next two nights at Patong Beach. Patong Beach was packed with tourists and folks celebrating the Songkran Festival from April 13th to 15th. In addition, Phuket Bike Week from April 10th to 13th is timed to coincide with Songkran festivities and bikers from all over Thailand converge on Phuket – of course there were many motorcycles and bikers at Patong Beach when I arrived. Still jet-lagged, I spent another day resting and relaxing before my journey North to Kuraburi Town on April 12th. As I sat down at an Internet café at Patong Beach, I tore my right pant leg, and since I travel light, I had a lady in a tailor shop next to my hotel mend the rip so that I could wear them to Mu Ko Surin. Prior to leaving Patong Beach, I called an old mobile number for my friend Nhong, a lady who had been a guide on my two prior trips to Mu Ko Similan National Park. The Similan Islands are situated South of the Surin Islands in the Andaman Sea. Nhong answered my call and said that she was currently doing day trips to the Similan Islands with Thaplamu Andaman Tours and could arrange a trip for me to Mu Ko Similan after my trip to Mu Ko Surin. Since I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to go to Phi Phi Island or to Mu Ko Similan this trip, I told her that I would figure out at my schedule and call her back. Later that evening, I decided to try to go to Mu Ko Similan for three days/two nights and to skip going back to Phi Phi Island during this trip.

I had originally planned to have Sud drive me to Phuket Town to catch a bus to Kuraburi Town where Thanya would have a driver meet the bus to take me to my bungalow – Greenview would then pick me up early morning on April 13th. When Sud picked me up at my hotel, I decided to hire her to drive me to Kuraburi Town. I advised Thanya that Sud was driving me to Kuraburi – Thanya provided Sud with the name and address where she had made a room reservation for me. The drive to Kuraburi took several hours and we arrived at a new bed & breakfast situated outside of the town which had a room reserved for me – the resort was so new that the restaurant was not yet open. Since the restaurant was not open, the rate for the bungalow did not include breakfast. There was a local restaurant open a couple of doors down the road where I had lunch and since the sign indicated that they opened at 6:30 am, I planned to also get breakfast there in the morning. Later in the afternoon, I called Nhong and asked her to please make a reservation for a bungalow at Khao Lak for the evening of April 17th and that I would like to book a three day/two night trip to Mu Ko Similan departing on the 18th.

In the morning, I packed for the trip to Mu Ko Surin and as I walked toward the local restaurant for breakfast, I realized that it was not open. Somewhat disappointed, I went back to my room to wait for Greenview to pick me up. In a little while, to my surprise, there was a knock at my door and a lady appeared with a tray bearing breakfast for me. She said that the cost was 70 Bhat which I considered to be most reasonable.

Greenview arrived and took me to the pier at Kuraburi where I had hoped to see Thanya – she was not there and we only communicated by mobile phone. I left some of my luggage at the Grenview office and only took a small backpack and a dry-bag containing my snorkeling equipment with me to the islands. We went by speedboat out to the Mu Ko Surin where I camped on the beach in a Thailand National Park tent with a sleeping bag and foam rubber ground mat rented from the park service. My first tent had a large rip in the netting across the bottom of one side at the front entrance flap so I packed my gear next to the ripped area. The following day, I relocated to a blue tent further down the beach in an area near to where my tent had been two years ago. Both tents faced the beach and the view from each of the tents was superb.

The monsoon season produces very rough seas and the Surin Islands are only open to tourists from mid-November to mid-May. The only full-time inhabitants are a village of sea gypsies who prefer to be called "Moken" people. The original Moken village was destroyed by the December 2004 Tsunami and the new Moken village has been rebuilt near the site of the original village.

Since Mu Ko Surin is a very popular destination for Thai people and is especially popular with folks from Bangkok as a Songkran Festival destination, the campgrounds were packed with tents and tourists. Fortunately for me, my Greenview package ensured that I would be able to do morning and afternoon snorkeling trips every day that I was there. Most overnight trips to Mu Ko Surin are for three days/two nights and since my trip was for five days/four nights, I got the opportunity to meet several Thai families arriving and departing while I was there. I enjoyed spending some time with a family from Bangkok – Kitty, Oh and their son Sai. After my second night, most of the Bangkok folks celebrating Songkran departed and more that half of the campground tents vanished. The park was much less crowded for the remainder of my visit and was pure paradise with gorgeous coral and beautiful fishes. My watersport camera sprung a leak during the third day at Mu Ko Surin and stopped working – the memory card survived the leak, but I could no longer take underwater photos while snorkeling.

After returning to the pier at Kuraburi, Greenview transferred me to my bungalow at Khao Lak. In the morning, I was picked up at my bungalow by Thaplamu Andaman Tours and taken to the pier where I was personally greeted by Nhong. It was great to see her again. Her day trips to the Similan Islands are very well organized and are very well run – she has a special talent for running snorkeling trips. We snorkeled at Island 9, stopped at the picturesque Donald Duck beach at Island 8, snorkeled along the back side of Island 8, and had lunch at Island 4. After lunch, I moved into a National Park bungalow on Island 4. The bungalow had a screened ceiling area with several holes in the screen, a fairly large gap under the door and a hole in the floor for the shower water to drain through. Sometime either during the second day or second night, some critter ate a hole about 3/8 inch in diameter through the left leg of my pants as they hung on the wall of the bungalow – sure was glad that they were the pants that were mended in Patong Beach and not my other good pair of pants.

During the next two days, I had marvelous snorkeling at the back sides of Islands 7, 8 & 9; the southern end of Island 7; and the southwestern end of Island 4. I met Golf and Yok, a couple from Bangkok, during an afternoon snorkeling trip – the three of us were in a small boat operated by the National Park Service and the snorkeling was superb. In addition, Jurgen & Sabina from southern Germany came to the islands on the same speedboat as me, also stayed two nights and we all returned to the mainland on Nhong’s speedboat on the 20th.

To my surprise, my mobile phone worked at both Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Similan. I called Sud and arranged for her to meet me at the pier to drive me back to Patong Beach on the 20th. Of course, she stopped at the same travel agency on the way to Patong and I made a hotel reservation for the next three nights. After arriving back at Patong, I returned to the tailor shop and had the lady mend the hole from the Similan Islands – now I have a pair of pants with patches for my next island overnight trip. Since everything that I had taken to the islands ended up damp, I spent the next couple of days at Patong washing clothes, rinsing off and drying out damp equipment, working on photos, reflecting on my eight days of snorkeling at the islands, and re-packing for the return to Bangkok and home.

March 16, 2008
Turkey

Travel Notes

Jan and I arrived at Istanbul, Turkey on the afternoon of March 8. Our hotel was in Sultanahmet, the old part of the city. We took a short walk past the Blue Mosque, through the Hippodrome and past the Aya Sofya before finding a nice small restaurant for dinner. The following morning we visited the Blue Mosque, the Archaeological Museums and the Topkapi Palace. The Archeological Museum had some exquisite pieces from some of the ancient city archaeological sites on our itinerary for this trip. The highlight of the Topkapi Palace was the Treasures of Islam museum section which included the sword of the Prophet David, the rod of the Prophet Moses, the cup of the Prophet Abraham, the forearm and a portion of the skull of the Prophet John the Babtist, soil from Medina, and a tooth and hairs of the beard from the Prophet Mohammed.

We took an early morning flight to Izmir on March 10 and rented a car. After finally finding the correct highway out of Izmir, we drove East to the archeological site of Sardis. Sardis is the site of one of the seven churches of the old Roman province of Asia that are mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible – the other six churches were located at Smyrna (present-day Izmir), Ephesus, Laodicea, Pergamum (present-day Bergama), Thyaeria (present-day Akhisar) and Philadelphia (present-day Alasehir). The site is scattered around on both sides of the highway and we had to purchase entry tickets on both sides of the road. Our first stop was to visit the site of the Temple of Artemis which also had a small Byzantine church portion at the rear of the temple. Portions of the old Lydian City wall were evident at various places. Highlights of the site on the other side of the road included a Roman road, a well-preserved Byzantine latrine, a swimming pool, a “hava” (synagogue) restored by contributions from the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, and a marvelous two-story building called the “Marble Court of the Hall of the Imperial Cult.”

We continued driving southwest to Pamukkale. We stayed at the Venus Hotel in Pamukkale Town and were greeted by Abraham who is the son of the owners. Abraham made our stay at the hotel special – including home-cooked Turkish meals cooked by his mother. He recommended that we visit the archeological site of Laodicae that first afternoon – the site of another of the seven churches. Laodicea had some impressive ruins that included an Agora, a Basillica Church, two theaters, and a Roman street. Abraham also provided information about the local area and was like a true friend by the time we departed the hotel.

We got an early start to archaeological ruins of Aphrodisias on March 11. Aphrodisias is about one hundred kilometers from Pamukkale Town and is one of Turkey’s finest sites – frequently referred to as second only to Ephesus. After visiting Ephesus two days later, we concluded that we actually liked Aphrodisias better that Ephesus. The more impressive ruins at Aphrodisias included the theater, the Tetrapylon, the Aphrodite Temple, the stadium, and the Bishop’s Palace. The most important building of Aphrodisias was the Aphrodite Temple but the restoration of Tetrapylon, monumental gate, is probably the signature landmark today. The stadium, which could seat 30,000 spectators, was truly amazing. A visit to the Aphrodisias Museum completed our visit, and we took a very scenic drive through the mountains back to Pamukkale via Tavas and Denizli. Back at Pamukkale we walked from our hotel to the park-like area of the Pamukkale Travertines adjacent to the town.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, said good-bye to Abraham, and drove to the South entrance to the archaeological ruins of Hieropolis and the upper portion of the Pamukkale Travertines. The weather was cool and cloudy with possible rain in the forecast. We set about touring the archaeological ruins of Hieropolis using footpaths to try to avoid the large number of tourists already there. We trekked up the hill to the theater which had been so well restored that it could probably now be used for performances. While we were at the theater, we got a glimmer of sunshine and then the weather continued to deteriorate. We hiked across the hillsides and up to the Martyrion of Saint Phillip – built on the site where Saint Phillip was martyred. It is an octagonal on a square ground plan with stairs leading down toward the city center. We continued walking down to the main city center area and westward through a large agora to the very large Northern Necropolis – a graveyard with amazing tombs and sarcaphagi. While we were in the Necropolis, the wind came up and it began to sprinkle light rain as we continued eastward to the Pamukkale Museum which was built adjoining the former city baths. While visiting the museum, the rain came in earnest and we were glad that we had carried our rain gear along with us. After the museum, we walked in the rain between the Apollo Temple, the Plutonium, and the Basilica on our way to exit through the South Byzantine Gate. As we were exiting, busloads of tourists were arriving to begin their chance to explore Pamukkale and Hieropolis.

We drove westward toward Kusadasi, our next destination. About eighty kilometers to the West, the rain subsided and became intermittent as we continued driving to Kusadasi. Since we did not have a detailed map of the Kusadasi area, we stopped at a Migros store to ask for directions. A lady at the customer service desk paged someone to help us. Another nice young lady said that she knew where our hotel was and took the time to draw a map to explain how to proceed to our hotel. Her map was a real godsend as we drove through the narrow streets and traffic of Kusadasi to our hotel. Our hotel was situated in Kusadasi city center facing the Esplanade and the Agean Sea – a great location for our next three nights. That evening we explored the immediate neighborhood in the vicinity of our hotel.

Thursday morning, March 13, brought sunshine and we headed off to explore the archaeological ruins of Ephesus. Since Ephesus is touted to have the finest archeological ruins in Turkey and is frequently overrun by throngs of tourists, we were hoping to arrive early before Ephesus became too crowded. A couple of wrong turns trying to get out of Kusadasi ended our attempt to get an early start at Ephesus. The more impressive ruins at Ephesus included the Library of Celsus, The Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates, the Theater, the Houses on the Slopes, the Fountain of Treajan, Curetes Street, the Odeion, and the Temple of Hadrian. The Houses on the Slopes requires an additional substantial admission charge but the frescoes and mosaics were magnificent – truly a site not to be missed when visiting Ephesus. After we departed Ephesus, we drove to Selcuk where we visited the ruins of the Temple of Artemis consisting of one remaining column. Our next stop was to be the Museum of Ephesus but we ended up at the entrance to the ruins of The Church of Saint John – the tomb of Saint John is located here. The impressive Asyasoluk Fortress occupies the high ground above the Church of Saint John and had been closed to the public for some time. We finally found the Museum of Ephesus and the relics were quite impressive – the museum also included an exhibit relating to gladiators from Ephesus.

Friday, March 14, was our last full day in the Kusadasi area and we decided to drive South to visit the archaeological ruins at Priene, Miletos, and Didyma. Priene was located high up on the side of a mountain. The more impressive ruins at Priene included the theater, the Athena Temple, the Large Church, the Bouleuterion (senate building), and the streets of Priene. The theater at Priene had several carved rock chairs in the front row, presumably for special people.

Miletos was a very important harbor city until the sea receded. The more impressive ruins at Miletos included the theater, the Faustina Baths, the Large Harbor Monument, the Processional Road, the Ionic Stoa and the Temple of Serapis. A defensive fortress had been built on top of the theater and offered panoramic views from the fortress ruins. Much of this site is under water for part of the year and some portions remained partially submerged during our visit.

Today the ruins at Didyma consist of the Temple of Apollo and the Sacred Road. The Temple of Apollo once had a large number of massive columns and there were quite a few column portions remaining at the front portion of the temple. Across the highway from the Temple of Apollo lies the remains of a portion of the Sacred Road and the site of the Temple of Artemis – we were told that nothing remains of the Temple of Artemis. The Sacred Road ran between the Temple of Apollo and Miletos and was closed to the public during our visit.

During our drive back to Kusadasi on the main divided highway, a large group of protesters blocked the road about six kilometers south of Soke. After stopping traffic in the Northbound lanes, they walked in front of the cars (we were three cars in back of the group of protesters) for about one kilometer creating a monumental traffic jam. TV camera crews were filming the marchers and the traffic jam including us in our rental car – perhaps we were on the evening news. The protesters then crossed back to the Southbound lanes and began marching in the Southbound lanes. The remainder of our drive back to Kusadasi was relatively uneventful.

Since we had a night flight from Izmir to Istanbul on Saturday, we decided to brave the city traffic in Izmir and visit some sites in Izmir. As we were departing Kusadasi, we turned one roundabout too soon and found ourselves headed toward Ladies Beach. Since Ladies Beach was described as an upscale beach, we decided to have a look. As we continued to Ladies Beach, the streets became increasingly narrower with a myriad of no turn signs. We finally asked directions on how to get back to Kusadasi city center and a nice gentleman told us to turn right, go up the hill to a church, and follow the minibus which passes there every five minutes to the the city center – what a great way to get driving directions. We found the minibus and were soon back on the highway to Izmir.

Izmir was originally the ancient city of Smyrna and has some archaeological ruins dating from when Alexander the Great occupied the city. Alexander the Great refounded the city of Smyrna on Kadifekale (Mount Pagus) and built fortifications – the ruins of portions still remain today. Kadifekale was to be our first stop and in spite of much heavy traffic, narrow streets and with only wrong turns and lots of luck we finally arrived at Kadifekale. The next challenge was to find a parking place and we finally squeezed next to a wall and parked. Today the remains of the Velvet Fortress occupy much of the top of the mountain but portions of the ancient fortification walls still remain. In addition, portions of the ancient cistern that supplied water to the ancient Agora could also be seen.

After visiting Kadifekale, we decided to visit the archaeological ruins of the Agora of Smyrna which were situated below Kadifekale. As we drove down from Kadifekale, we decided to follow a taxi hoping that he would lead us back to a main street toward the Agora. We finally got to the main street and soon spotted a sign to the Agora. A very quick right turn down a very narrow street brought us to the entrance but there was no parking to be found. We backtracked to the main street and tried going around the block when we found a large public car park. We were thrilled and parked on the fifth level. We then visited the Agora which had been built for Alexander the Great. It had been ruined by an earthquake in 178 AD and was rebuilt by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Our last stop was the Archaeology Museum. Since it did not appear to be very far from the Agora on the map, we decided to leave the car in the car park and walk to the museum. After walking uphill for several hundred meters and asking people for directions only to find that nobody seemed to have heard of the Archeology Museum, we finally hailed a taxi. The taxi driver also seemed to have difficulty but we spotted the museum as he drove past and had him let us out. After the museum, we hailed another taxi to take us back to the public car park near the Agora.

Back in our car, we started driving in the direction of the airport. As we approached a fork in the road, we missed the turn to the airport and spent a very long time heading in a southerly direction on the busy streets of Izmir until we finally came to a major highway. Of course we managed to get on the highway going the wrong direction until we reached the sea at Izmir and were able to finally get back on the highway in the correct direction, When we took the airport exit, traffic on the main road to the Izmir airport was nearly stopped due to highway construction. After a long convoluted detour through the town of Gaziemir we arrived at the airport and returned our trusty rental car. Driving the traffic of Izmir had truly been a challenge. We were also grateful that Turkish Airlines allowed us to catch an earlier flight to Istanbul.

Sunday, March 16, was our last day to visit sites in Istanbul. Bright sunshine and clear sky enticed us to stop by the Blue Mosque to witness the splendor of the early morning sunlight coming through the stained glass windows. I think that the Blue Mosque is at its best with bright early morning sunshine illuminating the interior. Our next stop was at the Basilica Cistern for a quick visit and to photograph the two upside-down Medusa heads that support two columns to supplement photos from my 2006 visit. We continued on to the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sofia) in hopes that main dome would no longer be partially obscured by the scaffolding but the scaffolding that was there during 2006 still remained. We wanted to visit the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar but both are closed on Sundays. We hailed a taxi to go to the Suleymanye Camil (Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent) which was described as the grandest Ottoman mosque. We arrived during prayers and visited the tomb of Sultan Sulleyman adjacent to the mosque while we waited for the mosque to open for visitors. Once inside the mosque we were surprised to find that the main portion of the mosque was sealed off and only a small outer portion adjacent to the entry was open – perhaps the main portion was undergoing refurbishment.

We walked down a street alongside the Istanbul University and when we came to the end of the university, we encountered many Istanbul policemen in riot gear and trucks with water cannons blocking our path. A short detour around the area brought us to the ruins of the Forum of Theodosius Columns – not much there to see. We were alongside a street with streetcars and we decided to take a streetcar back to Sultanahmet. As we were walking back to our hotel, we noticed that the tomb of Sultan Ahmet I was open to the public. Since I had walked past the tomb many times before and this was the first time that I had seen it open, I decided stop for a visit – the interior was exquisite.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the hotel and enjoyed our last Turkish dinner at a small restaurant close to our hotel. The dinner was superb and we headed back to the hotel to begin packing for our very early morning flight home.

See pictures from Turkey

February 26, 2008
Berlin, Germany

Travel Notes

I arrived at the Berlin Tegel Airport during the evening of February 21. The Tegel airport is the airport that was used by the Allies to supply West Berlin during the Berlin Airlift. I wandered around the airport until I found an open tourist information desk to determine the best way to travel to my hotel in Berlin. The lady at the information desk said that the taxi would be the easiest way and then said that if I was up to the public transportation system it would be quite inexpensive. Of course I opted for the public transportation and was directed to the BVG desk where a nice man handed me a copy of the "Berlin S + U-Bahn-Netz 2008" pamphlet and showed me how to catch the bus from the airport terminal to the U-Bahn system. He also told me that the cost of the bus and U-Bahn to the station near my hotel would be 2.30 Euro.

I walked outside to the bus stop and waited for either the X9 bus or the 109 bus to arrive. When the bus arrived, I boarded and was told by the driver to disembark and to wait. At this point a very nice German lady named Birgit asked me where I was going and explained that the driver needed to close out his arrival before passengers could board. She also confirmed that the fare would be 2.30 Euro and that I would need to first catch the U7 train at the Jakob-Kaiser Platz U-Bahn station and transfer at the Bismark U-Bahn station to the U2 train toward Pankow. She was most helpful and accompanied me as far as the Bismark U-Bahn station where I transferred to the U2 train. My hotel was on the East side of Berlin and turned out to be a short walk from the Eberswalder Strasse station. The weather was cold and damp but I found the short walk to be invigorating. I checked into my hotel and occupied a small but very clean room for the next few nights. The hotel had a small lobby with a coffee machine and a free Internet terminal for the guests.

On Friday morning, February 22, I had breakfast at a small restaurant and walked back to the U-Bahn station to purchase a Berlin Welcome Card 72 hour public transportation pass. After a short stroll across the street from the station, I purchased my pass from a small shop with the now familiar yellow BVG sign above the entrance. Armed with my public transportation pass, I returned to the U-bahn station and caught the train to Alexander Platz to begin exploring Berlin. The tourist literature states that Alexander Platz has remained the hub of East Berlin. The weather was mild but overcast and looked like rain might be imminent, so I decided that I would explore the immediate vicinity including the famous museums nearby. Alexander Platz is quite large and has a huge department store complex in the esplanade between the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn stations. I walked toward the West past the Fernsenturm, the 1,200 feet high spire of the Television Tower, and continued to the Marienkirche. The Marienkirche, St. Mary’s Church, is one of Berlin’s few remaining medieval buildings. I explored the open areas with a very interesting fountain between the Marienkirche and the Rotes Rathaus, the "Red City Hall."

I continued walking West along Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse past the Berliner Dom and arrived at the Museumsinsel Berlin, a complex of five museums situated on the island in the Spree River that were designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1999 – the Bode-Museum, Pergamonmuseum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Nuees Museum, and the Altes Museum. My first stop was at the Altes Museum which, to my delight, now houses both the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection and a portion of the Collection of Classical Antiquities. The Egyptian Museum had just been relocated to the Altes Museum and I was fortunate that I arrived after the relocation had been completed. The Egyptian museum contained some of the best Egyptian artifacts spanning four millennia that I have ever seen including the green Berlin man and the fabulous "Bust of Queen Nefertiti" dating from 1300 BC. The Collection of Classics featured the bronze statue of the "Praying Boy" dating from 300 BC.

Berlin's Collection of Classics is housed in two separate museums – the Altes Museum and the Pergamonmuseum. My second stop was at the Pergamonmuseum where the Collection of Classics displays relics from the ancient city of Pergamum (spelled Pergamon in German) including the Pergamon Altar which dates from 170 BC. The sculptured frieze at the altar is every bit as impressive as the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum. The literature states that the Pergamonmuseum contains over 100,000 items from German excavation sites in Babylon, Assur, Uruk & Habuba Kabirathe and that it is visited by more people than any other museum in Berlin. It also houses the Museum of the Ancient Near East and has architectural reconstructions of the Ishtar Gate and the Babylonian Processional Way from the time of Nebuchanezzar II dating from the 6th century BC. The Pergamonmuseum also houses a Museum of Islamic Art and contains the Mahutta façade which had been given to the German Kaiser from the Turkish Sultan. The Mahatta is a portal façade of a palace of Caliph al-Walid II of Jordan.

My last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Bode-Museum. The majority of the displays were very early Christian era. Since the weather had continued to deteriorate and there was occasional misting rain, I walked back to Alexander Platz and took the train back to my hotel.

Since Saturday morning greeted me with sunshine, I returned to Alexander Platz and walked back to the Berliner Dom. I purchased the tourist ticket and proceeded to climb to the top of the dome where the view of Berlin was spectacular. As I followed the tourist route through the church, it continued to an area below the nave that contained 90 Hohenzollum tombs including ceremonial coffins of Fredrick I and Sophie Charlotte.

After the Berliner Dom I walked to the West along Unter den Linden, one of the most famous streets in Berlin, to the Brandenburg Gate. The Brandenburg Gate was the number one site that I wanted to see in Berlin and I was not disappointed. I continued walking South along Ebertstrasse and arrived at the Holocaust-Mahnmal, the Holocaust Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. I continued walking along Ebertstrasse and Stresemaninstrasse to the Stiftung Topographie des Horrors where the headquarters of the Third Reich (Gastapo, secret services, Waffen SS) stood until 1945. The foundations of underground cells were uncovered in 1987 and now house an exhibition. The largest intact section of the Berlin Wall in central Berlin is situated adjacent to the Stiftung Topographie des Horrors. Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, the site of the crossing point between the American and Soviet sectors is situated on Fredrichstrasse near Zimmerstrasse and is very close to the Stiftung Topographie des Horrors. I returned the following day to visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and to get a Checkpoint Charlie visa stamp in my passport.

I also wanted to visit Siegessaule monument on Saturday. Since the clouds were moving in from the West and what was left of the sunshine would soon be gone, I decided to head back to my hotel and save the Siegessaule for Sunday.

Sunday morning arrived with sunshine and I again headed off to Alexander Platz where I took the S-Bahn to Ostbanhof station and walked along the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is a section of the Berlin Wall over 4,265 feet long and it has become the world’s longest art gallery. One hundred six artists from Berlin and all over the world used the east side of the wall to paint frescos in 1990. The original frescos have been damaged by weather and by tourists but the frescos are gradually being restored. I was fascinated by this section of the Berlin Wall and it may well end up being the favorite site of my visit to Berlin.

After the East Side Gallery, I set off to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and then on to the Siegessaule. The Siegessaule was a monument with a 194 feet high pedestal that was erected to commemorate Prussia’s victories over Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1871). In 1938, Hitler moved it to the present location in the middle of Strasse des 17 Juni. I climbed the stairs to the top of the Siegessaule hoping for a fantastic view toward the Brandenburg Gate but the view was somewhat obscured by wispy clouds and light fog that were moving in.

Since Sunday was my last day in Berlin and I was running out of time, I took the U-Bahn to the KaiserDahm station and walked North along Schloss Strasse to Schloss Charlottenburg, the residence dedicated by Fredrick I to his wife Sophie Charlotte and enlarged in 1740 by Fredrick II. I did not have time to enter Schloss Charlottenburg but it was spectacular when viewed through the front gates. I continued on to the Museum fur Vor-und Fruhgeschichte which is situated at the West end of Schloss Charlottenburg and houses artifacts from the Paleolithic period to the Germanic Early Middle Ages. It also contains copies of the finest pieces from the treasure of Troy discovered by Schliemann – the original treasure was seized by the Russians in 1945. The sun was now getting low in the sky and I walked back along Schloss Strasse to the U-Bahn and returned to my hotel. Back at my hotel I realized that my long weekend in Berlin had exceeded all of my expectations.

See pictures from Berlin

January 27, 2008
Bali

Bali, Indonesia
Travel Notes

I took an evening Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Bali on January 25th. While waiting in line to purchase my “Visa on Arrival,” I was browsing through the racks of tourist information brochures. A man in line behind me said that the Bali Safari & Marine Park was quite good and that they had a new baby lion cub that you could hold. Recalling my opportunity last year to hold the baby tiger in Thailand, I decided to visit the lion cub while in Bali. I had booked my hotel with airport transfer on the Internet and I was hoping that the driver from the hotel would be waiting for my arrival. Upon completion of Bali immigration, I located my driver from the Bali Garden Hotel on Kuta Beach and I was amazed at the late-night traffic congestion on the way to the hotel – I would learn that heavy traffic would be the norm during my visit to Bali.

The following morning, I hired a car and driver to take me to the Bali Safari & Marine Park. The drive to the park was my first daytime experience of the monumental traffic congestion consisting of large trucks, minivans of all sizes, cars, and countless motorbikes. Most of the highways on Bali are two lane roads with people continually attempting to pass slower vehicles.

My visit to the park exceeded my expectations. The admission price included a photo opportunity with one animal and a safari ride among animals in the wild. My first stop was to play with and to get my photo opportunity with the baby female lion cub. She was very playful and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity – the resulting teeth marks and small bruise on my left forearm added to the experience. They had a couple of small orangutans that people could hold for photographs. I was very much impressed with the white tigers at the park – they are magnificent animals. In addition to photographing the white tigers in the enclosure, I got an opportunity to sit with, pet and be photographed with an adult white tiger under the supervision of its trainer – the tiger was tame and it appeared to be napping but it would occasionally move its head and tail.

I boarded the safari bus for the game drive through the animals in the wild. It was very well done with exceptional viewing with numerous species of animals from all over the world. The drive through a pond with large adult hippos was superb as they would surface near the bus. The park is still under construction and also offered a amusement fun area for the children, elephant rides, camel rides, and restaurants.

After returning to the hotel, I called a local tour agency and booked a late afternoon private tour to the Uluwatu Temple (holy cliff temple). This temple is situated at the southern tip of Bali on a cliff approximately 200-meters above the Indian Ocean. The scenery in this area was spectacular and I hiked along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. We added a stop at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park after leaving the temple. This park is still under construction and is in an area with a large stone quarry and had enormous stone sculptures near the top of a mountain. This park has the potential to become a spectacular attraction upon completion. We stopped at the New Mathari Café on the beach at Jimbaron Bay where I consumed a beer at a table on the beach while watching the sunset – a Balinese band with a Balinese dancers were performing on a stage next to my table. The sunset was beautiful.

The next morning, January 27th, I booked an all day private tour to visit four Balinese temples. On the way to the first temple, my guide told me that Bali has a population of approximately 3 million people and that approximately eighty per cent of the people are of the Hindu religion. The first temple was Goa Gajah Temple (elephant cave temple) constructed in the 11th century. The temple complex is situated on a hillside above a river and the primary temple is a cave carved into the rock cliff face. If you hike a trail down toward the river you will come across a Buddhist temple. Adjacent to the Buddhist temple is an area where a very large stone carving sheared off the cliff with the broken remains in a gully below.

We continued to the Gunung Kawi Temple in the Bedula village and to the Tampaksiring Temple at Tampak Siring. I had the driver stop at an area overlooking magnificent hillside terraces at Tegallaiang to take a few photos – my guide said that they are the most beautiful rice terrace fields in Bali. Many of the hillsides that I observed in Bali were terraced for cultivating crops. My guide said that they usually get about three crops of rice each year.

We continued driving up the side of the mountain toward Kintamani to a restaurant where a buffet lunch would be provided. The road had very steep grades with the ever present large and very slow trucks. I requested the driver to stop for a photograph of a statue at an intersection of two roads and noticed that it was beginning to rain. The restaurant at Kintamani was situated along the ridge of the volcano caldera with views on both sides of the ridge. Lake Batur and the Mount Batur volcano were prominent as I looked into the caldera and I overlooked Bali island in the opposite direction. The views were partially obscured by the clouds and as I ate lunch above the caldera, the views became obscured with clouds and rain.

After lunch we drove down the mountain in rain which was quite heavy at times amid the ever present large trucks to Besakih. Besakih (mother temple) is the biggest temple on Bali and extends up the side of Mount Agung. We were besieged by people with umbrellas as we arrived at the temple parking lot. We had our own umbrellas, and I decided to tackle the temple in the rain. The rain subsided as my guide and I continued to climb up the mountain through the temple complex. We could see two additional temples further up the mountain and we decided to continue on to visit them as well. These temples were very beautiful and well worth the extra uphill hike. Of course the rain returned with a vengeance while we were at the uppermost temple and continued as a heavy downpour as we returned to the car. I was so impressed with my guide persevering with me in the rain that I booked a late afternoon tour with him for the following day. The return drive back to the hotel at Kuta took a couple of hours and the rain subsided about half way back to the hotel.

January 29, 2008
Bali

Bali, Indonesia
Travel Notes

My car and driver picked me up at my hotel on Jan 28th and we went west amid the ever present traffic congeastion to the Taman Ayun Temple (royal family temple) at Mengwi. This temple was surrounded by two moats and a causeway similar to temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The temple grounds were very well maintained, and there was a large bell tower which contained large wooden bells. The view from the top of the bell tower was well worth the climb to the top.

We continued from Mengwi to Tabanan where we visited the Monkey Forest. This is an area where a section of forest has been preserved adjacent to a temple. Upon arrival, each tourist and/or group of tourists is assigned a guide employed by the Monkey Forest concession. It is the home to three different groups of monkeys all expecting food from the tourists – a bag of peanuts cost 1,000 Rupiah. I opted out of feeding the monkeys but took some cute monkey photos as I accompanied my guide through the forest and around the temple. The forest is also the home to hundreds of very large fruit bats which hang in the treetops during the day – these bats have a wing span of approximately one meter.

Our next stop was at the Tanah Lot Temple (temple high above the sea). This is a unique temple which sits on top of a large rock on the ocean. It is accessible to pedestrians only during low tide and this area is especially noted for viewing beautiful sunsets. There is another temple nearby on top of a rocky outcrop that is still connected to the mainland by a natural bridge. The coast in this area is spectacular during late afternoon sunshine.

After Tanah Lot, we traveled east through the city of Denpasar to the town of Sanur on the eastern coast. The roads within Denpasar were wide and well maintained and resulted in a normal flow of traffic. This was quite a contrast to the normal narrow and poorly maintained roads that we traveled elsewhere on Bali. I was served a multi-course Indonesian dinner at a restaurant in Sanur. After dinner we braved the ever present large trucks and heavy traffic for the fifty minute drive back to my hotel at Kuta Beach.

See pictures from Bali

See pictures from Suphan Buri Province.

October 13, 2007
Thailand

Suphan Buri Province Travel Notes

I arrived at Bangkok a little before midnight on October 10^th and exited the Arrivals Door to look for my prepaid airport transfer to my hotel in Suphan Buri. After searching in vain for anyone holding a sign bearing my name, I called the booking agent and got an “after hours recording.” Fortunately a very nice man with a Hotel Intercontinental sign noticed my carry-on bag with the A&K logo and said that the A&K tour group meets at Arrivals Door A. I informed him that my A&K bag was from a prior trip and that I was looking for my transfer to Suphan Buri. He suggested that I try looking in the vicinity of Arrivals Door B. At this point, I realized that I had exited Arrivals Door C, thanked him for his help, and proceeded off to find the Arrivals Door B location. As I approached Arrivals Door B, I saw a man with the all important sign with my name and hotel. After a brief introduction, I was escorted to a very nice air conditioned van which transported me to my hotel in the city of Suphan Buri.

Suphan Buri is one of the provinces in Thailand, North of Bangkok, and the city of Suphan Buri is approximately 170 kilometers North of Bangkok. It was raining when I arrived in Bangkok and continued to rain most of the next day. When the rain subsided in the afternoon, I walked around the neighborhood near the hotel and went to the Suphan Buri Tower. The tower is situated in the middle of a public park and is described as being the “first and highest 4-story tower in Thailand.” The tower affords a marvelous panoramic view of Suphan Buri from the fourth floor. The public park was beautiful grounds.

After returning to the hotel, I arranged for a car and driver for a sightseeing excursion for Friday, October 12^th. I negotiated a full day trip with destinations of my choice and was again pleasantly surprised with a very nice air conditioned van. My driver’s name was “X” and we headed South about 43 kilometers to Wat Phai Rong Wua. I was amazed at the sheer size if the temple complex and the variety of the many temples and sculptures. Most noteworthy is the metal cast statue of Buddha – the largest in Thailand. There were countless other sculptures that depicted everything from the sublime to what I would describe as hell with humans being pursued and mutilated by demons.

The next stop was a Wat (phonetically spelled as Wat Tapgatdon) near the town of Ban Thap Kradap. It was interesting but was a minor stop along the way to the ancient city of U Thong. U Thong is situated Southwest of Suphan Buri and was an ancient city with archeological evidence dating back several centuries. The U Thong National Museum houses many of the ancient artifacts and is well worth a visit.

We headed North from U Thong and stopped at a mountain named Khao Phu Thong which is approximately 233 meters high. There was a stairway up the mountain from the parking area with a seven-headed Naga on top of a wall on each side of the stairway and 130 concrete steps to the top. Concrete and rock stairs continued onwards as I hiked up the mountain. The very beautiful temples were situated near the top and the panoramic view was superb. These temples can also be accessed via a road from somewhere on the other side of the mountain. My driver said that he didn’t know where the other road was but my strenuous hike up made the mountain and temples much more rewarding to me. Another flight of concrete and rock steps continued onwards to another temple a little further up the mountain.

We continued North and East to the town of Don Chedi.King Naresuan the Great defeated the King Maha Uparacha of Burma in single-handed elephant back combat in 1592 at Don Chedi. We visited a Wat at Don Chedi, which I did not figure out the name of, but it was very dim but beautiful on the inside with fighting elephant paintings around the ceiling. The next stop was the Don Chedi Monument which is a pagoda constructed by the royal command of King Naresuan the Great to commemorate his victory. A statue of King Naresuan the Great on the neck of a war elephant is situated in front of the pagoda.

Continuing back to Suphan Buri, we stopped at Wat Pa Lelai which was built approximately 800 years ago. It houses a Buddah image 23 meters high named “Luang Pho To.” Our next stop was Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat on the West bank of the Suphan Buri River which houses a large U Thong style prang housing the Lord Buddha’s relics. We also visited Wat Khea and Wat Phra Non before driving along the ancient Suphan Buri moat. There once was an ancient city wall alongside the moat and a very short reconstructed wall section has been erected near one of the modern roadway bridges crossing the moat.

I decided to make October 13^th a relaxing day and plan to explore further North en route to Lop Buri on October 14^th.

October 15, 2007
Thailand

Suphan Buri Province to Lop Buri Travel Notes

I hired a car and driver on October 14th and went North on Highway 340 to the Chawak Chalerm Phra Kiet Development Project. This project was constructed to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 50 Year Accession to the Throne. The project included a dam which created a lake of up to 10 million cubic meters of freshwater to irrigate 6,500 rais (10,400,000 square meters) of agricultural land with a Wildlife Extension Center, the Gardens of Indigenous Vegetables and the Exhibition Center for Aquatic Animals constructed along sections of the lake shoreline. My first stop was at the Aquatic Center which had an extensive collection of freshwater fishes, some reef fishes and a crocodile pond. I was amazed by the extensive varieties of catfish from around the world – the Mekong Giant Catfish was huge. The Wildlife Extension Center had a large aviary and many animal enclosures. One unique animal was a “Liger” which was a cross between a male lion and a female tiger. Since the weather was occasional rain, I opted to take the tram ride which included a tour through the garden complex.

Continuing onward toward Lop Buri, we headed East and crossed into Sing Buri Province. We stopped at Khai Bang Rachan Park which had a large war memorial, a reconstructed wooden fort, and several wats.

My next stop was at Wat Pikum Thong which had an enormous Buddha within a square walled enclosure. There were large metal gates in the middle of each side of the wall. Each of the gates had sculptures in the center depicting different animal scenes and there were statues of different species of animals outside the walls on opposite sides of the gates. The inner portion of the walls housed statuary of Buddha’s and other religious figures. Within the base of the enormous structure that supported the large Buddha, there were at least twenty very large murals. A few of the murals depicted paradise after death for the virtuous. A large number of the murals depicted various acts of inappropriate behavior and the corresponding punishment that awaited after death. These murals provided the connection for me with the statuary at Wat Phai Rong Woa that I had visited on October 12th in southern Suphan Buri Province.

My last stop in Sing Buri Province was Wat Chaksi Reclining Buddha. There were more people here that at any prior Wat that I had visited thus far. The reclining Buddha was very large and there were many temples and items of interest including a woodcarving of tree trunks and poles. There were also beautiful display cabinets with inlays that contained precious statuary.

We headed southeast into Lop Buri Province and onward to the city of Lop Buri where we stopped briefly at the Phra Kahn Shrine en route to my hotel. It was too late in the day to see the monkeys that occupy the temple grounds but tomorrow will be another day in Lop Buri.

About mid-morning I caught a bus from my hotel toward the city center and stopped at an interesting monument that was in the center of a square with the bus station nearby. I inquired at the bus station about travel to Sukhothai and found out that there were no direct buses from Lop Buri to Sukhothai – the journey would consist of a bus to Phitsanulok and another bus to Sukhothai. I took a bicycle rickshaw onward into the city center and stopped at the Phra Kahn Shrine once again. This time there were monkeys everywhere and it was a real treat to see them. There was a movie called "Romeo and Juliet – a Monkey's Tale" which has a connection to Animal Planet, and this movie was filmed in Lop Buri. It was a love story about Juliet from the privileged Temple Monkeys and Romeo from the troublesome Market Monkeys across the street. It turns out that the Phra Kahn Shrine is where the Market Monkeys resided. I took quite a few photographs of the "Market Monkeys."

The Phra Prang Sam Yot temple is situated across the railroad tracks from the Phra Kahn Shrine and I walked over to explore that temple which was the home of the Temple Monkeys in the film. I paid my admission fee and began to explore the temple grounds with the sun at my back for optimum photographs. I only saw an occasional monkey until I rounded the corner to the shady side and was greeted by many monkeys who were smart enough to avoid the direct sunshine. Of course I took many more photographs of the "Temple Monkeys."

I then set out to find an Internet café and after several tries, I found one that would work for me. Next stop was the train station where I inquired about the best way by train and bus to Sukhothai – train to Phitsanulok and bus to Sukhothai. I purchased my train ticket for October 16th. As I walked to the train station, I passed Wat Phra Si Rattanamahathat which is a very large ancient temple complex across the road from the train station. After visiting Wat Bandi Hin, a small old temple next to the train station, I crossed the street and thoroughly enjoyed exploring Wat Phra Si Rattanamahathat. One last small old temple complex was visible across the railroad tracks, so I crossed the tracks for a quick visit before catching a bus and motorcycle taxi back to my hotel.

See pictures from Suphan Buri Province to Lop Buri Travel.

October 19, 2007
Thailand

Sukhothai Province Travel Notes

I traveled by train from Lop Buri to Phitsanulokon October 16th and transferred by Thai pickup truck taxi to the Phitsanulokbus station. I purchased my bus ticket and continued my journey into the Sukhothai Province to the city of New Sukhothai. After arriving at my hotel near the river in the new city, I discovered that the room was quite sparse for the cost and I decided to find another hotel with better accommodations. Early the next morning, I transferred to another hotel on the road between the old city, Sukhothai Historical Park, and the new city. The local bus service between the new city and the old city ran past the hotel approximately every 15 minutes.

Since I was just a local bus ride away from the Sukhothai Historical Park, I began inquiring about the best way to make a day trip about 60 km north to the Si Satchanali Historical Park. This park is situated about 7 km south of the modern city Si Satchanali and is also within Sukhothai Province. I was informed that direct local bus service from the Sukhothai bus station went past the historical park.

Bright and early in the morning of October 18th, I set out to find my way to the bus station. I crossed the road in front of the hotel and began waiting for a local bus to the Sukhothai bus station. After waiting for some time, I hailed down a motorcycle powered open air tuk tuk to get to the bus station. As we arrived at the Sukhothai bus station, I was greeted by a man in the parking lot who asked me where I was going. I told him the Si Satchanali Historical Park and he directed me to a local bus that was ready for immediate departure. I boarded the bus and we continued North on Highway 101 stopping along the way for any people who flagged the bus down. Approximately 90 minutes later, the bus conductor informed me that I had arrived at my stop.

As I departed the bus, I was greeted by a lady who informed me that I was at the southern end of the historical park area and that she had bicycles and motorbikes for rent to ride in the park. I rented a bicycle for 20 Bhat and headed off toward the park. A rickety narrow wooden plank suspension bridge across the Yom River was my first challenge and I finally figured that it worked best to pedal across the wooden planks rather fast. After crossing the river, I found the ancient temple Wat Phra Si Ratanna Mahatat Chaliang immediately in front of me. It was a marvelous temple and had a pillar atop the main gate which had heads sculptured similar to those found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. This temple is in the ruins of Chaliang which is about 1 km South of the Si Satchanali Historical Park proper.

I continued North and arrived at the main portion of the Si Satchanali Historical Park. Ancient temples on the level ground that were the main attraction included Wat Suan Keaw Utayan Noi, Wat Suan Keaw Utayan Yai, Wat Nang Phraya, Wat Chedi Ched Thaeo, and Wat Chang Lom. Wat Chang Lom was unique in that the square base had elephants all around and had Buddhas in niches along the square upper level. Wat Chang Lom had a bell-shaped chedi at the top. According to the “DK Eyewitness Travel Guide – Thailand,” bell-shaped chedis are of Sri Lanka influence. The three-tiered base symbolizes hell, earth, and heaven – rings on the spire represent the 33 levels of heaven.

After pedaling the one-speed bicycle for several kilometers, I came to a stairway of hewn rocks that led up the hill to two more temple complexes. The stairs were a bit of a challenge after my cycling but I made it to the top where Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng was to my right. After a bit of a hike along the hilltop to my left and another flight of steps, I arrived at Wat Khao Suwankhiri. Both of the hilltop temples were well worth the visit.

I descended the steps and headed back to return my bicycle. Of course the last challenge awaiting me was that same rickety narrow wooden plank suspension bridge across the Yom River. The local bus arrived within an hour and I continued back to Sukhothai where I caught the local new city/old city bus to my hotel.

The following morning, October 19th, I caught the local bus in front of my hotel to the Sukhothai Historical Park which is designated as a World Heritage Site. The site is quite large and has about 40 temple complexes that are spread over an area of about 28 square miles. Due to the sheer size of the park and surrounding areas, I hired a tuk tuk to drive me among different temple complexes.

The main temple at the park is Wat Mahathat and it is quite beautiful with the highest point being a Lotus-Bud chedi atop the temple at the epicenter of the complex. Wat Mahathat is large and impressive. Wat Si Sawai is nearby Wat Mahathat and has Kymer-style prangs with some beautiful relief stone carvings. We visited a number of the temple complexes within the main area of the park and each complex was unique.

We departed the park and continued west to a hilltop temple called Wat Saphan Hin. The steps up the hill consisted of medium-to-large rocks – the rocks had not been sculpted into steps so each step was upper shape of the individual rock. From here we continued to temple complexes to the North of the park – Wat Si Chum and Wat Phra Phai Luang. These temples were well worth the journey.

My last stop was at Wat Chang Lom which is situated to the East of the park. This temple was similar to Wat Chang Lom at the Si Satchanali Historical Park. It was smaller – it did not have the second tier with Buddha niches but it had elephants around a square base and also had a Sri Lankan bell-shaped chedi on top.

I would definitely recommend visiting both Sukhothai Historical Park and Si Satchanali Historical Park for anyone who is traveling to Sukhothai Province.

See pictures from Sukhothai Province.

October 22, 2007
Thailand

Chiang Mai Travel Notes

I traveled by the local bus from the hotel to the Sukhothai Bus Station on October 20th. I purchased a bus ticket on a local bus to Phitsanulok where I caught the train to Chiang Mai. In retrospect, I should have thrown away my train ticket from Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai and taken a bus directly from Sukhothai to Chiang Mai. I stayed at the Suriwongse Hotel within the old city adjacent to the Night Bazaar market. The location was superb and the hotel accommodations were fine.

Although the old city walls were mostly destroyed during World War II, the old moats are still intact. I visited the ongoing reconstruction of the Tha Phae Gate, one of the old city gates. I also explored the Wororot Market which is the daytime market and also wandered about the enormous Night Bazaar market in the evening.

I restricted my exploration to within the old city area and visited Wat Phra Sing, Wat Chiang Man, and Wat Chedi Luang. I enjoyed Wat Chiang Man in particular because of the old chedi with elephants protruding from the square base. I had visited this temple complex many years ago and it was still quite impressive. The ruins at Wat Chedi Luang were also well worth the visit.

On October 23rd, I will fly to Phuket where I plan to send some time snorkeling at Phi Phi Island which is one of my most favorite travel locations.

See pictures from Chiang Mai.

October 27, 2007
Thailand

Phi Phi Island Travel Notes

On October 23rd, I took a nonstop flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket. It was raining when I arrived at the Phuket airport and I spent two nights at Patong Beach prior to taking the ferry to Phi Phi Island on October 25th. The rain continued while I was at Phuket and the rain also continued during the ferry trip to Phi Phi Island. I stayed at the Phi Phi Hotel in Phi Phi Village where I stayed last year when I came here. Unlike my prior visits to Phi Phi Island where I would have sunshine with an occasional rain shower, this time I encountered rain showers the entire time I was there.

I booked a longtail boat on the morning of October 26th to go to Mosquito Island to snorkel. Mosquito is one of my favorite snorkeling places – it is not on the map that the boat people in Phi Phi Village use to book trips so it has fewer visitors.

As I walked out of my hotel, a Thai man approached me with his map and asked me if I wanted to book his longtail boat. I told him that I wanted to go to Mosquito Island and he obviously didn’t understand my request for a location that was not on his map. A couple of more boat people came over and we walked to a dive shop where the person at the dive shop told them in Thai that I wanted to go to Mosquito island and pulled out a map that had Mosquito on it. Now that we had the destination confirmed, the only other detail was the cost in Thai Bhat. Since I had booked that same snorkel trip about a year ago, I already knew approximately what the cost should be – we agreed on 1,200 Bhat.

I returned to my room and gathered up my snorkeling gear and returned to join my longtail boat driver. At first he started to turn to the right toward where many longtail boats were moored and then turned to the right and motioned for me to follow him. We ended up at spot along the beach where he instructed me to wait while he went to get the boat. While I was waiting I was amused by a young Thai boy who was standing up in a yellow kayak and using a pole to maneuver it.

After a short time, the man returned with a longtail boat and I climbed aboard. He had some difficulty in getting the motor to start but once started, we headed off toward Mosquito Island. Of course the weather was cloudy with no visible sunshine. As we continued toward Mosquito, both Krabi and Lanta Island were visible off in the distance between rain showers. As we were approaching the west end of Mosquito Island, the motor on the boat shut down and the man exclaimed accident, accident. We were approximately 500 meters from Mosquito Island and were now slowly drifting to the west away from Mosquito Island.

After many failed attempts to start the motor. The boat person who would not speak English prior to this occurrence, managed to explain in English that the motor had a problem. He called someone on his mobile phone and then began to try to perform some different types of maintenance on the motor as we continued to be adrift in the sea. The boat had a toolbox under the area where he normally would stand to drive the boat. After many attempts at trying to fix the motor, he called again on his mobile phone and a friend of his came out to our rescue. While we were adrift for nearly two hours until his friend arrived with another boat, he explained that he rented the boat for the day. He also showed me photos of his family – his wife and seven children. I told him that I would hire him again the following day if he would meet me at my hotel. After his friend arrived, in another longtail boat, he towed us toward the shore of the north end of Phi Phi Don Island where they tied the disabled boat to a mooring buoy.

He waved good-bye as his friend took me back to Mosquito Island where I managed to get in a couple of hours of good snorkeling. The water was a little more cloudy than I remembered it from last year. Some sunshine would have made the fish and coral more beautiful but I had a very good time and managed to get some pretty good underwater photos.

His friend and I departed Mosquito Island and returned to the disabled boat where we threw him a rope and towed him back to Phi Phi Village docking area. Upon our arrival at the village I paid him the agreed upon sum. We also agreed to meet again the following morning to make a second snorkeling trip to Mosquito Island.

The following morning, I left my hotel to look for yesterday’s boat driver but I was unable to find him. Several other people said that he was at home sleeping. Although it was raining, I booked another longtail boat to return to Mosquito Island.

It rained most of the way to Mosquito and today neither Krabi nor Lanta Island was visible. In fact, some of the time Bamboo and Mosquito Islands were obscured by the heavy rain. On the way to Mosquito, he tried to tell me that a snorkeling site on the way to Mosquito Island was Mosquito but I managed to convince him to continue to the correct destination. I snorkeled for about 1½ hours but the water was near high tide and was much more cloudy than it was yesterday. As we returned to Phi Phi Village, the rain became very heavy at times. While we had very heavy rain continuing most of the afternoon, I spent time working on my snorkeling photos.

I have booked passage on the morning ferry back to Phuket where I hope to see some occasional sunshine prior to returning home on November 1st.

See pictures from Phi Phi.

Click here for a quick guide to my 2007 trip around the world

February 26, 2007
Ushuaia

Buenos Aires was really hot and humid with temperatures in the high eighties and a forecast of showers that never seemed to materialize. The Buenos Aires IX Tango Festival began on the Friday that I arrived. Unfortunately I had taken a nap and strolled along Avenida Florida and the rejuvenated waterfront instead of taking in the big tango kickoff concert Friday night that I read about in the paper the next morning. A small consolation was that quite a few tourists that I talked to also read about the concert in the paper after the fact. Anyway, I had the hotel concierge print out the festival schedule for Saturday and I went to a couple of tango classes that were being held – one at the La Rural Pavillion Orce and another at the Plaza de Mayo. The classes were pretty cool to watch.

My originally scheduled nonstop Aerolineas Argentinas flight to Ushuaia that I booked last July turned out to include a stop at Trelew en route to Ushuaia. Trelew was a tiny town on the Atlantic coast midway between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. The surrounding countryside appeared to be mostly desert and to my surprise, many passengers got off there and many others boarded the flight from there to Ushuaia. Ushuaia was shrouded in clouds which detracted from what could have been a dramatic scenic approach over the mountains. As it was, the lights of Ushuaia and the runway were spectacular as we made a left turn over the Beagle Channel on our approach to Ushuaia. The weather was much cooler here at Ushuaia.

This morning I woke up to the sound of howling wind and driving rain. Suddenly it looked like winter was closing in fast. By mid day, there were some breaks in the clouds and I walked up the hill to Kaupe restaurant. I booked a dinner reservation for tonight. The Europa appears to be moored at the dock and it sure looks tiny compared to the large cruising ships which are also moored there. The weather continues to be marginal with scattered showers and broken clouds. One more day here at Ushuaia and then I will be able to board the Europa. I am really looking forward to the voyage from here to Cape Town.

Photos from Buenos Aires

February 28, 2007
Ushuaia

The weather gradually improved on Monday and I went for a stroll around Ushuaia. There are now two chocolate stores – Laguna Negro which we frequented when we were here in December 2005 and a new store with a theater-like marquee sign announcing Chocolates. I had a cappuccino at the new place but I believe the original store is better.

By dinner time, the weather had again deteriorated to wind and rain. The local taxi telephone lines were all busy and since the hotel could not summon a taxi, I suited up and walked up the hill to Kaupe. I ordered the King Crab and Spinach Chowder appetizer and the beef fillet with three pepper sauce for dinner and finished off with a hot fudge sundae. The service was impeccable and when I told the owner that the food was as good as I remembered from our prior visits, she replied that she had not changed husbands so the chef remains the same.

Yesterday, I walked along the waterfront and around to the old airport in hopes of getting some better photos of the Europa moored at the dock. The city of Ushuaia is filling in a portion of the waterfront about 100 meters from where the shoreline was when we were here last. I guess they see it as progress but I believe that it is having a detrimental effect on the charm of Ushuaia – the seafood restaurants that were at the waters edge are now about 100 meters inland, and the memorial to the Falkland Islands war is being dismantled. I hope that they are planning to relocate it.

After returning to the hotel, I decided to walk toward the dock to get closer to the Europa. Ushuaia has relocated the passenger control point toward the city so that access to the ships along the dock that we walked past are now beyond the passenger control checkpoint. I gave the agent my passport and once he confirmed that I was a passenger on the Europa, he granted me access to the dock. With access granted, I went to the Europa where I met Captain Klaus. He allowed me to take a few photos on board the Europa, and I am really excited about boarding today for the voyage to Africa via Antarctica.

The weather is overcast with light rain today. I will take my luggage to the ship this morning and then the passengers will board at 5 p.m. for the voyage.

Photos from Ushuaia

March 1, 2007
Ushuaia
Approximately 12 noon local time

We have just departed Ushuaia – the voyage has begun. 35 passengers & 14 crew.

I share a cabin with two men from Holland.

Photos from Aboard the Europa

March 16, 2007
The Atlantic

Hello from Larry Fogg aboard Europa

I am doing well and am really enjoying the cruise. I am so busy with the watches and keeping warm that I don't have much free time.

The Antarctica peninsula was very interesting to visit this time of year–there is much less snow on the ground than when we were here during December 2005. It is also amazing how fast the penguin chicks grow in just a few weeks – they have grown to be bigger than many of the adult penguins.

We should arrive South Georgia sometime Sunday evening.

March 19, 2007
Notes from aboard Europa

Aboard at Ushuaia
The voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa began by boarding the Europa at Ushuaia on 28 February 2007 at 5:00 p.m. After boarding, we were assigned to our cabins and we met our cabin roommates. I shared a four person cabin with two men from Holland. We had a total of thirty-five passengers and fourteen crewmembers on the ship. The passengers were split up into three watch teams – red, blue and white. I was assigned to the blue watch team. The watches are work details that assist the crew in sailing the ship and the duties consist of helping to set and furl the sails, steering the ship by the wheel, and providing lookout from the decks. The blue watch duty schedule was around the clock while we were sailing at sea and was as follows:

Day 1. 4:00 a.m to 8:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Day 2. 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Day 3. 8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Day 4. 4:00 a.m to 8:00 a.m. (begins repeating the watch duty schedule)
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The red and white watch duty cycles are the same and are offset by four-hour intervals to fill in the remainder of the twenty-four hours in each day. The watches were suspended while we were at the South Shetland Islands, the Antarctica Peninsula, the South Georgia Islands, and Tristan da Cunha, but nightly anchor watches are in effect during anchorage at these locations. The anchor watches were staffed by two volunteers for each two hour duty cycle between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

The Drake Passage
On the morning of March 1^st the ship took on the fuel load for the voyage and a pilot from Argentina boarded the ship for our departure through the Beagle Channel. As we were sailing out of Ushuaia, we assisted the crew in setting sails to begin our journey across the Drake Passage to the Shetland Islands. Unfortunately I strained something in my right hand while we were assisting in setting the sails and this injury continued to hamper my ability to handle the ropes associated with the sails. The pilot departed the ship at approximately 11:30 p.m. as we exited the Beagle Channel and entered the Drake Passage.

Our crossing of the Drake Passage took four days and we arrived at the South Shetland Islands and anchored in Discovery Bay at Greenwich Island on the evening of March 5^th. The blue watch team began the watch duty cycles with the 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. watch on March 2^nd. By the time morning arrived, quite a few people on the ship were suffering the effects of seasickness and elected to remain in their bunks. The weather during our blue watches varied from cold, windy, and overcast with occasional rain, snow, and salt spray to cold and clear. I soon found that I was using nearly all of my layers of clothing to keep warm and dry during the watches. The waves in the Drake Passage were considerable but they did not seem quite as violent as the waves that I remember from when I had crossed the Drake during December 2005. We had a couple of marvelous sunrises and sunsets and a few occasional periods with the full moon appearing during the night watches.

The South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula
We arrived at the South Shetland Islands during the afternoon of March 5^th and passed Table Island at approximately 4:30 p.m. Due to the high winds, we passed Aitcho Islands and anchored at Discovery Bay on Greenwich Island. The winds were reported as gusting to 80 knots during the night but had calmed down by morning. We sailed back to Aitch Island for our first landing. Our first landing was at Aitcho Island on March 6^th where we observed gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, a weddle seal, fur seals, elephant seals, skuas, and giant southern petrels. There was an abundance of lichens and some portions of the island with a northern exposure looked like green pastures from a distance. It was interesting to compare the conditions between this trip and my prior visit during December 2005. In 2005 the penguin chicks were just beginning to hatch and the adults were minding the nests. This visit was approximately ten weeks later in the season and many of the ten week old penguin chicks were already larger than the adults and most of the nests were no longer recognizable. In addition, some of the penguins were molting. I was also surprised at how little snow remained on the ground. After dinner we began sailing through the Bransfield Strait toward the Garlache Strait.

The morning of March 7^th was clear and we encountered humpback whales near Trinity Island – they put on quite a show for us beside the ship. The ship anchored at Trinity Island and we took zodiac cruises between Spert Island and Trinity Island. We observed marvelous sedimentary rock/volcanic landscapes, a few small icebergs, fur seals, a leopard seal, and some Antarctic terns.

We departed Trinity Island at 4:00 a.m on March 8^th and we continued sailing in the Garlache Strait towards Cuberville Island. The weather was cloudy and cold but we enjoyed seeing several very nice icebergs. We sailed through Graham Passage which is situated between Bluff Island and the Antarctic continent, but the weather prevented us from being able to fully appreciate the scenery. The sun came out around noon and we had wave mist over the starboard side. As we passed Enterprise Island, we had bright sunshine and we could observe the shipwreck Gouvermoren, an old whaling shipwreck. We also passed the Andrea, an ex Norwegian cruise ship, which was sailing in the opposite direction. From Enterprise Island, we crossed Wilhelemina Bay and entered the Errera Channel at approximately 9:00 p.m. We spent the night anchored just North of Cuberville Island.

During the morning of March 9^th we sailed to Neko Harbor which is situated in the Andvord Bay. There was much less snow at Neko Harbor this trip than I encountered during my December 2005 visit. However, there was much more ice in the harbor area than on my prior visit. As we were making landings at Neko Harbor through the ice, two leopard seals swam around the zodiacs during the first landings as if they were stalking us. They were much larger than I had imagined and they appeared to be nearly as long as the zodiac when they swam alongside. While we were at Neko Harbor we observed gentoo penguins and the spectacular adjacent glaciers. From some vantage points on shore, it was easy to imagine that the Europa appeared to be entrapped in the ice. I was also lucky enough to observe three avalanches and one glacier calving during our landing. We departed Neko Harbor and sailed to Paradise Harbor where zodiac cruises around the harbor were offered – since I had been to Paradise Harbor in 2005 and it was cold, windy, and cloudy, I declined to take a cruise around Paradise Harbor. We anchored opposite the Argentine Base Almirante Brown to spend the night.

As we began sailing from Paradise Harbor on the morning of March 10^th, there were light scattered clouds with sunshine and the mountains and glaciers reflected in the mirror smooth water in the harbor. As we continued sailing, an iceberg ahead of us on the starboard side calved and the top began to slowly rotate in the opposite direction of the calving. As it continued to rotate, melted water on top of the iceberg created a small waterfall that continued as we passed by. I presumed that the iceberg would flip over before very long. We passed by many icebergs in the Ferguson Channel and we observed a leopard seal swimming next to one. The clouds continued to increase and we could observe heavy clouds beyond the Ferguson Channel exit en route to Port Lockroy. We passed a research ship in the channel between Trent Island and Wienecke Island and by 9:30 a.m. the weather had deteriorated to snow flurries. When we reached our furthest point South, Latitude 64 degrees 57.8 minutes, the Captain summoned everyone aboard to participate in a toast of Oude Friesche Genever (old gin). We arrived at Port Lockroy in the Neumayer Channel at 2:30 p.m. We were offered two landings at Port Lockroy – a tour of the British Base A Museum and a landing at a site with a reconstructed whale skeleton together with a hike up the slope for a view of the surroundings. Since the weather was very cold and windy with snow flurries, I took the tour of the museum and declined the second landing. The museum also has a post office but since the caretaker/postman had departed on holiday the day before we arrived, we left our postcards on the table in the museum with some money in hopes that he will post them when he returns next November. We saw gentoo penguins and some white sheet bills while we were at the museum. We anchored at Port Lockroy for the night and I participated in an anchor watch from 10:00 p.m. to midnight. That evening there was no visible sunset but the fresh snow on top of the Seven Sisters mountain peaks in the twilight was enchanting.

We departed Port Lockroy at 7:45 a.m. on March 11^th and sailed Northeast through the Neumayer Channel en route to Deception Island. We had sunshine and scattered clouds with magnificent scenery on both sides of the channel including one seal on an iceberg and several blue-eyed shags. We re-entered the Garlache Strait at 10:15 a.m, and during the afternoon, we had two encounters with humpback whales which put on spectacular performances around the ship. We also encountered a pod of Orca whales just before sunset and eventually came within one hundred meters of them. The Captain sailed the ship northbound through the Graham Passage so we could enjoy the spectacular scenery that we missed out on when we sailed southbound through it a couple of days earlier. We continued sailing through the night.

We arrived at Deception Island at approximately 8:00 a.m. on March 12^th. As we approached Deception Island, one ship was just leaving and a Russian ship that was ahead of us waited for us to enter the caldera through Neptune’s Bellows – the place where the Norwegian ship ran aground several weeks ago. We proceeded to Pendulum Cove while the Russian ship went to Whalers Bay. Our ship selected Pendulum Cove because they said that the water there is much hotter than at other areas of Deception Island – approximately 35 degrees C adjacent to the shore. Many of the people on the Europa landed at Pendulum Bay and went swimming in the warm water. Since I had gone swimming at Whalers Bay in 2005, I declined the landing. I also decided not to trek in my rubber boots around the beach and over some hilly terrain to Whalers Bay – I stayed on board the ship which would sail to Whalers Bay to meet the hikers. After the Russian ship departed, we sailed back toward Whalers Bay and stopped to pick up the hikers who were unable to climb the hilly terrain due to icy conditions. We landed at Whalers Bay where the British Base B station was evacuated and damaged by mudslides from glacier melting during the volcano eruption during the 1969-1970 timeframe. I spent my time ashore exploring the British Base B remains which included the aircraft hangar, power plant building, oil storage tanks, and a cemetery. I saw one lone gentoo penguin and two fur seals on the beach area near Base B. We set sails and departed Deception Island at 4:00 p.m.

As we sailed to Elephant Island we reinstituted the watch duty system – the first blue watch began from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. on March 13^th. The morning was cloudy to the Northwest and partly cloudy to the Southeast with numerous icebergs visible. The quantity and size of the icebergs were reminiscent of the 2005 voyage from Argentina Base Esperanza at Hope Bay in the Weddle Sea through the Bransfield Strait. The Captain announced during the afternoon meeting that the ship’s log entries being posted on the Europa web site would not be posted onboard the Europa but that we could access them via the Internet once we arrived at Cape Town – this was a disappointment to some of us. At 1:30 p.m. three islands were visible to the North and we were told that these were Aspland Islands and Gibbs Island. We were 29 miles from Elephant Island at 2:00 p.m. with the weather continuing to deteriorate. We were encountering very cold weather with sea water freezing on the deck at 6:00 p.m. The weather had deteriorated to the point that the Captain determined that landing at Elephant Island would not be possible and opted to continue straight to the South Georgia Islands. We passed by the Northeast end of Elephant Island between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. during blue watch duty with the outside air temperature at minus 4 degrees C with a stiff wind – the temperature dropped to minus 5 degrees C by the end of the watch at midnight. Sea water freezes at minus 3 degrees C.

Sailing from the South Shetland Islands to the South Georgia Islands
The voyage from Elephant Island to the South Georgia Islands took five days and we arrived at the northern end of the South Georgia islands in the evening of March 18^th. The weather during our blue watches varied from temperatures as low as minus 5 to minus 6 degrees C for several days, windy and overcast with occasional rain, snow, and salt spray to partly cloudy with bright sunshine and as high as plus 5 degrees C with mist and fog as we approached the South Georgia Islands.

We encountered icebergs in the Scotia Sea from the time we passed Elephant Island until the afternoon of March 17^th. The red watch said that during the night of March 13^th, we had a close encounter with a stealth partly submerged iceberg that passed within 20 feet of the port side of the ship and was first spotted abreast of the bow. They said it was about the size of a bus and was too small to be picked up by the ship’s radar. I counted 23 icebergs to the starboard side and 15 icebergs to the port side at one time during the afternoon of March 14^th. We collided with an iceberg at 12:44 a.m. on March 15^th – the iceberg was described as being about 15 feet in diameter. I awoke to the noise of the collision, felt a couple of structural shudders pass through the hull, and looked at my watch to make a note of the time. The ship’s lady figurehead from the bow was lost during the iceberg collision. I counted 14 icebergs to the starboard side and 10 icebergs to the port side at one time during the afternoon of March 15^th. We had a beautiful sunset on the evening of March 15^th.

During blue watch on March 17^th, after I acquired my adaptive night vision, I spotted some hourglass dolphins between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. feeding on squid around the bow of the ship. The dolphins looked like torpedoes darting through the water and the squid were emitting blue-green fluorescent flashes in the water. We also saw some grapefruit-sized fluorescent flashes which were attributed to be from moon jellies. We also observed several wandering albatrosses during the voyage with a one young juvenile female flying from behind up to the stern and hovering there for a little while – I was at the wheel steering the ship and could not try to take a photo. We also saw numerous birds that included white-chinned petrels and light-mantled sooty albatrosses. We also saw many fur seals porpoising through the water similar to the way that penguins swim.

After arriving at the northern South Georgia Islands during the evening of March 18^th, we continued to sail East around the northern islands about 2.5 miles offshore in dense fog toward a suitable landing site on the eastern side of South Georgia Island. We could hear the sounds of the wildlife through the foggy mist during the blue watch from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. on March 19^th. We anchored at Rosita Harbor during the morning of March 19^th.

Photos from Antarctica

March 31, 2007
Notes from aboard Europa

South Georgia
South Georgia is a dependency of the United Kingdom and consists of a group of islands situated near Latitude 54 degrees S and approximately 1,270 miles East of Cape Horn and is within the Antarctic Convergence. The predominant island is South Georgia, and I was amazed at the abundance of wildlife present and the marvelous landscape of the leeward eastern coast. We did not sail along any portion of the windward western coast. The colonies of king penguins and the wandering albatross nesting areas made South Georgia my favorite destination of this trip to Antarctica and South Georgia.

After arriving at the northern South Georgia Islands during the evening of March 18^th, we continued to sail East around the northern islands about 2.5 miles offshore in dense fog toward a suitable landing site on the eastern side of South Georgia Island. We could hear the sounds of the wildlife through the foggy mist during our watch from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. on March 19^th.

We anchored at Rosita Harbor in the Bay of Isles during the morning of March 19^th. Soon after arriving at Rosita Harbor, we were greeted by many fur seals swimming toward the ship and they continued to swim near the ship in large numbers for quite some time. The weather was quite foggy with mist. After lunch, the weather began to improve. As the fog lifted we could begin to really appreciate the magnificent folded rock strata landscape of South Georgia. We took zodiac cruises around Rosita Harbor and observed an abundance of wildlife that included colonies of fur seals with pups, three king penguins, a gentoo penguin, blue-eyed shags, giant petrels, and several kinds of albatrosses.

The following morning was clear and sunny with fog shrouding some of the mountains. We arrived at the Salisbury Plain at 8:00 a.m. to see a very large colony of king penguins. The fog came back in while we were preparing to land at Salisbury Plain – you quickly learn that the weather at South Georgia can change quite suddenly. The beach and surrounding area had an abundance of fur seals, a colony of king penguins, and one lone gentoo penguin that I observed. The king penguin colony consisted of several thousand penguins and extended up the side of the mountain. The king penguins incubate their eggs on their feet similar to the Emperor penguins – some penguins had eggs on their feet waiting to hatch. Within the interior of the colony there were penguin chicks that were molting. Of all the penguins that I have seen, the king penguins are my favorite penguins.

The afternoon of March 20^th, we sailed to Prion Island where a group of wandering albatrosses breed. The small beach area of Prion Island where we landed was covered with fur seals. Many more fur seals were in the clumps of tussock grass on the sides of the mountains. We made our way among some aggressive fur seals as we hiked up the mountains on our way to the albatross nesting areas. We observed several wandering albatrosses nesting and one pair performing the wandering albatross courtship ritual. Several wandering albatrosses were soaring above the mountains as we were observing the nesting areas. This opportunity to visit the nesting sites was probably the highlight of my trip to South Georgia. As I was waiting for a zodiac back to the Europa, three king penguins came ashore and glistened in the sunshine. After Prion Island, we sailed to Prince Olav Harbor for anchorage. The entire day was magical with constantly changing weather patterns.

We awoke to another foggy morning on March 21^st at Prince Olav Harbor which was once a whaling station. We took a zodiac cruise to the old whaling station and the shipwreck Brutus, a coal hauling ship. The whaling station was quite interesting with many buildings that were built using brick construction. We went ashore and hiked among tussock grass and some more aggressive fur seals to the top of a hill with the cemetery that overlooks the harbor and the whaling station. The wildlife at Prince Olav harbor included fur seals, gentoo penguins, giant petrels, and blue-eyed shags. We set sail and arrived at Fortuna Bay at approximately 2:00 p.m. The landscape at Fortuna Bay is incredible with the very old rocks twisted in many directions as South Georgia was formed. The Konig Glacier feeds one end of the bay and a second glacier feeds in from the Northeast side of the bay. Reindeer were visible on the hillsides from the ship by using binoculars. We made a landing on the beach among fur seals, king penguins, several gentoo penguins, and some elephant seals. There was an old sealers cave nearby and another colony of king penguins about one kilometer away. An occasional reindeer could be observed up on the hillsides. The reindeer were introduced to South Georgia by Norwegian whalers. We were told that South Georgia has relocated some of the reindeer to the Falkland Islands to preserve that reindeer strain and plans to eradicate the remaining reindeer in the near future.

The morning of March 22^nd was sunny at Fortuna Bay with fog visible out over the ocean. A group departed the ship to take a 5.5 kilometer hike to Stromness – described as very steep down the back of 300 meter high terrain. My left knee was marginal from the Prion Island and Prince Olav Harbor hikes over loose rocks in rubber boots so I declined to take this hike. The Europa sailed to Stromness which is the site of another old whaling station and is where Ernest Shackelton hiked to after he sailed to South Georgia following the loss of his ship, the Endurance. Lunch was served on the main deck after the hikers returned too the ship. After lunch, a zodiac cruise was provided around the beach area and the old whaling station for the people who did not go on the hike from Fortuna Bay. There was some interesting architecture in a few of the old buildings and there were elephant seals, fur seals, gentoo penguins, and king penguins on the beach. We set sail to Grytviken and anchored off shore at the King Edward Point British Research Base – this is the British Government headquarters for South Georgia. That night the sky was clear with many stars and raindrops falling on the main deck area even though there were no clouds evident.

After we docked at King Edward Point on the morning of March 23^rd, the British Officials boarded the Europa to check our passports and to clear us for visitation to South Georgia. I disembarked and hiked to the Ernest Shackelton Memorial at Hope Point amid some very aggressive fur seals. I also hiked to the old Grytviken whaling station and to the church where Shackelton’s funeral was conducted. The church has recently been restored and also contains the old Grytviken Library. Since a sign said that it was permissible to ring the church bells softly, I couldn’t resist the temptation to ring the bells. I also braved some more aggressive fur seals and hiked to the cemetery where Shackelton is buried – he was buried facing south and everyone else there was buried facing east. After lunch, I hiked up the mountain above the cemetery to the dam that forms the lake for fresh water for Grytviken and the British Research Base. The museum at Grytviken is superb.

On the morning of March 24^th, I signed up for a 9:30 a.m. lecture by the British Research Base personnel on the fishery program that they administer for South Georgia. We set sail for Godthul and sailed past a large rocky area where they said that the black and white spots were a colony of macaroni penguins – my zoom lenses were not powerful enough to distinguish a macaroni penguin. We sailed into Cobbler’s Cove, a tiny cove with magnificent scenery, and on to Godthul. We made a landing at Godthul which had a very narrow beach that was covered with whale bones from when a whaling ship operated there. There were also fur seals and a colony of gentoo penguins present. Behind the beach, there was an abundance of Tussock grass full of fur seals and further up the slope was a gentoo penguin rookery. A group hiked past the penguin rookery and explored the immediate area. We spent the night at Godthul and in the morning the Europa and the surrounding landscapes were covered with a couple of inches of snow – more of the changeable South Georgia weather.

We set sail and arrived at Ocean Harbor in the morning of March 25^th. The shipwreck Bayard is at Ocean Harbor which was once the home to a whaling station which we were told had been previously relocated to Stromness. The Bayard had been built at Liverpool, England in 1864 and had been blown from its moorings at Ocean Harbor by hurricane force winds in 1911. A colony of blue-eyed shags now occupies the deck of the Bayard. There were elephant seals, fur seals, and some king penguins on the beach. After lunch, we took a zodiac cruise around a point to Penguin Cove where we landed between two groups of elephant seals – one group had several very large elephant seals. We spent time on the beach watching the elephant seals, fur seals, gentoo penguins, king penguins, and some more of the reindeer on the hillsides. We spent the night at Ocean Harbor.

We set sail at 4:30 a.m. on March 26^th and arrived at Cooper Bay at approximately 10:00 a.m. The landscape along the Southeast coast of South Georgia was spectacular with many glaciers going into the ocean. I saw some chinstrap penguins swimming near the ship as we sailed near Cooper Bay. We anchored at Cooper Bay with beautiful sunny weather and landed on the beach amid elephant seals and fur seals. We hiked up the hillside amid the tussock grass and more aggressive fur seals before arriving at a colony of macaroni penguins. Some of the macaroni penguins were nestled away in the tussock grass and difficult to see. From our hillside vantage point, we were able to look down onto a colony of macaroni penguins below on the rocks near the ocean. We also were treated to a circumsolar halo of the sun in the cirro-stratus clouds. Later we took the zodiac around near the rocks to get another look at the macaronis. This was our last stop at South Georgia and it was an incredible day. By the time we returned to the ship at approximately 2:30 p.m., the weather had deteriorated with increasing waves and wind from the wrong direction to begin sailing to Tristan da Cunha – the Captain decided to remain here until the following morning. We hoisted anchor at 6:00 a.m. and began sailing toward Tristan da Cunha on March 27^th.

Photos from South Georgia

April 26, 2007
Notes from aboard Europa and arrival at Cape Town, South Africa

Sailing from the South Georgia Islands to Tristan da Cunha
The voyage from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha took eleven days, and we arrived at Tristan da Cunha during the morning of April 7^th. Prior to departing South Georgia, the Captain reorganized the watch teams by moving some people among the three watch teams. The weather during my watches varied from temperatures as low as 3 degrees C to 8 degrees C for several days, windy and overcast, a large storm, occasional rain, hail, and salt spray to partly cloudy with bright sunshine and as high as plus17 degrees C as we approached Tristan da Cunha.

We hoisted the anchor at 6:00 a.m. on March 27^th and set sail from Cooper Bay to Tristan da Cunha – 1,400 miles northeast in the middle of the southern Atlantic Ocean. We were back on the watch system and were greeted by a magnificent sunrise as we sailed away from South Georgia. We continued to be surrounded by numerous icebergs until we crossed out of the Antarctic Convergence between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. on March 29^th. We observed a unique iceberg which was blue with a dirty black portion on one side as we sailed past it on March 29^th. During several of the night watches, I was able to observe fluorescing squid and moon jellies near the bow of the ship. We were also able to observe numerous sea birds including numerous wandering albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, sooty albatrosses, white-chinned petrels, greater shearwaters, and Antarctic terns.

During the evening of March 30^th and the early morning of March 31^st, we encountered a fierce storm which sent waves crashing over the main deck and at times portions of some waves were nearly up to the poop deck floor level. The weather was continually variable and could change from bright sunshine to high winds with rain in a matter of an hour or two. After the storm, water had condensed along the inside of the ship and was being sucked into my foam mattress which required drying out the following day – several other bunks also required drying out as well. Our watches continued around the clock throughout the voyage to Tristan da Cunha.

A large carton of hard boiled eggs was put in the deck house on April 6^th together with coloredmarkers for people to decorate the eggs for an Easter egg decorating contest. Most of us decorated an egg and the eggs were quite colorful.

Tristan da Cunha
We sailed along the coast of Tristan da Cunha and past the settlement of Edinburgh between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on April 7^th and arrived at our anchorage area at 9:45 a.m. Since the harbor at Tristan was closed due to the high waves, we remained aboard the Europa the remainder of the day. We observed numerous yellow-nosed albatrosses and Antarctic terns while we were anchored at Tristan. A couple of people fished from the ship and Kingsley from Australia caught a fish in excess of 90 pounds which some on board called a grouper but the Tristan locals said it was a sea bass. Some of the fish was used as sushi, some went into fish chowder, and the remainder was served as fillets. During the evening of April 7^th we had a BBQ on the main deck and a party that continued well into the night. We were hopeful that the weather would be good enough for Tristan to open the harbor so we could go ashore the following day. We also saw another small sailboat arrive near where we were anchored but they did not stay in the area during the night.

A wind shift on April 8^th once again prevented the opening of the harbor at Tristan. The Captain delayed our departure to Cape Town one more day and sailed to an anchor point closer to the Tristan harbor in hope that the harbor could open on the following day. Since my injured hand had gotten better, I was able to climb the forward mast to help unfurl the upper and lower top sails. The small sailboat less than 30 feet long that we had seen the night before returned to Tristan. We found out that they were en route from South America to Cape Town and that they lost their anchor and anchor chain when they attempted to anchor near us the night before. They sailed near us and they attached a heave line from the Europa to their sailboat to spend the night. We also celebrated the birthday for the first mate aboard the Europa that night.

Luck was with us on the morning of April 9^th and Tristan was able to open the harbor. Once the immigration formalities were completed we began zodiac landings at the harbor amid calm winds and very light swells. I landed at Tristan at 9:30 a.m. Tristan da Cunha is approximately at Latitude 37 degrees S and is approximately 1,500 miles East of Cape Town, South Africa. It has a long history and was evacuated after a volcano eruption in 1961, although many of the people subsequently returned. I believe that is a dependency of St. Helena which in turn is a dependency of the United Kingdom. It has a population of between 290 and 300 people and is referred to as the most remote inhabited island in the world. The population stems from seven family names and has a rock lobster freezing plant as their local industry. I was told by the Tristan radio operator that each family is allowed to keep two milking cows and I believe eight sheep within the settlement of Edinburgh. They have an orchard and potato patches outside of the settlement. They also have a herd of cattle and sheep on the other side of the island. They issue fishing permits for fishing vessels to fish in their waters, and the fishing vessels also serve to bring provisions to the island. They are also supplied by other provisioning vessels. Passengers may travel to Tristan aboard the fishing vessels but their return passage may be delayed because medical evacuation patients from Tristan have priority aboard departing vessels.

Once ashore, I went to the museum which has very nice historical exhibit. The weather ashore was magnificent, and I hiked up to the lava flow fields from the 1961 volcano eruption. The island has an Internet café which transmits and receives via satellite. The Internet is free to the local school children and I was able to use it as well. I went to the local pub where I had an Amstel beer and a tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch. The residents of Tristan knit gorgeous sweaters by hand and other articles for sale to the occasional tourist. I also went to the post office where I mailed home a post card. I am very happy that we got an opportunity to set foot on Tristan. In addition, some fishermen at Tristan gave a 10 Kilogram octopus to Sharon from Australia who brought it back to the ship – she cooked it for everyone on board while we were sailing to Cape Town.

The previous harbor closures prevented us from traveling with a local guide to nearby Nightingale Island where yellow-nosed albatrosses nest and where we might have been able to observe rockhopper penguins. Perhaps the people who travel on the Europa during 2008 will get that opportunity.

Sailing from Tristan da Cunha to Cape Town
We heaved anchor at 5:30 p.m. and set sail to Cape Town on April 9^th – the voyage from Tristan da Cunha to Cape Town took eleven days. As we sailed from Tristan, we observed large flocks of yellow-nosed albatrosses nearby and later observed ordinary dolphins around the bow of the Europa. All sails had been set by 9:30 p.m. and we were back on the watch system.

On April 10^th we tacked the ship at 8:00 p.m. and during the process, we broke the royal yardarm on the forward mast. The broken yardarm was taken down the following day and repairs to it were initiated. The broken yardarm was shortened, repaired, and the forward royal sail reinstallation was completed on April 13^th.

We continued to experience all types of weather as we continued sailing to Cape Town. On the morning of April 13^th we experienced a spectacular sunrise with a solar column visible in the clouds.

On April 14^th we crossed the Zero Longitude Meridian at 12:15 a.m. and were summoned by the ship’s horn to a Meridian crossing party. The Captain served drinks of either Berenburgh or Schipper Bitter to celebrate the crossing.

We observed large numbers of sea birds during the voyage to Cape Town and during the afternoon of April 17^th we were treated to an exhibition by a large number of pilot whales around the ship jumping and riding on the very large waves that we were experiencing.

During the early morning of April 19^th we experienced clear sky, calm sea and a brisk wind so I climbed to the top of the forward mast, out to the end of the bow sprint and half way up the main mast to take some spectacular photos of the Europa and the sails.

The temperature continued to be warm, and scraping, sanding, and varnishing of wood began. Once the skysail masts and yardarms had been varnished, the main mast skysail was installed on April 19^th – I helped hoist the skysail yardarm up into position to be installed on the main skysail mast. I was also able to help hoist the forward skysail mast up for installation at the top of the forward mast on April 20^th as we sailed along the coast of Africa.

My last watch was from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on April 20^th, and I was able to experience my first sunrise over the African continent. I went to the bow to look at the sunrise which was initially bright pink and was drenched from head to foot by a wave over the bow just after I took a photo. I observed whales, dolphins, fur seals, and a sun fish as we sailed northbound along the African coast. The weather continued to clear and became a picture perfect day as we arrived at Cape Town in the early afternoon. The immigration process took a very long time and was not completed until later in the evening. I was given a temporary residence permit classified as a visiting crew transit yachtsmen and must depart Africa on my scheduled departure date of April 28^th to Victoria Falls. Once I return from Victoria Falls, I will be issued a standard tourist visa.

After arriving in Cape Town, a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables were boarded and we had a delicious salad bar dinner that evening. I departed the Europa after breakfast on April 21^st and took a taxi to my hotel. After a very long shower, I went back to the waterfront to purchase a local SIM card for my mobile phone. The Europa was in the process of leaving the dock to go over to the dry dock area of the waterfront for scheduled maintenance. I was asked to cast off the last heave line for the Europa. I felt a sudden tear-jerking moment as I cast off the line and the Europa left the dock without me on board. At that moment, I suddenly realized how much of an impact my 53 days on board the Europa had on my life. The Europa

Photos from Tristan da Cunha and Arrival at Cape Town

April 28, 2007
Victoria Falls

Arrived Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and our suite is amazing – it even overlooks a water hole used by wild animals. So far we've seen wild boar, buffalo, impala, banded mongoose, marabou stork, grey heron, and guinea fowl from our balcony.

Photos from Victoria Falls

May 5, 2007
Notes from Africa

We had a busy 6 days in Zimbabwe and Botswana – two nights each in Victoria Falls, Chobe, and the Okavango Delta.

We arrived at the Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe and were met by a driver who took us to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, where we were surprised to find that we had a beautiful split-level suite, complete with a huge 4-poster canopy bed with mosquito netting (not needed, since there were very few mosquitoes, but the staff nevertheless put down the netting every evening), a huge bathroom, and a balcony overlooking a watering hole. From the balcony we could see herds of buffalo and impala, as well as baboons, guinea fowl, banded mongoose, a marabou stork, and other birds. We went on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River and observed Nile crocodiles, hippos, and various birds. The next day we went on a walking tour of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Because of the volume of water, much of the Falls was shrouded in mist, and the clouds of mist could be seen from miles away.

Our first evening in Victoria Falls, we had dinner at the “Boma Eating Place.” Each person was draped with a piece of African cloth knotted at the shoulder, and the buffet included barbequed warthog (surprisingly delicious!), kudu, springbok and ostrich, and the entertainment consisted of traditional African dancers and singers and a drum-along session where everyone had their own drum – everyone had fun. On our return to the hotel, we saw a spitting cobra devouring a smaller snake.

We had no problem with Zimbabwe currency, which is suffering from hyper-inflation, since US dollars and South African rand were welcome everywhere.

From Victoria Falls, we were driven to the Zimbabwe border (about 1-1/2 hours), where we crossed into Botswana. After the border crossing (including walking through a decontamination shoe bath), we were picked up by another driver, who took us to the Chobe Game Lodge, where we were given a busy itinerary of early morning and late afternoon game drives and a late morning cruise. We saw lots of elephants (they say there are over 45,000 elephants in the Chobe reserve), giraffes, zebras, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, hippos, impala, puku, kudu, sable antelope, mongoose, bushbuck, a pride of lions, black backed jackels, and many different birds. On the second afternoon game drive, we observed crocodiles feasting on a dead buffalo.

We were picked up at the Chobe Game Lodge and taken to the Kasane airport, where we boarded a 7-passenger plane for a midday flight to the Okavango Delta. Unfortunately, it was a very bumpy ride and the pilot made two stops along the way, making a total flight of about two hours. Jan did not enjoy the flight. However, we were greeted very warmly by our host, Judy, one of the managers of Camp Okavango, and shown to our very comfortable “tent,” complete with king-size bed and full bathroom. Our itinerary included motor-boat and canoe rides through the Delta and a walking safari on one of the islands. While walking, we observed warthogs, red lechwe antelopes, buffalo, elephants, and lots of hippos.

The food at Camp Okavango was the best we’ve had so far, and our after-dinner conversations with the other guests and camp managers was most interesting, especially talking to Kuvos, the manager, who has a PhD in zoology, among many other talents.

We had an early-morning flight from the Camp Okavango airstrip, and Judy kindly gave Jan a motion-sickness pill. The flight was much smoother than the previous one and flew directly to the Kasane airport, so Jan was in good shape. We were met at the airport by a driver who transferred us to the Zimbabwe border where we transferred to another driver who delivered us to the Victoria Falls airport. We flew back to Johannesburg, where we’ll spend two nights before our early-morning departure for our tour in Kruger National Park.

Photos from Chobe and Photos from Okavango

May 10, 2007
Kruger National Park

We're having a great time on our Kruger Park safari. We had two nights at a camp called Pretoriuskop and tonight is our third and last night at Skukuza Camp. We've seen impalas, rhinos, elephants, impalas, giraffes, hippos, impalas, bushbuck, klipspringer antelope, hyenas, cheetah, impalas, kudus (i.e., LOTS of impalas!), etc.

May 12, 2007
Notes from Africa

Our safari in Kruger National Park exceeded our expectations. We spotted all of the "South Africa Big 5" – lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant, and, on our very last afternoon game drive, the elusive leopard. New species that we hadn’t seen before included cheetahs, hyenas, Tsessebe antelopes, Steenbok, Nyala antelope, Klipspringer antelope, leopard tortoise, bush baby, saddle-billed stork, and fruit bats. Each game drive brought at least one new sighting.

Our travel and accommodations, arranged by Siyabona Africa Travel, were excellent. We stayed two nights at Pretoriuskop camp and three nights at Skukuza. At both camps, we were housed in private air-conditioned bungalows with full inside bath and small outside kitchen. Impala and warthogs roamed freely throughout the Pretoriuskop camp. Vervet monkeys were present in both camps and were quick to steal any scraps of food from the garbage cans and from unattended campsite tables. Excellent meals were prepared over an open fire by the Siyobona chefs and served in the Siyobona base camp nearby. Our typical day was coffee, tea, and rusks at 5:45 a.m., a morning game drive from 6 to 9 followed by a full breakfast, leisure time until lunch at 2 p.m., afternoon game drive at 3, followed by dinner. At meals and game drives we were usually joined by two to four other safari participants. Both camps had outdoor big-screen nature-themed movies at 7:00.

While we were at Pretoriuskop, we heard the cries of the bush baby (like a child crying) and the fruit bat, both nocturnal animals, but we couldn’t see them in the dark. While at Skukuza, we were lucky that one of the Siyabona staff spotted a bush baby in a tree, since they are usually very hard to see. The fruit bats had nested under the roof of a thatched dining pavilion, and we could see them cuddling their young – very cute.

We thought we were going to have to go home without seeing a leopard, but on our last afternoon game drive, one of our fellow travelers, Sufang from Whittier, California (currently living in Hong Kong), gasped that she had seen a leopard. Our driver backed up and sure enough, it was still visible among the bush. We weren't able to get any still pictures, but we did get some video and a decent screen shot.

Photos from Kruger National Park

May 17, 2007
India

First Day at Delhi

I finally arrived at Delhi about 1:30 a.m. and got checked into my room at the Intercontinental Hotel at Nehru Place around 2:30 a.m. At about 11:30 a.m. I transferred to the Crown Plaza Delhi hotel where my original reservation had been booked for many months. The taxi driver between the two hotels was named Kaku, and I ended up hiring him as my car and driver for some afternoon sightseeing in Delhi.

The daytime traffic in Delhi requires the drivers to be aware of every inch of their vehicles as they jostle among the throng of other drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and animals for positions on the streets. The cows still seem to have the right of way along the streets of Delhi.

The first stop was at the Fort of Tughluqabad and to Ghiyath-ud-Din's Tomb which he built for himself between 1321 and 1325. Originally, the tomb was built connected to the fort by a causeway which has been partially demolished for construction of a major road that now bisects the causeway.

The next stop was at the remains of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid which is the earliest extant mosque in India. The Alai Darwaza formed the main access through the southern wall of the enlarged Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid and is described as one of the treasured gems of Islamic architecture. Within the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid stands the Qutb Minar Tower which stands 72.5 meters high and is the tallest stone tower in India.

I decided to also hire Kaku for some more sightseeing tomorrow.

Photos from New Delhi

May 18, 2007
India

Second Day at Delhi

I met Kaku and his taxi in front of the Crown Plaza hotel at 9:00 a.m. and we headed out to see a few more sights in Delhi. We went to Old Delhi and, since taxis are not allowed in Old Delhi, we hired a rickshaw cyclist who pedaled us around. Our first stop was at the Jama Masjid Delhi mosque. Since it was not open to the public early in the morning, we viewed it from outside as we meandered around some of the local market stalls that were also being set up for business.

Old Delhi seemed to have a special character of its own and we had our rickshaw driver pedal us around through the bazaar markets. Kaku said that the early morning markets are wholesale markets and that we arrived as some of the wholesale markets were starting to close and some of the retail markets were starting to open. In retrospect, the streets of Old Delhi would be worth a return trip sometime in the future.

The Red Fort of Delhi is situated within Old Delhi and we made a visit to it. It was large and imposing but it could not compare with the Red Fort of Agra that I visited during my 2004 trip to India.

After the Red Fort, we drove through the gate that separates Old Delhi from New Delhi. The gate was very picturesque from the Old Delhi side but my camera was off and by the time it became actuated, we were through the gate and the New Delhi side was obscured by vegetation. With the traffic in Delhi, we elected not to attempt to turn around for a second try at a photo opportunity.

We continued to the India Gate which is at the opposite end of a large street that runs to the Government buildings. The Government buildings comprised the parliament building, government office buildings, and the President's residence.

The temperature continued to soar and the air conditioned taxi was barely keeping us from sweltering within the taxi. Our last stop was at Safdarjang's Tomb built during the mid-1700s. Kaku was very good as a driver and I will retain his local mobile phone number to be able to contact him if I return to Delhi in the future.

Next stop, Thailand.

Photos from Old Delhi

May 22, 2007
Thailand

Sightseeing

I rented a small Toyota this morning and headed off West of Udon Thani to the Erawan Cave. It was a good drive along the major highway to the cave and a good way to get acclimated to the Thailand drivers and different types of vehicles. The Erawan Cave is situated about one half way up the side of a mountain and is visible from the side road leading to the parking area. The cave has a Buddha sitting in the entrance of the cave. It was quite a hike up to the cave entrance and then it was a cool hike through the cave to the other end which opens to a sheer cliff drop off.

The next stop was another cave with a wat integrated into it but I don't remember the name of the cave and at the wat, Thai language was the only description that I observed. It was a very interesting complex and it is situated between the Erawan Cave and the Phu Phrabat Historical Park.

The next stop was at the Phu Phrabat Historical Park which is located in the Baanphue district of the Udon Thani province. It opened to the public during 1992 as a sightseeing destination. The site contains some ancient rock paintings and some very interesting rock formations. The literature handout at the park states that the area is a sacred place for Buddhism and Hinduism religious ritual performances. Since my camera battery was running low, I took a limited number of photos. I will certainly re-visit the park in the future if I happen to be in the area.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent returning to Udon Thani and returning the rental car.

Tomorrow I head off to Vientiane, Laos.

Photos from Thailand

May 24, 2007
Notes from Laos

While I was exploring in the vicinity of Udon Thani, Thailand, I decided to take a side trip to Laos. The Austrian Government provided funding to facilitate the construction of the Friendship Bridge to span the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos. The bridge was completed in the early 1990s and is situated East of Vientiane, Laos and Si Chiang Mai, Thailand and provides the means the main border crossing point between Laos and Thailand in the vicinity of Vientiane. The bridge has railroad tracks built in for train service between Thailand and Laos but the train service has never been initiated and is not due to open "for a few years to come."

The first challenge was to determine exactly what was required on my part to obtain a tourist visa for Laos. I had been told that foreigners were required to obtain a Lao visa from the Lao embassy in Bangkok, but I had also been told that I could obtain a visa at the border crossing. I went to the local tourist travel agency across the street from my hotel and was told that it was possible to obtain an expedited visa at the Friendship Bridge border crossing customs office. They said that I could book a one day tour with them which would include a private car with driver and that they could also provide an English speaking guide. Since I really wanted to see more than just the local Vientiane sights and tourist markets, I inquired about a two day trip. They said that a two day trip could be arranged and that I could book into one of two hotels – the five star Don Chan Palace hotel that overlooks the Mekong River or at a four star hotel. Since I had seen the Don Chan Palace hotel from the Si Chiang Mai side of the Mekong a couple of years ago, I decided to stay there for one night. I booked the trip to depart for Vientiane on May 23rd and to return to Udon Thani on May 24th.

My next stop was at the local Internet café where I searched on Vientiane tourist attractions. I browsed several web sites and made a list of possible tourist attractions to check out while in Laos. One of the attractions that looked interesting was the Nin Khana Waterfalls which were North of Vientiane on Route 13. Route 13 turns out to be the main northbound highway in Laos between Vientiane and the China border.

My car arrived at the hotel at 7:00 a.m. with driver and guide. The car was actually a nearly new seven person air conditioned minivan. We set off northbound on highway A12 or route 2 from Udon Thani toward the Friendship Bridge. After going through the particulars about who pays for lunches, dinners, and gasoline for the van, the guide said that he would not be able to accompany me to the local Vientiane tourist attractions because he was not an official Lao tour guide. When I mentioned the waterfalls, he said that the car was a Thai tour car and was only authorized to stay within Vientiane. It was becoming clear that my car and driver and tour guide were probably operating somewhat illegally within Laos. Not to be deterred, I pressed on regarding the waterfalls and asked what was required to visit the waterfalls and attractions outside of Vientiane. Finally my guide said that to visit outside of Vientiane, they would need to hire an official Lao tour guide and to obtain special documents for the van at an extra cost. Since I was already on the road, I decided that the additional two thousand Thai bhat was a necessary extra charge for my excursion into Laos.

When we arrived at the customs and immigration area for my visa into Laos, I filled out the paperwork, gave my passport and $35 US dollars to the official in a booth, and was told to have a seat outside with a number of other travelers. I had been told that it could take up to an hour for them to process my visa but in about ten minutes, a window opened and a hand waved my passport to the crowd. I assumed that I must have filled out the paperwork incorrectly or something, but I found out that my visa had already been processed. Our next stop was to pick up our local Lao tour guide who spoke very good English.

From the moment he got on the van, my journey to Laos became a real joy. Our first stop was at the waterfalls that I had mentioned. The side road to the waterfalls was a narrow hilly dirt road and my driver navigated around some enormous potholes – I was glad that it was not raining. The river was barely flowing but the waterfalls and rock formations were interesting. There were a lot of butterflies along the side of the river as well as a group of school children on a day trip. We continued northbound on route 13 and stopped for lunch at Phom Nong. Lunch consisted of a rice noodle dish accompanied by free drinking water. My guide talked about trekking trips in the far North, home stay trips staying with Loa families, and other exciting possibilities – I have his card for my next excursion into Laos.

As we continued northbound on highway 13, I couldn't help but notice the poor condition of the roads in Laos. Highway 13 was a two lane road that was paved but in places had deteriorated to washboard gravel surfaces. Continuing North on highway 13, we passed countless logging trucks and other large trucks coming southbound fully loaded. We entered the mountains about fifty kilometers North of Vientiane and the winding narrow route 13 became more picturesque and more treacherous. We drove through some of the villages of the mountain tribes people and crossed numerous picturesque streams. We continued one hundred fifty kilometers North of Vientiane to the town of Vang Vieng where the landscape is dominated by massive limestone mountains. Two cement plants have been built by Chinese companies and are operating here – alas, more huge trucks on highway 13.

We stopped at Vang Vieng to visit the Tham Tjang cave which is situated next to the Nam Song River. It is located as part of a resort complex funded by Chinese investors which was developing the immediate area. Please note that the term "resort" in Laos is not necessarily the same as "resort" elsewhere in the world. The cave entrance was part way up the side of a limestone mountain and had wonderful stalactites and stalagmites. There was a small river flowing from a cave entrance at the bottom of this same mountain and this small river joined the Nam Song River.

We continued along the Nam Song River into the town of Vang Vieng and walked across a bamboo footbridge to an island. We continued along the river to another cave but did not enter it. Back at Vang Vieng, we crossed a large paved area with some local markets and a bus station – my Lao guide said that the locals call it A4 since it was once a US Air Force runway. Since it was late in the afternoon, we headed back to Vientiane along highway 13 and arrived in time to have a sunset dinner beside the Mekong River near the Don Chan Palace hotel.

I spent the night at the Don Chan Palace which is the only five star hotel in the city. It was comfortable but would not be rated with five stars outside of Laos. My driver and Thai guide met me at the hotel lobby at 9:00 a.m. and we set off to see some local sights on our way back to Thailand. The first stop was at the Ho Phra Keo Museum which was originally erected by King Settathirat to conceal the emerald Buddha which is now in the Wat Phra Keo in Bangkok. My second stop was at Vat Sisaket which is the only temple to have survived Siamese invasions and is the oldest building in Vientiane. Continuing on, I stopped at the Pratuxay monument which was built during the 1960s and is the Arc de Triumphe of Vientiane. I climbed to the top of the monument to get a good panoramic view of Vientiane. My fourth stop was at Stupa That Luang which constitutes the national symbol of Laos. This large, holy Stupa is said to contain a hair from the Buddha. My fifth stop was at That Dam or the black stupa which is very old and according to legend, was the guardian of a seven headed dragon that would protect the city from Siamese invasion – because of lack of success in this respect, it is little worshipped. One final stop was at Vat Si Muang which is the most visited vat by the Lao people. It holds the "pillar" of the town which is why it is considered the center of the Ancient spirit of Vientiane. To my surprise, I came across a Marabou stork within the vat and was within one meter of it – we never got very close to Marabou storks while we were in Africa a few weeks ago.

Heading East along the Mekong River, we continued past the Friendship Bridge to Vat Xieng Khuan which is twenty seven kilometers from Vientiane. This is actually a Buddha Park where a monk built many statues including the Laying Buddha which is over one hundred fifty meters long. The monk hoped to unify Buddhism and Hinduism through the statues and built a similar place across the Mekong River at Nong Khai which I visited about a year ago. In my opinion, Vat Xieng Khuan is a must see if visiting the Vientiane area but unfortunately most of the Vientiane tours fail to include it in their trips.

A short backtrack along the river took us back to the Friendship Bridge where we exited Laos and entered Thailand. Once across the bridge, it was a short comfortable journey on Thailand’s very good multi-lane highway back to my hotel at Udon Thani.

Photos from Laos

May 25, 2007
Thailand

More exploring of West Udon Thani

Rented the car again today and headed West on highway 210 to Loei Province and headed South on highway 2016. My first stop was at the Huay-lao National Forest Park (the road sign showed it as HUAI LAO FALL FOREST PARK). There is a stream that flows down the mountains with small waterfalls. Getting to the various waterfalls requires a 1.7 kilometer hike up the mountains and signs point to paths to at least 5 different waterfalls. I took the hike and went as far as waterfall number 5. The hike was primarily through a mixed growth forest with many very large bamboo trees and I realized that I don't remember ever hiking through a bamboo forest.

My next stop was at the Bodhisattva Cave situated less than thirty kilometers from the Huay-lao Park. It was an extremely interesting cave complex in that the top of the original cave is missing in most places and you hike through limestone formations with huge hanging roots from trees above and beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. The cave formations are within a small rainforest and a local guide is a necessity to explore the cave.

On the return trip to Udon Thani, I encountered a monster rainstorm which blew many huge trees down across highway 210. In addition to torrential rain, the fallen trees created some monumental traffic jams. The local Thai people got out of their vehicles and, with upwards of thirty people all working together, pushed the trees out of the highway. The rain subsided about half way back to Udon Thani and I encountered sporadic showers back to Udon.

I hope to explore to the northeast of Udon Thani tomorrow.

Photos from Huay-lao National Forest Park

May 27, 2007
Thailand

Phu Thok

Yesterday, I went to Phu Thok which, according to the Internet, means "isolated mountain" in the Isam dialect. It is a sandstone mountain approximately two hundred meters high in northeast Thailand, east of Nong Khai near the intersection of highways 212 and 222. Temple Wat Phu Thok is situated part way up the mountain and is accessible by wooden stairs. The construction of the stairs began in 1969 and took five years to complete. The stairs/catwalk spiral around the mountain at several levels and transverse sheer cliffs. The Internet also stated that most tourists do not go to the upper level stairs/catwalk because they find them "horrifying and too dangerous." I accepted the challenge and explored every level of the stairs/catwalk and made it to the top of the mountain where I ran into a Thai man who took my photo at the trail's end. It was a long and very hot journey to the top and after returning to my rental car the air conditioning sure felt good.

I drove North on highway 222 to the town of Bueng Kan on the Mekong River where I ate lunch overlooking the river. During the drive back to Udon Thani, I encountered some scattered heavy rain and then it continued to rain as I entered Udon.

Today is a relaxing day and I plan to head back to Bangkok tomorrow.

Photos from Phu Thok

May 29, 2007
Thailand

Last day at Bangkok

Went to the Tiger Zoo today. It was pretty commercialized but it is the only place where you can hold a baby tiger and an orangutan. Yep, I held the tiger and was surprised at how long and lean it was. The orangutan was a juvenile with its mother and it was cool to sit with the mother and hold the other one on my lap.

November 9, 2006
Thailand

The Elephant Trek and Monkey Show

Today I went on an Elephant Trek to the waterfall. It was advertised as a two hour trip which included trekking by elephant through the jungle with a short hike to waterfall and a cave with a one hundred year old tree and return back by elephant. I booked the 11:00 a.m. trek with hotel pickup at 10:30. The driver arrived at my hotel about 10:45 and by the time we got to the starting point, there were no elephants available so they took me to a monkey show about a kilometer away from the elephant trek starting point and said they would do the elephant trek as soon as an elephant was available. The monkey show lasted about 20 minutes and then there was no driver to take me back to the elephant trek. So the waiting began in earnest and nobody spoke much, if any, English at the monkey show – also so remote that I had no mobile phone signal to call anyone. After waiting about 1 1/2 hours, I finally communicated that I would pay for one of the monkey show people to take me on his motor bike over the dirt road with a million ruts to the elephant trek. I finally got my elephant trek through the jungle – pretty cool trek and hiked to the waterfall and to the cave. The two hour trek turned out to be most of the day as I got dropped off at my hotel at 5:15 p.m.

Tomorrow I will do the 4 islands snorkeling trip. It is one of the trips that I took a couple of years ago and is was a great trip – includes lunch at Koh Kraden where I got my picture by the big log on the beach that we included in our Xmas card.

The weather has been hot and very hazy. I have never seen it this hazy down here. Got some rain at the hotel today while I was away elephant trekking – there are stars visible tonight but also some lightning in the distance so I don't know what the weather will be tomorrow.

July 18, 2006
Australia

Departing Perth

I am in the airline lounge waiting to board my flight to Bangkok. Perth was an interesting city but very much spread out. The tours that I took to the Pinnacles and to Wave Rock were very interesting and certainly covered a lot of ground both to the North and to the Southeast of Perth.

July 19, 2006
Thailand

Departing Bangkok

I arrived Bangkok at about 7:30 am. I have a flight to Udon Thani at 12:55 pm, so I have another 4 hours until I board that flight – have spent a lot of time at airports during the last 24 hours. I am glad that I have Thai Airways lounge privileges when I fly Thai.

The weather here is overcast – quite a switch from Perth where there were no clouds to be seen. Perth has the reputation of being the sunniest city in the world, with an average of 8 hours of sunshine 365 days a year. It is also the world’s capital city that is the farthest away from all other capital cities.

July 22, 2006
Thailand

Last Day at Udon Thani

I arrived at Udon Thani and immediately went to sleep. The next day I went to Nong Khai and visited two wats which were quite nice – the one had a sculpture garden with a very large number of amazing Buddha statues carved out of rock and the second wat had murals all over the walls depicting much of the images from India that were similar to the stories associated with those at Angkor Wat.

Yesterday was an excursion to the waterfall of seven colors, Chet Si Waterfall – a full days travel and it was also quite interesting. The food here has been quite good from street food vendors. Today has been a relaxing day getting ready to travel to Bangkok tomorrow morning. I am meeting the Bangkok travel agent and his wife tomorrow evening for dinner at the Amari airport hotel – he is the Thai travel agent that I met on my Similan Island snorkeling trip a few months ago.

July 23, 2006
Bangkok Airport

En Route to Singapore

I am at the Singapore Airlines Lounge at the Bangkok airport waiting to board my flight to Singapore. I had a great time with Sit, the Thai travel agent, and his wife Pam yesterday afternoon and evening. They picked me up at the Amari hotel about 1:30 p.m. and took me to Ayuthaya and then to the King's Summer Palace. When they arrived at the hotel, they gave me a yellow polo shirt commemorating the 60th anniversary of the King's rule in Thailand – the shirts are very popular here in Thailand. After we returned to the hotel, I took them to dinner at the Thai buffet restuarant at the Amari hotel.

July 24, 2006
Singapore

2nd Day at Singapore

I had black pepper tiger prawns at the outdoor food court on Scott Road – it has been remodeled and has a lot more people coming to it. The prawns were "out of this world good!" and I am planning on fish head curry later this afternoon when I go to Little India.

I am currently wandering around the area where I believe the multi-storied building with all the electronics stores is located. I would like to replace my Sony polarizing filter that I purchased here several years ago. Last night I stopped by the Sony Gallery at one of the shopping complexes on Orchard Road and looked at the new Sony video camera with the 30 Gigabite internal hard drive – it is pretty cool but very expensive here at Singapore compared with New York prices (so far most electronics things in the shops seem to me to be quite expensive). I plan to continue to meander along toward Little India while I work up a good appetite for the fish head curry.

July 25, 2006
Singapore

Heading Home

I am at the lounge in the Singapore airport waiting to go to the gate to board my flight to Narita.

Fish head curry was quite good at Banana Leaf Apollo – they opened up another branch about 6 months ago and that is where I ate my curry late yesterday afternoon.

December 22, 2005
Buenos Aires

Antarctica

Well, we're back in Buenos Aires, leaving tonight for our flight home. The trip to Antarctica was amazing. The 2 day crossing of the Drake Passage was a bit rough, but once we got to the Antarctic Peninsula it was smooth sailing. The scenery was spectacular, and we were able to go on all 10 of our Zodiak boat excursions, which is almost unheard of. We did encounter some pack ice, wind and snow, but not enough to prevent any of the excursions. One of the highlights was a truly magical late evening sail through the Lemaire Channel...the water was so calm that the mountains and glaciers reflected as mirror images in the water, and it was still daylight nearly 24 hours a day. Even the crew were out on the deck taking photos. On our last couple of landings, the penguin chicks had recently hatched, and we were able to see the parents feeding them - really cute. The cruise was wonderful, with 170 crew members (for 175 passengers). The dozen or so expedition leaders included marine biologists, a glaciologist, other naturalists, and a historian who was a wonderful storyteller and who was amazingly knowledgeable about pioneering expeditions to the area that we visited. The food on the ship was wonderful, and we met a lot of very interesting people. Yesterday, we had most of the day in Ushuaia, and we were able to take the chairlift part way up to the Martial Glacier (it had been closed for repairs when we were there before), and then we hiked up almost to the glacier, which was pretty spectacular.

October 5, 2005
Bangkok

Arrived in Bangkok

I arrived in Bangkok on schedule and had a good night sleep at the Amari Airport hotel. I had the buffet breakfast this morning and went to the train station to check on trains to Nakhon Ratchasima. There are several trains tomorrow and I booked passage for the 11:47 a.m. train 2nd class air conditioned coach (no first class service from here to there) for 238 Thai Bhat with scheduled arrival at Nakhon Ratchasima at 15:23. Looks like the adventure will begin tomorrow.

The weather here upon arrival last night was cloudy with scattered showers and temperature of 88º F. It was raining earlier here this morning but we now have partly cloudy. I have no idea what the forecast is for tomorrow where I am headed.

October 6, 2005
Bangkok

I am getting ready to check out of the hotel this morning and try to catch my train. I have hotel reservations at the Rachaphruk Grand Hotel in Nakhon Rarchasima.

October 7, 2005
Nakhon Ratchasima

Arrived safely about 90 minutes late by train. I am at the hotel and plan to hire a car and driver for tomorrow sightseeing.

October 8, 2005
Nakhon Ratchasima

Hooked up with my car & driver today and went to two Khymer temple ruins sites (Prasat Hin Phimai and Prasat Him Phanom Wan) – both were really quite nice and Phimai was pretty extensive. Also went to the Phimai National Museum which was very cool. Finally topped off the day with a brief stop at the Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo. I will share some more about the car (1970 Mercedes Benz) and driver when I get home.

Tomorrow the same car & driver will head southwest toward Cambodia and take in two more Khymer ruins sites.

Tomorrow midnight – actually 1:00 am – I catch the train to Udon Thani arriving Udon Thani at 5-ish in the morning. I have hotel reservations at Udon Thani and they said they would have room available when I get there from the train.

October 9, 2005
Nakhon Ratchasima

Waiting for Train to Udon Thani Tonight

I have finished the touring around Nakhon Ratchasima and am in the hotel lobby at the internet terminal. Today we went to a neighboring province and saw two more really cool Khymer ruins sites (Phanom Rung PHasat and Prasat Muang Tham). They were well over 100 kilometers away and Phanom Rung Phasat was built on top of and extinct volcano, so it was quite high similar to Machu Picchu. The other one was on the flat land not far away from the first one.

I have a ticket on the 1:00 a.m. train to Udon Thani and a have hotel reservation at the Charoen Hotel. I hope to catch some sleep after I arrive at the hotel tomorrow morning.

October 9, 2005
Udon Thani

Arrived Udon Thani

The train departed the station about a half-hour late and consequently arrived late at Udon Thani at approximately 6:00 a.m. this morning. The 2nd class air conditioned car that I had last night was not nearly as nice as the one that I had from Bangkok to Nakhorn Ratchasima, and I was not able to get any sleep on the train – tried closing my eyes but the seat was cramped and uncomfortable. The hotel had a room for me when I arrived and then later switched me to my reserved room about 11:00 a.m. – I was able to get a buffet breakfast and then some sleep in the room and I am feeling bwtter. There is only one train daily from Korat to Udon Thani so there is no better schedule if you want to travel by train.

There does not seem to be very much to do here since the main Udon Thani province tourist attraction and museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays – oh well. Anyway, I have a car and driver lined up for all day tomorrow to travel North to the Mekong River and the Friendship Bridge that connects Thailand to Laos. Travel to Laos requires a special visa and travelers to Laos must be part of a tour group – individual travel within Laos is prohibited. I have met some really nice people this trip and a lot of Thai people want to get there pictures taken with me at the tourist attractions – I guess I am a tourist attraction for them. I plan to see some of the countryside along the Mekong River tomorrow.

I have flights on Thai Airways from Udon Thani to Phuket via Bangkok on 12 October and plan to spend three nights at Phuket before catching the ferry to Phi Phi on the 15th.

October 11, 2005
Northern Thailand

Trip North to Mekong River

Today I met up with my car & driver and headed North to the border with Laos. We went to Si Chiang Mai which is across the Mekong from Vientiane, Laos and then drove East along the Mekong to Nong Khai where the Thai Friendship Bridge is situated. It was built by Austria and is a very cool bridge about 1,700 meters long. The border between Thailand and Loas is at the center of the bridge. We then continued East along the Mekong to Phon Phisai which has a market along the shoreline above steps along the bank of the Mekong similar to the steps along the Gangi at Varanasi. The river level is low since the rainy season here is between March and June. The population in the vicinity of Nong Khai is about 70 per cent Vietnamese and about 20 per cent Lao with the Thai people making up a very small percentage. On the way back to Udon Thani we stopped at Na Kha Village where they specialize in silk fabric and I was amazed at the number of shops selling silk cloth and clothing articles.

The last stop of the day was at the Udon Thani airport where I went to the Thai Airways ticket office and changed my flight to Phuket from the 12th to the 13th. I decided to stay the extra day here to go to the Ban Chiang National Museum which is a World Heritage Site.

Tomorrow I have another car & driver to go to Ban Chiang and maybe to the elephant cave if time permits.

October 13, 2005
Phuket

Arrived Phuket

I flew from Udon Thani to Phuket today and arrived here about 1:00 p.m. this afternoon only to find that the area here at Patong near my hotel is in the middle of an electrical power failure. They said that they anticipate that the power will be restored by 4 p.m. but I will believe it when I see it. Without the electrical power and the air conditioning, my room is unbearably hot.

I walked along the beach to where Tan has her tourist agency stand and surprised her by just showing up. I purchased my ferry ticket to Phi Phi from her and we are planning to go to the Phuket FantaSea cultural illusion dinner and show tomorrow night – it was closed when I was here in April and it is supposed to be spectacular. I travel to Phi Phi on the 15th.

Fortunately this Internet cafe is just outside the area with the power failure so it has air conditioning in addition to the computers – a real God send for me today.

October 14, 2005
Phuket

Tomorrow I Take the Ferry to Phi Phi

Power came back on yesterday evening and the air conditioning in my room was wonderful. The show tonight was very good with elephants, water buffalo, great magic tricks and awesome costumes. It is rated as the best in Phuket.

Tomorrow morning is another early morning with the transfer service to pick me up at the hotel about 7:15 a.m. to go to the ferry terminal. The Holiday Inn is supposed to meet the ferry to transfer me to the hotel. I am anxious to get to Phi Phi and back with the coral and beautiful fishes.

October 15, 2005
Phi Phi

It is raining cats & dogs here this morning and I am at Phi Phi Village at an Internet place where the service appears to be very good.

Yesterday, the ferry to Phi Phi was uneventful and I was greeted warmly by the hotel managing director as I arrived at the hotel. They gave me a bottle of red wine as a welcome back gift and everywhere I went I was welcomed back by the individual staff members. They had a very nice buffet lunch for 200 Bhat and both the spicy squid soup and the seafood red curry were extremely good. Immediately after checking in, I reserved my long tail boats for all day trips for each of the three days that I will be here.

The computer was in use at my hotel after lunch, so I tried to check E-mail at the Phi Phi Natural Resort but their software would not communicate with AOL. I returned to my hotel and although their computer was vacant, it was extremely slow and after about an hour of trying to get to my E-mail, I abandoned the effort.

They had low tide about 2:00 p.m. and I swam out to the coral about 3:30 p.m. and spent much of the next hour trying to navigate through the tight passages above the coral which was just below the surface. The coral remains beautiful and the fishes are still gorgeous – in fact I saw a small slender very bright iridescent chartreuse fish of a variety that I have never seen before – pretty cool. It rained while I was snorkeling and then continued raining into the evening.

After snorkeling, I tried the computer internet again and got my E-mail but it would not let me type a reply E-mail and I managed to send part of the E-mail that I tried to send earlier. The hotel had an Italian buffet dinner last night and there are quite as few tourists here. Tonight starts the big evening buffet service again according to one of the hotel staff members.

I got my long tail boat in the rain at 10:00 a.m. and the first stop was here at the village. My next stop will be at Monkey Bay, where I have seen lion fishes in the past, and then on to Run Tree Bay and Mosquito Island. Glad that I brought my raincoat to keep me warm during the boat rides between snorkeling.

October 16, 2005
Phi Phi

Second Day in Phi Phi

I had a very good day yesterday in the rain. We didn't go to Mosquito Island yesterday because the waves were too large. The boat drivers are used to driving boats in the rain. I saw another new fish yesterday – it was light gray and looks a little bit like an American catfish – it swam slowly and checked me out while I checked it out.

Today has been a good day also. It has not rained yet but is clouding up and may rain soon. Today I got to Mosquito Island and it was wonderful. I saw a white and black striped sea snake about three feet long – it was really cool as it came up from the bottom but it was also a little scary as it swam toward me. The very large sea snake was a first for me and it will probably be the highlight of my snorkeling adventure here. I splashed around a bit and it retreated back to the bottom within the coral. I also had a big trumpet fish swim along with me for a very long time at Run Tree Beach today. We went to Monkey Island on the way to the Village for me to check my E-mail and we actually saw a bunch of monkeys on the beach – another first for me since I have never seen a single monkey at Monkey Beach.

I have a long tail boat again tomorrow and then head off to Ao Nang on the 19th.

October 17, 2005
Phi Phi

Third Day in Phi Phi

I am into my third day with the long tail boat and stopped at Run Tree Bay on the way to Ton Sai Village to check my E-mail. The water at Run Tree this morning was at high tide and was very cloudy today but the coral and fishes were good.

I plan to finish up my E-mail here in a few minutes and then head off to do some more snorkeling today.

Tomorrow morning, I have a 9:00 a.m. ferry from Ton Sai Bay to Krabi and will need to take a taxi to Ao Nang.

October 18, 2005
Ao Nang

Arrived Ao Nang

I arrived Ao Nang early afternoon and have gotten checked into my hotel. The trip by ferry to Krabi town was uneventful and the taxi to Ao Nang worked out just fine.

I plan to spend most of the afternoon visiting with some friends here.

October 21, 2005
Bangkok

Arrived Back in Bangkok

We had rain showers both days that I was at Ao Nang but I had a good time visiting with friends.

Today was another travel day and I am back at the Bangkok airport en route to the Amari Airport hotel across the street to check in for the next two nights. I plan to go to the Saturday Market tomorrow and have a couple of nights with the good Thai buffet dinner at the Amari hotel.

Sunday is the scheduled travel day back home – I hope it is not an experience like the last flights home from here.

October 22, 2005
Bangkok

Last Day in Bangkok

I had a very good Thai buffet dinner at the Amari last night and am looking forward to another great buffet dinner there tonight for my last dinner in Thailand for this trip.

I went to the Saturday Market for a while today (it is now called the Weekend Market) and is also open on Sunday – I seem to remember it only being open on Saturdays.

April 1, 2005
Ao Nang

Arrived Ao Nang

Four Months after the Tsunami

I arrived Ao Nang Beach this afternoon and walked to the guesthouse that my friend John from Australia built. John was there and it escaped damage but there are very few tourists here on their own and he has not been able to rent many rooms to tourists since the tsunami last December. He is going to put the guesthouse in mothballs and return to Australia to try to make some money there to carry him through until the high season starting next October. There are tourists but they are coming with big tours with airfare, hotel, food, transfer and sightseeing all inclusive packages – nobody is making very much money and the independent small businesses are really hurting badly.

I purchased my ferry ticket to Phi Phi Island from the independent tour office that I corresponded with via E-mail. It was nice to see folks again that I haven't seen for a little over a year.

I plan to do the bar-b-que at Bernie's Place tonight – it appears to be pretty much the same as it was last year when I was here – all-you-can-eat bar-b-que.

April 2, 2005
Ao Nang

I slept in today and after breakfast I walked along the beach in a Southern direction and it was in pretty good shape. An older Thai woman came over to me as I walked along the beach and asked me if I would like a Thai massage on the beach for 200 Bhat – I took pity on her and got a nice massage overlooking the water. I then took a tuk tuk type taxi along the beach in the Northern direction where the tsunami damage occurred in this area and walked back along the beach to Ao Nang – the tsunami took out the entire sea wall that once existed there and hunks of large concrete sections of the wall were haphazardly scattered about. They didn't get the large devastation effect of the tsunami but it certainly gives a feel for the forces that were involved. It is really hot here and after my walk, I took a nap in my air conditioned bungalow and awoke to a thunderstorm which passed through within about an hour.

I just finished a buffet dinner at Bernie's Place – also ate there last night – it was very good. I have never seen so few tourists here at Ao Nang in the nearly three years that I have been coming here – I hope it returns to normal by October when the tourist high season begins again.

I think I will walk back to John's place and visit with him for a while and then pack up for the ferry trip to Phi Phi Island tomorrow. I have no idea what I will find the situation to be on Phi Phi Island.

April 3, 2005
Phi Phi

Everyone out here that still has a job is thankful for the tourists that come and spend money to help keep them employed.

I was talking with a couple on the ferry to Phi Phi this morning – they were coming from Katmandu and decided when they got to Bangkok to come down to the Andaman Sea and then to Phi Phi. They had a one way ferry ticket and no hotel reservations – I told them about the Holiday Inn and when the Holiday Inn long tail boat met the ferry when we docked at Bamboo Island to take me to the hotel, the other couple joined me to the holiday inn and the hotel had space for them. The staff at the Holiday Inn went out of their way to welcome us and to thank us for booking with them to help keep the hotel open and to help keep their jobs. The other couple told the staff that I had recommended the hotel to them.

I swam out to the coral from the hotel and found it to be in pretty good shape. I swam along it for about one quarter of a mile at the edge where it drops off to deeper water – I was surprised at just how far I swam today. I will probably hire a long tail boat tomorrow and explore some of my other favorite snorkeling sites.

April 4, 2005
Phi Phi

Long Tail Boat at Phi Phi

The hotel does not do the buffet dinner in the evenings since there are so few guests – they did have the seafood bar-b-que (beautiful seafood priced by the gram and salad bar, bread and fruit) and they had ordering individual items from the menu. I had the seafood bar-b-que – 2 very large prawns and a squid – it was pricy but good. June served me at dinner – she returned from a week-long holiday visit with family four days ago and was glad to see me. A lot of the staff personnel also remembered me.

I ate the buffet breakfast this morning and booked an all day long tail boat for 10:00 a.m. The first stop was Runtree and the snorkeling there was magical – I was the only person there for the two hours that I spent snorkeling. We continued to Ton Sai Bay (where Phi Phi Village was situated) and cruised past the village area but I did not want to stop today. We continued to Maya Bay where the current was strong and the water was cloudy – terrible snorkeling conditions but the beach was pretty and had very few people there. We continued to Lo Sama Bay where I saw a couple of large needle fish and the coral was about as I remembered it. As we left Lo Sama Bay the clouds were really ominous and they wind came up very very strong with white cap waves as we traveled from Phi Phi Li toward Phi Phi Don – it was a long tail boat ride that I won't forget. Visibility was so poor at times that we could not see Phi Phi Don and we were pummeled by hail as we continued our wild ride toward the western side of Phi Phi Don. The storm subsided as we continued North along the western side of Phi Phi Don and we then stopped at Yongasem Bay (Monkey Bay) where we saw the Lion Fish in March 2003 – the coral there was about the same as I remembered it and the bonus was that I saw another Lion Fish and floated around watching it for about twenty minutes. It was nearly 4:00 p.m. and I decided to call it quits for today. I will probably book another long tail boat tomorrow.

I am planning to order from the menu at the restaurant tonight.

April 5, 2005
Phi Phi

Second Day on Long Tail Boat at Phi Phi

I took another boat today – stopped at Phi Phi Village and walked around what is left of the places that I used to frequent while waiting to catch ferries from the island. The damage is quite extensive in the narrow part of the village. A lot of the debris has been cleaned up and some places are starting to reopen – fan room for 2 people at 300 Bhat per night. The village needs tourists to come there to spend money to help the small family business rebuild the economic infrastructure. Most of the coral snorkeling sites remain nearly undamaged and the media should get the message out that the area needs tourists to come and spend money. The remaining stops were for snorkeling and they were very good with the exception that there were larger than normal waves in the area between Phi Phi Don and Bamboo & Mosquito Islands. The snorkeling off of Mosquito Island was exceptionally good – it was an area that I had never beer to before.

April 6, 2005
Phi Phi

Third Day on Long Tail Boat at Phi Phi

The first stop today was Phi Phi Village – since I noticed that I had substantial sunburn on ankles and backs of legs in spite of lots of Bullfrog sunscreen – I decided to wear long pants and to hike up to the viewpoint overlooking the village. I had never been there and it was a long hot climb but was worth the effort. The remainder of my trip was snorkeling at the better sites that I went to yesterday. It was a very good day and the sea was calmer this afternoon. It currently has a mirror-like surface which I had seen on prior visits but hadn't seen yet this trip.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Phuket – the hotel has set up the transfer for me so it may be the ship that stops here with tourists for the daily buffet lunch.

April 7, 2005
Phuket

Arrived Phuket

Today turned out to be pretty much a travel day. Arrived at my hotel in Patong Beach at about 6:00 p.m.

I called Tan and although she had gone home for the day, she came back to Patong Beach on her motorbike and took me to see where her shop had been. It was next to a restaurant operated by her brother and I treated her to dinner. The restaurant was nearly destroyed but they have rebuilt it enough to be open for food service. They showed me a bunch of photos of tsunami damage after dinner. Tomorrow she has booked a long tail boat for me, her and her friend to go to Paradise Island for lunch. I plan to walk around Patong tomorrow afternoon and she has booked tickets for the cabaret show tomorrow night.

April 8, 2005
Phuket

Second Day at Phuket

Today I walked along Patong Beach and got a look at the tsunami damage. I went with Tan to Paradise Beach for lunch – the beach was not great but it was not crowded, it had trees & shade, and the lunch was very good. It rained a bit this afternoon and the temperature & humidity between showers were both high.

The cabaret show tonight was truly spectacular – Thai lady boys put on the show and they were quite good – the theater was very nice stadium seating with a Bose sound system that was awesome and the stage sets were first class. It was the best value for the Bhat that I found this trip.

April 9, 2005
Bangkok

Arrived Bangkok

I believe that Thai lady boys are boys/men who have either had or are in the process of sex change to women. I picked up a brochure on the cabaret theater on the way out of my hotel this morning but haven't looked at it yet.

I arrived Bangkok with only about a 30 minute delay getting into Bangkok. I plan to walk up the road to the local village area and look at the shops. I am also planning to eat at the Thai buffet dinner restaurant tonight before packing for the long flight home tomorrow.

I hope to get as much sleep as possible so I will be able to stay awake for the concert back home tomorrow night – tomorrow will really be a long April 10th for me.

April 10, 2005
Bangkok

Flight Delayed

The flight today from Bangkok to Tokyo was delayed for one hour and, then later, it was delayed another four hours at which time, I decided to just have United re-book me on the flight tomorrow, Monday 11 April. One more day here is preferable to spending hours in horrendous lines among very angry passengers who don't understand airline delays and cancellations.

United walked me back through Thailand Immigrations so I could re-enter the country – it was an interesting experience – now my departure card says that I left today. I presume that I won't have immigration problems tomorrow when I depart Bangkok. United re-booked me back into the Airport Amari hotel and I am on my way back there.

I was looking forward to the concert tonight but it is just not in the cards.

April 10, 2005
Bangkok

Back at the Hotel

I got checked back into the Amari hotel – United paid for tonight, lunch voucher & a dinner voucher good for today and a breakfast voucher for tomorrow morning. I had lunch at the coffee shop – a very good Thai buffet and spent part of the afternoon sleeping to try to catch up from the 4:00 a.m. wakeup time needed to catch the United flight at 7:00 a.m. I noticed that Thai Immigration stamped CANCELLED over my departure stamps from today on my departure card and in my passport – I guess I will get new stamps when I depart tomorrow.

I will do the Thai buffet again tonight at the hotel and get ready for the 4:00 a.m. wakeup call tomorrow morning.

February 8, 2004
Thailand

Went to Rai Ley Beach yesterday and wandered around that location – it was cool with the cave structures and huge tree root systems.

Today I took a five island day trip to Hong Island, Lading Island, Pakbia Island, Rai Island and Daeng Island. They are North of Krabi in the Andaman Sea and the scenery was exquisite.

The beaches were somewhat crowded with boats but there were not that many people in the water – the water at the first four beaches was cloudy from boat traffic and there was not much in the way of fish for snorkeling – good for beach people. The last stop at Daeng Island had some respectable coral and there were a lot of different fish – I actually saw a crab with two claws at that site. They served lunch and the total cost was less than $15 US.

I decided to cancel my rental car and I signed up for the fast boat to Koh Lanta tomorrow – I will check out Lanta and then decide where to go next. I have decided to take a 3 day 2 night trip to the Similian Islands when I finally get back here to Ao Nang before heading home.

I used my cell phone to cancel my car rental reservation before booking the boat to Ko Lanta. My cell phone works great out here.

February 10, 2004
Ko Lanta

The ferry trip to Ko Lanta went great and when I got off the ferry at the dock at Ko Lanta, I was pounced on by masses of people wanting me to book hotel space with them. It was quite an experience with them showing pictures of their facilities and their beach location – they said come look and if you don't like, they would return me back to the dock area. I don't think a free return to the dock would have happened if someone went with them and then decided not to book with them – I will never know since the one that I decided on is very nice. I am at the Lanta Sea House resort hotel and after looking at three rooms, I finally got one that I liked. The hotel is friendly and is appears to be family owned and operated – the wife knows me by my room number whenever I go to the counter for information or tour booking.

Yesterday afternoon I walked this beach and after seeing the other Lanta beaches from my speedboat today, I am convinced that mine is the best beach. Today I took a speedboat trip South to Trang Province Islands. We snorkeled at Ko Chuek and the snorkeling was superb with some rather large sponges and very nice coral. The next stop was Ko Muk (Ko Mook) where the Emerald Cave is located – swam through the cave to an interior lagoon – about 80 meters of the cave is in darkness with the boat people having flashlights – follow the light. The cave is completely submerged at high tide and at low tide a small long tail boat can make it through the cave – we were getting pretty close to high tide when we swam through the cave. Next stop was Ko Kraden where they served us lunch. I walked along the beach to some beach bungalows and talked to a lady who appeared to be the manager – I got information from her and would like to return there for a few days on a future trip. It is a lot like the Holiday Inn beach at Phi Phi but still primitive. She said their big electrical generator was broken and they currently only have electricity between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Long tail boats are available for snorkel trips to the nearby Trang islands. The next stop was at Ko Ma where I finally found a small area that was loaded with fish which made it a decent stop.

Tomorrow, I have a speedboat trip booked to the Ko Rok islands (also Trang Province islands) where the snorkeling is advertised as very good also.

I will probably charter a long tail boat for a trip around Lanta the following day and then depart Lanta the next day.

The food out here has been very nice and the lunch today was superb.

February 11, 2004
Ko Lanta

Late yesterday afternoon I booked a long tail boat for a boat ride around Ko Lanta today since it was not possible to take any decent photographs from the speedboats. While talking to a German freelance dive instructor at the local bar next to my hotel, I invited the three young waitresses to join me for the boat ride if they wanted to get up for an 8:00 a.m. departure. Much to my surprise, they were on the beach at 8:00 a.m. and I think they had a really good time – it was the first boat trip for at least one of them. The trip around the island was very cool with a section through mangrove trees and then open ocean. The trip took nearly six hours to complete. In the mangrove area we saw monkeys and several bald eagles. We stopped at Bu Bu Island where the beach was interesting but no coral so I had a Coke and bought the girls a snack for their breakfast at the little restaurant there.

I used my cell phone to contact the travel person at Ao Nang Beach to make sure that the Similian Island trip for Saturday morning was possible and then called the place where I stayed in Ao Nang and reserved a room for tomorrow night. I plan to take the ferry back to Ao Nang Beach tomorrow afternoon and then take the 6:00 a.m. departure Saturday morning for the Similian Island trip. My cell phone is soooo cool out here.

February 13, 2004
Ao Nang

I took the ferry back to Ao Nang and when the shuttle bus dropped me off across the street from Sanya House (the place where I have been staying at Ao Nang this trip) the nice Muslim Thai lady that reserved my room via cell phone yesterday met me as I crossed the street and handed me the key to my room. I put my luggage in the room and gave her 800 Thai Bhat for tonight and didn't even have to fill out any registration paperwork – I will leave the key in the room tomorrow morning when I leave to catch my 6:00 a.m. hotel pickup for the trip to the Similian Islands. Unfortunately I missed out on being able to stay in the bungalows so I will have to spend the next two nights on Island 8 in a tent – this trip is becoming a bit rustic.

I do not know whether there will be any Internet access on Island 8, so you may not hear from me via E-mail until I return to Ao Nang on Monday the 16th.

February 16, 2004
Ao Nang

I just got back to Ao Nang and the Internet is extremely slow tonight so I will be brief. I spent two nights in a tent sleeping on the ground. The trip to the Similan Islands was great.

Tomorrow is my last full day out here so I am taking a speedboat trip to Phi Phi – hotel pickup is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Last chance to snorkel this trip.

February 17 2004
Ao Nang

The speedboat trip to Phi Phi was great for a last day fill-in trip. I got 40 minutes to snorkel Monkey Bay (where we saw the lion fish), 40 minutes at the site in the open water between Phi Phi Don and Bamboo Island and nearly an hour at Bamboo Island. The boat stopped on the beach at Maya Bay so there was no opportunity for me to snorkel there. Lunch was served at a restaurant in the Village – it was a very nice spread with the waiters bringing more food until everyone was stuffed – the squid soup there was the best Thai soup that I have ever had.

Tomorrow afternoon I fly to Bangkok.

February 18 2004
Bangkok

I arrived Bangkok about 4:30 p.m. and am checked into the Airport Amari hotel with a wake-up call scheduled for 4:00 a.m. in the morning. My United flight departs Bangkok at 7:00 a.m.

I saw a big octopus at the East of Eden site at Similan Island No. 7 on Sunday afternoon and saw a medium sized Moray eel at the Beacon Beach South site at Similan Island No. 8 Monday morning.

Tonight I plan to eat dinner at the Amari Thai buffet restaurant – my traditional departure dinner.

October 16, 2003
India

En Route to India – From Khajuarho

India is amazing. Varanasi exceeded my wildest expectations. The city is unbelievable. The traffic is the craziest I have ever seen. The city is also probably the dirtiest I have ever been in – the cows have the right-of-way and they know it as they are unfazed by the traffic. Goats, pigs, chickens all live in the city with the residents. The streets in the old part of the city are very narrow and one could easily become lost without someone who knows his way around.

The Taj Ganges hotel is the best hotel in Varanasi and I enjoyed my one-night stay there but they failed to have anyone at the Varanasi airport to meet me as they had stated in their e-mail to me – so I hired a taxi from the airport which turned out to be a taxi with a free-lance tour guide riding along with me to the hotel. I hired them for my sightseeing at Varanasi and we were out on the town by 1:00 p.m. We saw the sights that were on my list and then some – took a rowboat across the Ganges to the palace (also a fort) and then toured the museum that is attached to it. The museum reminded me of the museum complex at the Forbidden City in China. We also took an evening cruise along the Ghats and watched a celebration that was being conducted at two of the Ghats. Dinner at the Taj Ganges was late but the food was just superb – the Tomato soup with coriander was very good and I had two of their signature dishes with rice. Up at 4:30 a.m. and with my guide at 5:15 a.m. en route to the Ganges to be in our rowboat on the Ganges before sunrise to experience the Ganges at sunrise. We rowed along the Ghats at sunrise and visited the Napali temple above the Lalita Ghat – it is considered to be a miniature temple of the types here at Khajuarho – the original carvings were in wood and are protected behind a sheltered area adjacent to the temple and replica carvings have been installed on the temple proper – it was very cool. Returned to the hotel, grabbed a buffet breakfast and went to Sarnath where Budda preached his first sermon to his five disciples – very well manicured and very peaceful. From Sarnath we went to the airport and I said good by to my new friend, the guide, and my driver and caught my flight to Khajuarho.

Khajuarho is a quiet little place with fantastic temples. The carvings have much more depth than the ones at Angkor Wat and the quality of the carvings is unbelievable. Anyway, I caught a taxi from the airport to the Holiday Inn hotel and also ended up hiring a guide and the taxi for sightseeing here as well. Bryan Cave was successful in having a fax waiting for me at the Holiday Inn which I executed at Khajuarho, India and faxed back to them within an hour or arriving at the hotel. Left the hotel at 3:00 p.m. and went to the central set of temples where I met a local person who was extremely knowledgeable about all of the temples, and I paid him to show me all of the major carvings and explain them as we went. These temples are amazing and the sculptures are superb – we closed the temple complex and I had him join me for dinner while we waited for the light show to begin at 7:00 p.m. and lasted about an hour. Got back to the hotel and ate a late snack and went to bed. Had a very nice buffet breakfast before meeting my car & driver at 8:30 a.m. Back to the central set of temples where I found my local guide person from yesterday. We completed touring the central set of temples and then went to two other temple sites on my wish list. Finished up about 1:00 p.m. and returned to the hotel for lunch. Left the hotel at 2:00 p.m. and went to a national park – Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary where the Ken River cuts through a maze of granite, dolomite and quartz with spectacular waterfalls. It is also a wildlife sanctuary that you can drive through – we saw red faced monkeys, black faced monkeys and some deer. Returned to the hotel about 5:00 p.m. and I decided to relax for the evening – the hotel has a buffet dinner and then I hope to pack for my flight to Agra late tomorrow afternoon. I have a few more temples to go to tomorrow and an archaeological museum to visit. I plan to finish out the afternoon at the central set of temples before picking up my luggage at the hotel and heading off to the airport for the flight to Agra.

October 18, 2003
Bangkok

Out of India – En Route to Krabi

I am at the Bangkok airport waiting to catch the flight to Krabi later this afternoon. Since the APEC Conference/meeting is being held here, the airport security from Singapore was extra high. The security at the small India airports is the most rigid I have ever seen. Hand search of luggage multiple times from check-in until finally boarding the airplane. To make matters worse, I bought a cute cast metal elephant oil lamp from a family at a small village near Khajaraho and it gives security fits. Got it through India security as hand carry but Singapore made me put it in my roller carry-on and check the bag to Bangkok.

Finished up looking at temples in Khajaraho and flew to Agra. The Taj View hotel didn't have anyone at the airport as promised for my transfer – not one of the commitments by the Indian hotels by e-mail was ever completed. Anyway, I met Mr. Anwar with his air conditioned SUV taxi and ended up hiring him as a driver for the Agra sights and for the trip to Agra. Figured it would be a good idea to give you information that I had about him in case something happened between Agra and New Delhi.

The Taj Mahal was spectacular and the Red Fort at Agra is amazing. Saw another monument of marble like the Taj Mahal which predates the Taj Mahal and has perhaps better inlays of precious stones in the white marble. Also saw Akbar's tomb which was a stop along the way on the road to Delhi. Passed by the ruins of the old fort at Delhi on the way also.

I am ready for some down time and some relaxation among the fishes at Phi Phi.