e-grrl's blog

Toronto

2011-11-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

Arrived Toronto early, around 11:30am. The trip from Mumbai to London Heathrow airport on Jet Airways was cramped and long but I sat with two very nice girls .. luckily, because I needed to bother them to get out to the bathroom too often. I was ill. I think my stomach troubles were from the warm chicken wings in the lounge at Mumbai. At Heathrow I was able to spend some time in a nice bathroom and then on the Air Canada flight to Toronto the plane was nearly empty and I was able to stretch out on 4 seats and sleep most of the way with a little help from a sleeping pill and some pain killers.

Back at the apartment in Toronto, I slept off and on all afternoon and then took a sleeping pill for the night.
I ended up with a sore throat and migraine on top of my bad stomach and my sprained wrist.

What a trip .. I'll have to think twice or even 3 times the next time I think of going to India!

India goodbye!

2011-11-13T12:58:00.001-05:00

At airport ... Very early so bought my way into a lounge for 1000rs but wifi is hopeless ... Get one alcoholic bev and food, masage chair .. Comfy ... Better than sitting outside

Leave for heathrow on jet at 230am and then in am switch to AC to Toronto arrival 1205pm

Looking forward to home but hate the airways!

Mumbai

2011-11-12T11:45:00.001-05:00

Got up at a reasonable hour and sauntered down to breakfast - decent as always at the Suba Palace.
Then headed over to Jet Airways to confirm my flight - all is well for takeoff on Nov 14 at 230 am!!
Will leave hotel for airport around 9 pm on nov 13th.
It will be a ling haul home...

Then mooched around the area and did some shopping. Got some junk.

Then back to hotel in perfect time to meet up with Ivan after his city tour

We went out to Ali Baba near the hotel for some lunch and then headed off to walk to Victoria station. It was hot and I miscalculated the distance so my feet were burning by the time we got there.
Took a cab back. Then after resting our sore feet we took a cab to Mahesh restaurant for dinner. Ivan had crab with pepper garlic butter - was excellent but pricey.

Cab back to are near hotel for last chance souvenir night stalls and now to bed.

Mumbai

2011-11-11T13:06:00.001-05:00

Flight from Varanasi to Mumbai was on air india - very bad - late and old dirty plane - no tv in seats like other planes
Bad traffic from airport to hotel meant whole day was ruined
Walked around to gate of india and taj hotel and then ate at Delhi darbar across from leopold cafe
Ivan takes tour of city tomorrow and I will shop or mooch around on my own
Wifi in hotel is spotty
Only tomorrow and next day here in Mumbai and then we go to the airport on the night of the 13th for flight home on the 14th at 230 am

Varanasi goodbye

2011-11-10T09:21:00.001-05:00

Last night we had dinner at the best restaurant in town - Viruna- at the Gateway Hotel - very expensive but good food
Today- Last day Varanasi
Breakfast at hotel then did some shopping nearby.

Then down to ghats for early dinner at Lotus (pumpkin soup) and then down alonh the river to watch the festival. Many small lights lit along the ghats - was beautiful - but when we got back to the main ghat for the show it was a CRUSH of people and we were lucky to escape with our lives. Huge police presence seemed to favor tourists while trying to avoid stampeding Indians
We should have taken a boat to watch the festivities

Got a tuk yuk back to hotel

Flight to Mumbai in the am on air india
2 hrs

Varanasi Lotus Lounge

2011-11-09T02:04:00.001-05:00

Had a good sleep and woke at 730 am
Got a tuk tuk to ghats for 80 rs it was cool in the morning

Having some lunch at the Lotus Lounge... My favorite place along the Ghats

Got some good pics I think

Aarti last night was good

Had dinner at suryahotel restaurant but was slow service even tho good food

Varanasi

2011-11-08T03:39:00.001-05:00

Arrived in the holy city and HOLY! ...is it a hopeless place. Staying in the Ideal Hotel and would not recommend .. No safe in the room, no Internet.
So far there seems to be hot water which is a plus.
The hotel where I stayed last time is down the street and is called the Zeeros.
Here till the 11th but may be out of contact.

Calcutta last day

2011-11-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

No rush to get up early and run around, we have seen the highlights.

Walked over to the Victoria Monument .. turned out to be a bit of a longer walk then anticipated. Met some people from Captiva Island (oddly) and then took the long way back. Stopped in a pharmacy and picked up some good things at very good rates! Then we went back to drop stuff in the rooms and then off to Baboo Ghat in a taxi (60rs) The ghat was awful compared to those in Varanasi, so took some pics and went back.

Went close by for some Thai food and then back to pack and get some sleep.

Leaving tomorrow for Varanasi at 4:30 am!!
(Air India 55lbs)

Calcutta

2011-11-06T13:16:00.000-05:00

Sunday today so some things closed. Up late for a leisurely breakfast - not so great here at the Lytton Hotel - and then headed off to the flower market for some photos. (please see e-grrl.smugmug.com) .. some good pics. One overview below.

Then walked around and a bit and then back to the hotel for a quick break. Then headed off to wander streets here and find the jewelry shop I went to last time I was here. Finally found it! bought some stuff ...

Then went to Kewpies for dinner .. Bengali food, was quite good. Had to waste time waiting for restaurant to open at 7pm. Back to the room late.

Calcutta is the last place in the world where men pull rickshaws on foot.

Very poor here and many people live on the streets.

Tomorrow is last day in Calcutta, will visit ghats in afternoon and not much else to see .. done enough of Calcutta.

Will move on to Varanasi very early next morning.

Calcutta

2011-11-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

Up very early (5am) to get to the airport for the flight to Calcutta (Kolkata)
Flight was on Indigo and was 2 hrs long and no problems.

Staying at the Lytton Hotel on Sudder St. .. same as last time in Calcutta. Things have changed here slightly.
The hotel now has wifi .. which is a little confusing to get onto but otherwise is free and works fine once it is online. (tata)

The shopping near the hotel has changed .. no nice bangles like I got last time, now the street is full of shlocky stuff. can't find the jewelry store where I bought such nice stuff last time.

Went to Kali Temple. That was different too .. much more action but then, it is the Kali festival now on and things are a bit strange.

Had dinner at Peerless Hotel restaurant called AAheli. Was expensive but very good food.

Have to get some sleep.

Jaipur

2011-11-04T12:26:00.000-05:00

... and as the sun sets on Pushkar we are off back to spend one last night in the tent and then early this morning we left for Jaipur by driver from TCI.

We stopped in Ajmer at a famous mosque. Unfortunately no photos were allowed but it was an impressive place and very crowded.

Arrived Jaipur around noon at Ramada Hotel - very nice - changed and headed down to the old city but tuk tuk (100rs) Had a great time wandering around. We then went to Ganesh Restauant as mentioned in the Lonely Planet. - good view but food was just so-so.

Dead tired and had to repack and get up at 5am for flight to Calcutta.

Rajasthan

2011-11-03T20:08:00.001-05:00

Still my favorite area of India.
Leaving the Pushkar Camel Fair this morning by driver from TCI to Jaipur .. About 3 hrs drive. Hope to stop in Ajmer on the way and see a famous mosque. Jaipur is the pink city but am mostly looking forward to a nice hotel room after my 3 nights in the cold tent.
Royal Safari Tent should be avoided.
The food is always Luke warm which means that I avoid eating much other than soup and tea so I won't get sick.
I have cookies with me.
Had some difficulty getting rides back and forth from the tent to the Fairgrounds which is a fair distance.
They have not got enough jeeps in service for transfers. Took the camel cart to the Fair twice and is a great experience but definitely not if u r in a hurry. The tent itself is ok but the toilet leaks constantly and the electic is off all day.
Most real hotels in Pushkar and low end ... Dirty. The fair was great though and got some Ts
And camel bell anklets and some of those black side view mirror hanging decorations that r on all Rajasthan trucks.
Tons of photos and some even r good!
Had fun with Sadhus at the lake after paying them for photos.

Sent from my iPhone

Pushkar camel fair

2011-11-03T12:21:00.001-05:00

The fair was in full swing today and we had a great day
Started out with Indian Aussie, manon
He was so much fun ,
He Spoke the language a big advantag

Had some fun with some camel drivers and some Sadhus
Good pics
Was up from dark till dark
Too tired to look
Gotta sleep

Leave in am to Jaipur

Sent from mye iPhone

Pushkar Camel Fair

2011-11-01T11:20:00.001-05:00

Hotel in Jaipur was really nice - Golden Tulip - left early for drive to Pushkar which took about 3 hrs.
Driver had trouble finding out tent hotel but finally we checked in after much confusion. They took us in a jeep to the fairgrounds - it was hot!!
Slowly as the afternoon progressed there were more and more camels.
It was pretty neat although way too many beggars bother you for money or sales which is the worst problem in India as a whole but unbelievably bad at this venue. I think I got some good photos but too tired to look tonite.

The tent is not as good as the one I stayed in in 2009 .. Lights are broken and toilet drips ... Not good! The food is not hot which means it could poison us ... Hoping for the best and eating cookies .

Delhi is not always this charming!

2011-10-30T19:55:00.000-05:00

Delhi

2011-10-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

Tired from the flight but got up early and spent day walking around, mainly around Chandny Chowk for interesting photos.
Dinner at Zen - Asian food restaurant near our hotel.
Tomorrow we fly in the afternoon to Jaipur.
Got to get to sleep.

Delhi

2011-10-29T16:45:00.001-05:00

Arrived Delhi in one piece, but only barely. The Swissair flight was late leaving, hot, slow service and terribly cramped.

It's 3am now and I am settled into the Corus hotel on Connaught Circus having a hot chocolate and cookies.
I have a nice balcony off the room, a/c a safe, warm water - decent for india, and a fridge.

Some Bollywood movies on TV but alas no subtitles, can't complain, at least there is a TV
Wireless in the room.
I like this hotel.

Will meet up with ivan in the morning for breakfast and go out to find some SIM cards .. And another power bar .. I think I just blew mine

Then maybe some sights

We stay here another night before flying off to Jaipur.

Zurich sucks!

2011-10-29T04:57:00.000-05:00

My first pothole on my way to Delhi.
Arrive in Zurich and even tho it appears to be a nice airport, it's completely hopelessly disorganized. 4 times I asked for help to get a boarding pass and 3 times I was given the wrong info ... Back and forth, back and forth... Finally arrive at the gate after they ripped apart my carry on bags, and now they tell me I can't get a seat assigned ... It says STBY on my boarding pass ... when can I get my seat? No appropriate answer .. They say economy is overbooked.
What does that mean? My luggage is off to Delhi and I'm stuck here in Zurich??
I paid and am confirmed and yet they cannot give me a seat assignment!
I'm deathly afraid of getting the middle seat!
Moral of the story? I will never fly through Zurich again and especially on Swissair!!!
I'm tired upset and angry!

Age cannot wither her
Nor custom stale her infinite variety

Toronto zombie walk!

2011-10-26T11:10:00.001-05:00

Fall in Toronto

2011-10-26T10:49:00.001-05:00

Bangkok

2011-03-30T23:51:00.000-05:00

It's all about the SHOPPING!! .... and the food too ...

Yesterday shopped around Pratunam, Platinum Mall and Pantip .. until we had to race back via the Klong to go for dinner reservation at Bo Lan. Too much food but good. expensive. stomach a little rocky today.

Heading out for Siam Square (Central) and MBK.

Tomorrow, the weekend market (Chaduchak).

Weather is overcast and only in low 70s ... humidity 68% .. not typical of Bangkok at all ...
Flooding and mudslides in the south.

Back to civilization

2011-03-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

Feels good to be back to Bangkok. It was a gruesome day of travel ... those Malaysians are animals!
We spent way too long in airports and airplanes today and everytime we sat down somewhere some unruly child annoyed me. Parents don't seem to bother to discipline their kids, they run wild and scream and grab at people without any consequence.

We arrived around 9:30 to the hotel, and went out to eat - excellent Thai food, way better than Malaysian - around 10:30 .. then back to the room, I took a hot shower - best in a week! (there is not real hot water in Malaysia and the water just trickles out.... and now I'm off to sleep ... I'm completely falling on my face.

Kota Kinabalu

2011-03-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

Headed out to a wildlife park just outside of KK and spent the day there.
Some of it was impressive and other parts not. The Aviary was impressive.
We were finally able to see a Western Tarsier ... And maybe even got a decent photo of it!

Ate dinner at large outdoor fish market where u pick the fish u want and they cook it whichever way you want. Kangbang Air
Interesting

Off to sleep now

Up early for a long travel day back to BKK

Kota Kinabalu

2011-03-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

Up at 5 am to leave for airport.

Arrived KK this morning from Sandakan. Rented a car - 30 dollars a day - and drove (on the left) to Promenade Hotel which is located downtown. Turns out that downtown is quite small.

Couldn't check in yet so left bags and went to Sunday market - junky, then mooched around some other shops and didn't find much
Lunch was sushi at a mall restaurant

Back to check in then went back out again. Ended up having Dinner at a street BBQ.. Interesting and hope we aren't sick tomorrow..

Got to get some sleep

Age cannot wither her
Nor custom stale her infinite variety

Sandakan City

2011-03-26T04:47:00.000-05:00

Taxi to city from hotel was 50 RM. Walked around, had some lunch, bought some souvenirs and then taxi back (35RM) It was interesting.

Just discovered that this resort has a steam room ... maybe later....

Dinner, shower, sleep ... up early for taxi to airport, Air Asia to Kota Kinabalu.

Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary

2011-03-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary

Looking back at our day there yesterday, I have to recommend it as a definite must for anyone traveling to Borneo, Malaysia.

The Proboscis monkey is only found in Borneo. We did see them on our trip last year to Tanjan Puting In Borneo on the Indonesian side, but they normally hang out high in one certain tree, along the river, the leaves of which comprise much of their diet. They also are camera shy and hide when boats come by. The Sanctuary is the only place to be able to see close-up these amazing looking primates.

The Sanctuary is out in the middle of nowhere ... About half hour drive from Sepilok.
There is an entrance fee (60RM?) and camera fee (10RM).
It must be noted that every where you go you must remove your shoes before entering any restaurant, or platform.

The sanctuary has 2 feeding areas, platform B and platform A. Within each platform there are 4-5 feeding platforms.

As I mentioned in a previous post the Sanctuary was built by a Chinese landowner named Lee. All the rest of his land is Palm Oil Plantation.

The morning feeding (11:30am) is at platform B. Then we went to lunch at a resort restaurant (all restaurants that I mention are actually open air wood structures). After lunch there was a very cute/funny/informative hr long video on the area and Proboscis.
Then they drove us to platform A for the 2:30pm feeding. This is where we met Jonothan Proboscis. He seems to be the official friendly greeter of platform A. In each area there is always one dominant male and his harem of females. It is a long way between Platforms so getting a ride between is necessary. After the feeding, we jumped back in the truck and motored back to platform B for the 4:30pm feeding.
Most people only see one feeding and then leave but in my opinion it's worth spending the whole day as we did. Just watching the antics of the Silver Leaf monkeys and the Proboscis. The Silver Leaf always hang around on the railing Where visitors view the platforms. There are quite a few platforms scattered around the viewing platform that is a wood open air area - quite large. At platform B you can also see hornbills, eagle and an otter that was adopted. Once we saw the otter come up onto our platform and scream for food at one of the staff. Platform A is more isolated and washrooms at the platform were broken. There is a toilet at the parking lot but it's a ways walk to the platform. Platform A has an elongated area that is not under cover but the first part is covered. Platform B has nice washrooms and a small gift/Tshirt shop.

At platform B there are steps leading down to a kitchen where they prepare the pancakes for the Proboscis. They give long beans to the Silver Leaf.
You often can watch both the species go down the stairs into the kitchen and come back up with some food.
Of the Proboscis, it is only the dominant male who comes onto the people platform. Sometimes he runs through, pounding as he goes, and it is quite chilling. His name is 6Fingers.

We were very lucky to have a full day there with no rain! Also bought a couple of Tshirts.
Took about a zillion photos but many did not come out well ... No matter, it was the best experience of the trip.

Forest Edge Resort

2011-03-25T20:28:00.001-05:00

This place is one of many in the Sepilok area surrounding the Orangutan Rehab Center.
It's a beautiful looking resort further out from the others (SJR) which makes it impossible to walk to the rehab center for a viewing.
The cabins are lovely, although steve's is a long hilly walk from the dining room and hard on his knee. They provide drinking water in the rooms and the shower was better than our previous places In that the water was slightly warmer than warm. No such thing as hot water anywhere here unless you boil some in the little kettles they provide in the room.
The lighting in the cabins leaves much to be desired. I can hardly see to find some clothes in my bag. Thank goodness again for my headlamp. An absolute must for travel to this area, particularly because of power failures. I keep mine handy in the bed every night
The food here is fine, we enjoyed our dinner last night.. Although I only had rice and veggies There is free wifi here only in the dining area.

They have arranged a taxi for us this morning to Sandakan city but as usual it's raining and I'm not sure how pleasant this excursion will be.
They thoughtfully provide umbrellas in the cabin.

It's always raining in a rainforest!! Much of the time I feel like a soggy rat.

Thoughts on Bilit Adventure Lodge

2011-03-25T20:25:00.001-05:00

Our initial impression about Bilit was not a good one. The meals were by buffet so everything was cold and there was a fly problem.
After the first day, though, most of the people left and there was just us and a couple from Paris
With not many people the lodge will serve plates of food to the table so it was hot and even tasty. Always chicken and/or fish done up with different sauces. Also morning glory salad. Desert was always guava, which I do not eat but once there was watermelon
The place is a little too rustic. They really need to provide drinking water in the rooms. Every other place does. The lighting in the rooms was slightly better than other lodges but I did have to ask them for a better bulb in the bathroom. They only seem to use 40watt incandescent bulbs here.

They failed to inform us that you can rent rubber boots for the jungle walk and the night walk. One reason I did not do the night walk was that my shoes were already soaked from the daytime jungle walk.
On the morning of the final river cruise, one of the generators was down and some cabins had no electricity. Luckil mine was fine, but I did keep a headlamp handy for such events.
Our guide,Kurt, was very nice and knowledgable. We were always amazed at how he could spot things, for example, a monitor sitting in a tree completely camoflaged by his color.
Actually all the guides were amazing in this respect.

Leaving Bilit

2011-03-25T06:50:00.001-05:00

Woke in middle of the night and saw it was raining, but by 5am when I was supposed to get up for the am cruise, it was not raining, so off I went

There were 5 of us, 2 French couples and me. Steve had decided to sleep in.

We were doing really well ... Spotting wild Orangutans .. But then the rain started again and we raced back to the lodge. We were pretty far out and we all got soaked.

Had to change quickly, have a fast breakfast and check out.
On the road at 8:30am we arrived at Labok Bay Proboscis Sanctuary around 11am
First feeding was at 11:30am but as soon as we arrived at platform B there were many monkeys hanging around.
After the feeding and a ton of photos later, we went to a restaurant, on the grounds, for lunch. The sanctuary is actually a palm oil plantation owned by Chinese (Lee).
The palm oil industry is displacing the proboscis monkeys so Lee established the sanctuary at his plantation.

We also went to the 2:30 and 4:30 feedings.

The place is fantastic.

We had to take a private car to the Forest Edge Resort where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. (back at Sepilok)

Bilit Lodge

2011-03-24T23:32:00.001-05:00

No rain overnight or this morning so the am cruise was a go.
After a slighy restless night with some dreams of leeches, I was up at 5am.
They served tea and then we pushed off at 6am.
The early morning wad foggy but soon it lifted and was quite nice. We headed upstream rather than down this time.

A very good cruise, we saw lots of macaque - some swimming across the river- and lot of black and white horn bills, not the rhinoceros hornbill that we saw last night. We also saw a mangrove snake ( yellow stripes mildly poisonous) and a monitor in a tree.

I am hoping I got good shots but from what I can see on the viewer, steve's are better. Difficult to hold still in the boat but I guess that I am not that steady anyway

Rest in the room after breakfast and then after lunch we go to Bilit Village

Bilit village was interesting. About 300 families, 38 children under 12 in school
A laundry and tiny store with tiny restaurant (one or two tables)
A community centre and that's about it. We ended our little tour with tea in the first family home with pleasant conversation with our guide, Kurt and our town guide.

Back on boat to lodge and straight back onto another boat for the evening cruise. Some hornbills - bkk/wht - and some proboscis monkeys ...and a monitor... But not much in the way off great photos

Dinner at 7:30 was good, a shower and pill to sleep. Set alarm again for 5 am to go on another 6 am cruise

No connection tonite with data roaming on My Maxis network
So this post will go up tomorrow... After Labuk Bay Proboscis Feeding area

Bilit Lodge, Sabah

2011-03-23T08:02:00.001-05:00

Was supposed to get up at 5 am for morning cruise but it wad raining steadily so I went back to sleep
Breakfast at 7:30am was fried egg and watermelon
I did not have any toast but had taken the little jar of peanut butter and jam that we found in that market

After breakfast we went by boat down a narrow river with overhaging vegetation to a lake (oxbow) where we were to walk down a path and hopefully see some birds
No birds
We did see a neat spider, a ton of leeches and a millipede
The path was totally muddy and flooded and thak goodness for the waterproof socks, lots of mosquito spray and the leech socks
Also a raincoat is must and our waterproof bags, because of course it started to rain

We returned to the lodge and stripped off all the wet muddy clothes and had lunch
Best meal so far. Finally no buffet, I guess because there was only another 2 people there for lunch
There was a bowl of barley soup and The chicken was actually edible. Also a nice cooked veggie dish with garlic
We add chili to everything to add some taste

Relaxing for few hours after lunch and then supposedly out for another afternoon cruise (after tea time)
Hoping it does not rain

Can't figure out why but we r completely exhausted ... Dizzy, light- headed

Supposedly there is not much malaria or dengue here ... So they say...

Amazing, it actually stopped tsing long enough for the boardwalk to the room dry up! Not only that but we managed to go on the evening cruise and not get rained out!

We saw some good hornbills and a beautiful Kingfisher, some macaques but just one proboscis

Rest for an hr then dinner and a pill to sleep. Up at 5am to try again for the early morning river cruise.

Dinner was very good. Only two other people there (FR)
Had egg drop soup, Cole slaw, fried morning glory and sweet and sour chicken (no bones!)
The French couple will be with us on early morning cruise

Leaving Sepilok for Bilit

2011-03-22T19:29:00.001-05:00

Leaving Sepilok for Bilit Lodge

Had a pretty good sleep after the night walk, although a few bad dreams, probably about leeches or giant insects

Up early to pack up and leave at 9:15 am. Nearly 2hr drive to Gomordan caves where they collect birds nests for export to China

The cave was huge, filled with the birds, black and white nests , bats and a ton of guano and zillions of red cockroaches. Although there is a hand rail u can't hold onto it because it's completely coated with guano and alive with cockroaches!! The floor board are wet and slippery but there r some cross rails for some safe footing
It was a thoroughly disgusting and scary walk but intriguing just the same. Not only that but it started to rain and we got wet making our way back thru the jungle to the truck

After that our guide stopped for us to shop for snacks at a roadside market. Thank goodness we did that because the food at Bilit turns out to be AWFUL

Arrived at jetty and take small motorboat across a muddy river to the lodge

Had a lousy lunch - the chicken is all bones and skin and grizzle- and then off on river cruise
The cruise was ok except that we shared with family with kids - bad for me!

Near the end of the cruise it started to pour and we got soaked
Lucky for the dry pack to stow away the cameras or it would have been a disaster

Back to the room and fell asleep
So late for dinner and there was hardly any food left... No matter it was inedible anyway - not worth the wet walk up to the dining room
The food is all by buffet and always cold and flies!!
I think we r going to die

Cookies in room and a sleeping pill

Conclusion: we r not impressed with Bilit lodge

Morning: rained all night so no morning cruise

The rooms at bilit are ok
But they did not provide any potable water to brush teeth. They expect u to buy overpriced water at reception
Bad pillows no TV no Internet access and even spotty cell access

Sepilok

2011-03-20T23:58:00.001-05:00

SDK
A bit of trouble checking in at KL for flight to SDK
Thought they were about to weigh carrying but we managed to avoid it by hiding the bags behind our carts and denying we had any more bags
Tense moments but after all was fine
Flight was nearly full and we ended up with a woman and baby sitting beside us. The baby started to fuss and cry and I thought it was going to be the worst 3 hrs in a plane ever but luckily the woman got up and moved to another seat
Rest of flight was good. I was able to get bunny flash drive 8 GB collectors item
Raining when we arrived but they hand out umbrellas at the bottom of the stairs and then take them back when we get to the terminal bldg
It was tropical tho and the rain was a mice touch. It was a very neat scene watching the line of people walking single file all with red air Asia umbrellas
Had to go thru immigration again because Sabah is separate from the rest of malaysia ... Interesting...
Driver was waiting outside and it was about 20 mins to Sepilok

This turned out to be more rustic than the Indonesian counterpart - Rimba lodge
Rumba is far nicer
Here everything is extra ... Even to use the pool
Also a little less organized
Lost my orientation at the room and could MIT find way back to dining area and wifi in the dark
They dropped us off and it seems we r pretty much on our own
At rumba they took very good care of us
Also here everything is extra
Pool internet soft drinks...
Tomorrow am at 9 head out to orangutan feeding

Age cannot wither her
Nor custom stale her infinite variety

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2011-03-20T01:59:00.002-05:00

Flight from BKK on Air Asia was very good. Excellent food.
No worries about too much cabin baggage, they seemed to ignore their own rules.
Now waiting in KL airport for flight to Sandakan. The airport is a dump and poorly organized.
Some pretty rough looking characters around.
1 US dollar gives u 3 ringgets
Going to check in now
Will be picked up at airport at SDK by ST adventures for drive to Sepilok Lodge

Hong Kong

2011-03-18T03:01:00.000-05:00

15 hours from Toronto to Hong Kong.
Feeling fine
Waiting in the lounge with some nice food and drink and the massage chair.
Leaving for Bangkok in a few hours

Discovery Launch

2011-02-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

Last launch of the Discovery Feb 24, 2011 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Back in the USA

2010-07-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

Rich and I motored over to Kingston and took the ferry to Wolfe Island. From there we took the smaller ferry to Cape Vincent, New York.

Spending the night in Calcium, New York at the Microtel Hotel and then on to Boston for a weekend of 4th of July celebrations.

Toronto

2010-04-05T09:36:00.002-05:00

Easter Monday in Toronto after the flight back from Bangkok ... backache, headache ... the usual.

Will unpack, repack and fly to Florida tomorrow.

last day Bangkok

2010-04-03T23:36:00.000-05:00

We headed out early to Jatujak to pick up our water proof duffels ... thought maybe it wouldn't be so hot there earlier in the day .. but it was HOT!

returned to the hotel and hung around a bit and then went down for drinks and then out to sukhumvit.

a quick bite and then to sleep... up at 3:30am to get to the airport for the trip home

now in Hong Kong airport waiting for the second part of the trip. the first flight was only 2.5 hrs and the seats were nice and roomy on Thai and there was no one in the middle seat.

we are hoping to get lucky and get upgraded to business class on this next leg, but it's highly doubtful.

Floating markets

2010-04-02T11:19:00.000-05:00

This morning our driver, Jay, picked us up at 10am and we headed out to see some floating markets.
There are quite a few just an hour or so outside of Bangkok. The most popular tourist destination is Damnoen Saduak but we did not plan to go there. Instead we headed to Tha Kha - a smaller non-touristy one - too bad the internet info we had was wrong and then market was either not on Fridays or already finished by late morning... no biggie, we headed over the Damnoen. It was very quiet there, few tourists and few boats but we took some pics and hung around for a bit. Then we headed out to Amphawa. This one is not really a tourist market but an afternoon marketplace where Thai people go to shop and eat.
It has a different style and flavor than Damnoen and is well worth a visit.

Along the route to Samut Songkhram (where the floating markets are located) there are salt producing fields.

The trip back was deadly - Friday afternoon traffic in Bangkok is impossible - backed up expressways for miles ... it took 2 hrs to get back to the hotel from the outskirts of the city.

We had a few free lobby drinks and then went out for some Culture rolls around the corner at our favorite restaurant (Chili Culture) ... and now to bed.

We plan on going to Jatujak in the morning. It's our last day.

Bangkok - MBK

2010-04-01T11:31:00.000-05:00

We went to MBK today to mooch around and get Steve a second rolling duffel bag for the journey home.
That place is amazing! It goes on forever and has so much stuff! We dropped in to visit our favorite handbag lady - she remembered us! .. and of course I bought yet another bag... nice!

Had lunch - Tom Yum Gun - in the food court and strolled some more.

When we got back to the hotel I had a quick lobby drink and then we both went for a 30 minute hot stone oil massage in the spa next door. It was free with our rooms... and it was great.
Then off to the tailor for the last fitting.

Wondering what to do after. we wandered around and then explored a new area around Soi 60 .. we nearly went to see a movie - Clash of the Titans 3D but then changed our minds and went to Soi 38 in search of a restaurant in the lonely planet guide book. "Faces" is amazing... a beautiful all wood structure with different rooms for different cuisines. We chose Thai over Japanese and Indian. The food was fantastic. They gave us a Meung Kum and then Steve had duck curry and I had a green mango salad.

Then we took a taxi back to the hotel ... exhausted, I'm off to bed.

Travel day

2010-03-30T12:26:00.001-05:00

Flight from Bali Indonesia to Bangkok Thailand.
arrived at 3:30 pm on Air Asia... 4 hr flight
Jay picked us up at the airport - 600 bht + 100 tip (30bht/dollar)

cooler here than Bali but still hot. checked in, had a few drinks in the lobby lounge (free for club floor members 5pm to 7pm) and then went to the tailor for a fitting.

walked around afterwards and early to bed tonight.

I have a great corner room (1104) at the President Solitaire. . nice comfy bed !
Way better than Un's Hotel on Bali.

Last day Bali

2010-03-29T10:46:00.000-05:00

We drove out to Tanah Lot today. The route took us through some nice country, very scenic.
At Tanah Lot there is a temple that sits on top of a rock 50 meters off shore. the rock is carved out by the tides and the place is apparently one of the most photographed places in Bali. Supposedly a mob scene at sunset ... so we went in the morning to avoid the crowds. It was very touristy with T-shirt and other souvenir booths lining the route from the parking to the temple... very tacky.

It was a nice site but hot as hell so we stopped in for a soto ayam (chicken soup) at alocal restuarant with nice cooling washcloths and fans.

We returned to the hotel. steve went to the pool and I did some packing and napping .. the heat and sun is exhausting here.

We walked around and did some last minute shopping and then had an American style dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe on the beach road. The chili king prawns were excellent.

Then we walked back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will have breakfast and then the guy who rented us the car will come pick us up and take us to the airport when we turn in the car.

we fly to bangkok at noon on Air Asia arriving at 3:30 pm.

A Bali Nice Sunday

2010-03-28T09:42:00.000-05:00

Slept late today and hung around reading for a while. Then took a walk while Steve went to the pool.

Later we headed out to Denpasar to the Pandora store owned by Novel and her husband. A jewellery and accessories store. Bought some stuff and then went out for dinner again to Sushi Tei ... yum.

Then we went back to Seminyak and mooched around a few stores and shopped in the Bintang supermarket.

Back in the room and going to bed early.

Tomorrow is our last full day here and we plan to take another road trip in the morning and then maybe hang at the pool in the afternoon .... which means I will be back in the shops. I saw a really nice Coach bag that I am considering ....

Rice Paddies

2010-03-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

This morning we headed out for Tabanan. Situated north-west of Denpasar, Tabanan is a nice looking town with some interesting monuments. After getting lost and going in a few circles we carried on further north to see the much touted "spectacular view" of rice paddies. This is off the beaten track in a place called Jatiluin. Of course we got lost trying to get to the "viewpoint" but we stopped in a coffee and spice place that sells Luwac Coffee, otherwise known as "Pea Berry Coffee".

This coffee is made from the poop of civet-like animals (nasty little rat things with curly tails) who eat coffee cherries. Supposed to be an excellent coffee, we tasted a small sample cup for 20 thousand rupiahs and bought a jar of beans for 185 thousand .... purely for souvenir value, I thought the stuff tasted awful.

Meanwhile, now, high up on the mountain, it started to rain ... and pour. We carried on, stopping here and there to take wet photos of paddy terrace views. It is beautiful up there ... green and lush, narrow winding roads, practically impassable and impossible to turn around once you realize you're going in the wrong direction....

Nearing our destination we had to pay a 10,000 rp each toll and then motor on to get really lost.
Finally reaching the viewpoint, it was still drizzling a bit, but the view was, indeed, spectacular.

Exploring some of the terraces, I stepped in mud puddles and brushed past wet growing rice stalks.
I was cold and soaking. It took another hour and more to get back to our hotel before I could get out of my wet clothes and warm up.

We walked through some alleyways to a nearby restaurant that Steve looked up on the Net as one of the ten best rated, called Kori's. It was expensive by Indonesian standards but cheap compared to Toronto. It was excellent.

Now midnight, I'm exhausted as usual.

Picture of Wendy with Orangutan

2010-03-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

taken by Steve at Camp Leakey.

Ubud

2010-03-26T10:51:00.000-05:00

We set out for Ubud around 11am. Steve had bought a map but despite all our efforts we ended up on the wrong road. Had to take a detour by a very narrow country road and amazingly we were back on track and made it to Ubud. We parked on the far side of the Monkey Forest and had to walk through to get to the art shop. I was less than enthusiastic about this, recalling my bad experience last year when a monkey jumped on the knapsack on my back. There were even more monkeys than last year and low and behold now they charge admission to the area. we just ignored that and walked through anyway.

The artist remembered us - because I had taken a picture of him and hos family in front of the shop .. that is now on my smugmug page. Anyway we bought several items and then headed back through the forest to the car. We drove into town, had lunch at The Lotus restaurant and then walked around a bit.

We left in the late afternoon and found a nice route back down to Kuta.
Nearing our area we decided to stop and have some dinner. We ended up on Sunset Road and ate at Sushi Tei. It was excellent.

After that we got quite lost and it took ages to get back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Tabanan and points further West for some good views of rice paddys.

Seminyak, Bali

2010-03-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Rented a car today - 28 USD/day - and drove around Denpasar to get steve's computer fixed (his stupid mac crashed!) and some other errands .. then we headed north of Kuta through Legian (pro: leggyan) to Seminyak. when we met Tom the Australian journalist at Camp 2 on Borneo, he told us he was headed there next. Seminyak is a more upscale area than Kuta. (Kuta is filled with surfer boys) In Seminyak the shopping is more interesting because there are one-of-a-kind clothing stores .. I bought a couple for rayon jersey dresses, light and comfortable, and a couple of cotton shorts that are very interesting! also got some nice silver bangles... Bali designs.

tomorrow we will head up to ubud to buy some wood carvings ..

Bali

2010-03-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Finally settled in for the night at Un's Hotel, Kuta Beach, Bali.

we stayed here last year as well, the price is right and the location is good. beautiful grounds and wood structures.. although, a bit spartan. They have A/C and nice hot water showers, a TV, a safe .. a fridge - if you ask for one, but they never give you any soap, or shampoo or free room water as other hotels do.

Kuta is packed with kids on holiday, lot of surfers. It's beautiful here with many many interestung looking restaurants.
Great shopping!

We will likely rent a car and drive up to ubud for the day. I want to go back to the artist who paints the wood puppets... and perhaps back to Bali Bird Park.

It was very hot today with no rain. .. the usual for Bali.

Surabaya

2010-03-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

... in the lounge in Surabaya airport. thank goodness is a decent airport.. a nice change from the ones in Kalimantan. We paid 65 thousand rupiah (around 7 dollars) to use the lounge with free wifi and a very nice meal selection.

Surabaya is one hour behind Banjarmasin so we left at 7am and arrived here at 7am
we have until 10:15 to wait for the flight to Bali .. which will also be quite a short flight ... arriving around 12:30 bali time .. whatever that is!

They seem to change time zones as often as they change their socks.

Banjarmasin - here again

2010-03-23T05:26:00.000-05:00

We left Banjarmasin - flying via Kalstar Arlines - to Pangalan Bun. Although we had both Indonesian phone cards and internet via USB - both Indosat and Telkomsel, there was no connectivity there. We stayed overnight at the Avilla Hotel .. which was rather spartan and dark like most hotels around Borneo. Even tho the lobbies look good, the rooms are not. we walked through the town to a restaurant recommended by our tour operator - Peltana Danson - who met us at te airport and took us to the hotel. The restuarant was a nice looking wood structure with A/C and good food. The town is obviously wealthy .. clean and neat little houses on good streets.

In the morning we went by car to Kumai - a small town outside of P.B. where our Klotok with crew was waiting. It was a 4 hr trip to Rimba lodge - stop off and on to Camp Leakey to catch the 3 pm feeding time,

We saw only a few Orangutans at the feeding station before the rain started... torrential! We were soaked.
It was a cold trip back to the lodge shivering under some blankets I has a horrendous headache by the time we arrived. I took a quick hot shower, swallowed some imitrex, perc, gravol, whatever I had and crawled into bed. They brought tea and soup to the room but I could not eat.

Next morning I was still shaky and Steve was now down with Indo-belly - heavy duty - but we took off for morning feeding time at Camp 2. We were late due to our illness and missed the Orangs.
Feeling ill we went back to the lodge and slept all afternoon - missing the afternoon feeding time at Camp 1 - which was not successful we heard later.

I came out for dinner but steve took some boiled rice in his room.

Rimba Lodge is great. I loved the place. Although rustic, it's comfy and interesting ... way better than sleeping on the boat in the indo heat and humidity.

Next day we went out early to Camp one with great success and later to Camp Leakey, also very successful. It was a great day. We saw some Proboscis Monkeys on the way back but they hard to photograph. .. too far off. The males have the best noses.

Dinner was good and off to sleep.. we left in the morning early for Kumai and then taxi to the airport for banjarmasin where we are now. .. back to the Hotel Victoria, where we left some luggage.

In the morning - very early - we leave for Bali and will be there until around March 30.
We are reserved at Uns Hotel in Kuda - same place we stayed last year.

Banjarmasin

2010-03-18T10:06:00.000-05:00

Interesting city. the floating market was quite exciting and the canals very interesting. amazing how people that live along the canals wash and even brush their teeth in the filthy water .. now we understand why they sell so much pyrantal pamoate around here. rained while at floating market so photos may not be much good. rained off and on through the day and mosquitoes out in force tonight. Those would be the malarial mosquitoes as the dengue ones come out during the day.

The specialty meal - soto banjar - was delicious. the rice in the soup can be ketupat or nasi. ketupat is a rice cake cooked in a banana leaf.

Have to get some sleep, we leave in the morning for Pangkalan Bun.

Banjarmasin

2010-03-18T09:57:00.000-05:00

flew to banjarmasin in the afternoon on Mandala Airlines. very short flight ... about an hour. we met Fren on the plane, an Indonesian. He happened to be staying at the same hotel so we shared a cab with him. Then after we checked in we went to the mall and bought Indo Sim cards - voice and data. Telkomsat, which is the only company that will service Pangkalan Bun... hopefully

then back to the hotel to sign up for the floating market tour early the next morning .. had dinner with Fren in the hotel restaurant. Steve had Soto Banjar the local specialty soup which was quite good. Then we all walked a few blocks to a drug store but I was unable to get some diclofenac. I want to switch back to the short acting type and maybe that will work better .. my back is killing me. Even the half a perc last night did nothing for my pain.

anyway, off to bed because I have to get up at 4am to catch the boat for the floating market.

Bangkok Pantip Plaza

2010-03-16T06:02:00.000-05:00

Geek heaven!

Singapore Airport

2010-03-16T05:57:00.000-05:00

Balikpapan East Kalimantan, Indonesia

2010-03-16T05:39:00.000-05:00

Arrived in Balikpapan late afternoon ... taxi to Hotel Grand Tiga Mustika
about 50 dollars a night .. and very nice.

the town doesn't look like much but we are out of here and on to Banjarmasin tomorrow.

dead tired and we should head out to hunt for food. I expect most places to shut down early ... much as I expect to do myself.

Bangkok day 2

2010-03-14T23:10:00.000-05:00

Last night we had dinner in a little outdoor Korean restaurant on Soi 11. Either it was new or we had never noticed it before. It was only so-so. I had the fried morning glory - my fave dish - and a thai papaya salad. Steve had chicken and cashew nuts but that dish was lousy because there was hardly any chicken.

We got back to the rooms, where I washed out my clothes, took a shower and promptly passed out.
It was a hard day of walking at Jatujak and MBK. We bought neat wet duffel bags at a vender at Jatujak and I bought a nice Juicy bag at MBK.

Above photos taken at Jatujak weekend market.

We are going to Pantip today.

Bangkok

2010-03-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

The flight from Tokyo to BKK (6 hrs) on Thai Airways was awful ! Lousy seats, no entertainment system. They even messed up our reseerved seats, putting steve in the middle and me on the aisle. He was able to switch to an aisle, but it was not right. The plane was cold and uncomfortable and the crew were poor. The food was lousy too. We have never had such a poor flight on Thai.

Oh well, we shouldn't complain after the bonus on the first flight.

Paid 500 bht taxi to the President Solitaire on Soi 11 Sukhumvit. Checked in and walked over to Foodland to get some cokes and water and other junk.
Lots of changes along Soi 11 .. more bars ... more action ...

Now at 2am have taken a pill to sleep.

Tomorrow we go to the weekend market and maybe to MBK after.

Tokyo

2010-03-13T01:34:00.000-05:00

Just arrived in Tokyo and have an hour and some before we board for Bangkok (6 hr flight)
local time is around 3pm and my time is 1:30am.

It was amazing that we got upgraded to business on the last flight... we didn't ask for an upgrade, we simply turned up to board. It may have been Stephen's patient who works for Air Canada, but we are't sure why it happened. Anyway, it was the best 13 hour flight I have ever had. Took a percocet and a gravol and an imitrex and slept most of the flight. It's the first time in months without back pain. I'm a bit hung over from the perc but it worked miracles for my pain.

We are in the business class lounge and I'm going to see what treats they have here .... later!

Wow!

2010-03-12T11:40:00.001-05:00

We have been upgraded to business class - for free!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Leaving

2010-03-12T11:23:00.001-05:00

About to board for Tokyo!!

Sent from my iPhone

first leg of trip

2010-03-10T02:49:00.000-05:00

Flew into Toronto tonight. flight was good and the weather here is decent.
The car started just fine. Going to have some hot chocolate and get some sleep.
Lots to do tomorrow!

Getting ready to leave ...

2010-02-28T10:51:00.000-05:00

... for the next trip.

Flying to BKK and then after a few days on to Borneo via Singapore to visit Tanjun Puting National Park and the Orangutangs.

flight home

2010-01-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

25 dollars in taxi to Tocumen by the spouse of the lady in the Tower House Hotel. Very nice man - not much english.

check in was a breeze and now am in business lounge - getting spoiled! - because I am flying home business promo ... cool - I am getting spoiled - having a Kahlua and milk and some fritos - for my sore throat of course ... aqnd free internet - this is so nice.

I have an hour to hang here, maybe I'll have another!

last day panama

2010-01-05T16:37:00.000-05:00

I did it! I managed to drive the car out to Gamboa - past Albrook airport to the Rainforest Resort - which was beautiful! - and past that to the Discovery Center .. which was not so great.

I was a nervous wreck but I got excellent directions back to the city - Balboa Drive - from a travel desk is the Rainnforest Resort. I did get a bit lost at the very end - but I ended up at another Express rental place and they checked in the car and drove me to my hotel.

I took a walk down to Espania and changed out my panama sim card for my At&T one, bought a coke at Rey supermarket and now am sitting in my hotel lobby - open air - waiting for my taxi to the airport.

It will be so nice to get home.

Panama City - Monday

2010-01-05T00:34:00.000-05:00

We wasted the day today. Steve went to the pool in the morning and I mooched around some shops.
Later we rented a car and tried to find our way to Gamboa to the Rainforest Vistors Center. It was murder to find the way. The streets here are not marked well and we got stuck on the wrong expressway. Maps are no help. By the time we found Gamboa, the place was closed.

Came back and went to some shopping centers and then out to the end of causeway where the yachts dock and there are some bars and restuarants. Then back here.

My hotel has some free parking for the car and I don't need to return it till 4pm Tuesday. Steve is going to the airport earlier than I am so I will try and find my way to Gamboa by myself .. worst that can happen is that I drive around all day lost and return to drop off the car. Whatever.. I need to waste the day somehow or other.

At around 5-5:30pm I will head to Tocumen Airport for my flight at 8:30pm. Meanwhile I now have a sore throat. Having some tea and salty chips and going to bed.

Drua Girls

2010-01-04T10:24:00.002-05:00

Monday Jan 4 in Panama City

2010-01-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

We didn't book an excursion this morning so I am actually having my free breakfast at my hotel. (Tower House)
Turns out this hotel is fine and the best part about it is that it is so close to the Marriott where Steve is staying. When I first checked in, I was a bit upset. the room is dark and dingy, the bathroom is minuscule. But the shower is good, there is a fridge and there is a safe. more importantly there is free internet. there is a room off the lobby for internet but most nights I was able to log on in my room. after my first night of nearly falling out of the narrow single bed, they pushed the two twins together and I have been much more comfortable since. Walking back and forth between my hotel and Steve's has been fine .. if it was late at night, I was a bit nervous walking alone with my knapsack and camera but there are a few other hotels between here and there and some hotel staff were standing around outside so I felt safer. Panamanians are very nice and friendly, proud of their country and always willing to help tourists. taxis are reasonable but you need to know what should be paid for each trip and bargain with the driver. restaurant food is so-so, having ceviche is a must. Food orders are very slow though. My scrambled eggs this morning are heavy and sticky like glue but the panamanian coffee is very good.

not sure what we will do today. maybe shop... I would have liked to go to Soberania National Park but they say you need to go early in the morning and we wanted to sleep in today. tomorrow I expect to also sleep in, then check out around 1pm leave my bags here for a few hours and get to the airport 3 hrs early at 5pm. landing around 11:30pm I will need to drive back over to the other side - late and in the dark - I am not looking forward to that.

Steve at the waterfall

Embera Indian Village

2010-01-03T17:42:00.000-05:00

Just returned from a trip up the Chagras River by dug-out boat to visit the Embera Indians. We were treated to a lunch of fresh tilapia fish and plantains, cultural music and dance and fine handicrafts. Friendly people very interesting and good photos. Stopped at waterfall on the way back.

Drua Chief

tanker going thru lock at panama canal

2010-01-02T23:04:00.002-05:00

Panama Canal

2010-01-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

The Panama Canal Visitor center is excellent. We saw quite a few tankers and cruise ships traveling through the locks and crossing the lake to get through the canal. Extremely interesting history. The canal is being widened and locks added.. to be ready for celebration opening in August 2014

Iguana

2010-01-02T22:54:00.003-05:00

Howler Monkey on Gatun Lake

2010-01-02T22:54:00.000-05:00

Ancon Expeditions

2010-01-02T22:53:00.000-05:00

Today we started out early, picked up at Steve's hotel by Ancon Expeditions for a boat ride thu the jungle at Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal. An excellent tour company. Our Guide, Benny, was very knowledgeable.

January 1st 2010

2010-01-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

Slept in late.. most things closed today so we mooched around the streets for a bit - got caught in a tropical rain storm - so we ducked into a fast food chinese place and had some wanton soup. Then grabbed a cab to Ancon Hill. Here is a cute photo of a sloth we saw there ... no the picture is not upside down .. these cute guys like to hang around like this. Spanish name is Parasuso.

Panama old city ceviche

2010-01-01T13:19:00.002-05:00

Panama City

2010-01-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in the afternoon we took a taxi to the old city. They say it's dangerous there but there is quite a police prescence and it did not feel dangerous. There is a food terminal that we pass on the way up the hhill to the old part. They say the ceviche there is very good. We pass through narrow streets with wrecked wood and concrete walls that pass for homes, restaurants and shops. The actual old city, further on, is being renovated for tourism so it does not have that authentic ruined feel for me. It looks much like the streets of Havana. There is an old fort-like structure on the water with a great view of the new city and some Indian native people selling crafts with inflated prices. There was a handicraft shop down one of the narrow streets where we shopped and bought some souvenirs. We then walked back through the old wrecked part to the terminal and bought some octopus ceviche which was excellent. Then we grabbed a cab back. Taxis are cheap here.

While Stephen was getting his Claro sim card sorted out I spoke with a nice Panamanian man who told me that the best spot for New Years is Zona Viva, so we decided to go there. We arrived by taxi (6 dollars) around 10pm. The concept is good. It's out of town along the causeway and is a structure with one open-air street with 10 or so discos or lounges along the way, either inside a room or just open-air. Music streams out of every place and mixes together in a sometimes not so pleasant sound. We figured maybe we arrived too early .. there was hardly anyone there! We sat and had a 24oz mixed drink for 5 dollars but found out later that the tubs full of Vodka Ice, on ice, were free!

There were great fireworks and after hanging around until after midnight we finally left, deciding to go down to Calle Uruguay, the downtown club area. Wandered through there for a while- it was also fairly quiet - and then walked back to the hotel.

It seems that Panama people don't go out to party until very late and then stay out till 4-5am.

New Years in Panama City

2009-12-31T20:55:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all and to all my best wishes for a fabulous 2010 filled with many new opportunities!

An old door in the old city of Panama ...

Panama City

2009-12-31T01:25:00.000-05:00

Am staying at the Tower House Suites in Panama City:
www.towerhsuites.com
room 903 in case of emergency:
507-269-2244
I will likely go out and get a sim card tomorrow so Steve and I can keep in touch.. I am about 3 blocks from his hotel (Marriott).
My hotel is somewhat depressing - dark and dingy rooms - spartan - but what can one expect here for 55 dollars a night. Panama City is expensive. The food is reasonable though. We went to dinner at a nice fish restaurant around the corner from Steve's hotel - (Casa Azul?) was decent enough food... the ceviche was quite good.
Got to get some sleep .. tomorrow night for new years we expect to go out to a club with music and drinks and dancing.

Bocas last day

2009-12-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

slept late and then stored bags in a room - checked out and went to Bocas Butterfly Park.
was so-so
.... back and hanging out waiting to go to airport - which is just down the road from this hotel.

flight gets us back to Panama City for a late dinner.

Three Toed Sloth

2009-12-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Bocas del Toro - day 2

2009-12-29T19:16:00.003-05:00

We waited for our boat at the back of the hotel where they said they would pick us up at 9:30am.
Around 10, Steve went to find out what happened. He found our boat guy from yesterday who did not seem to know that we had booked a trip. This place is very lackadaisical in all things, much like the Caribbean .. on their own laid back schedule... even last night at dinner it took 2 hours to get served a very simple meal. All I ordered was soup! Anyway, the boat guy said he would turn up at out hotel in 5 minutes ... which turned out to be a half hr and exactly when it started to pour. I decided against going because I did not want to get my camera wet ... or myself either!

So off steve went and I stayed on the hotel back deck reading my book until the rain stopped. Then I went to find a trip that would be dry. I opted for a trip to a far island - Bastamento -with a rainforest and a native village. It was expensive but I didn't want to sit around in town all day. so off I went with the same boat driver as yesterday and his girlfriend .. we also took along another guy with his dog, who we dropped at Frog Beach.

We arrived at my rainforest through a canal of mangroves .. it was lovely.
The village is called Salt Creek. A man came to talk to me in English and it turned out that I had to pay 7 dollars for entry and guided walk in the rainforest. I didn't mind that but I was not happy that the person back in Bocas who sold me the tour stated that there were no entry fees.. only his tour fee.

The walk was nice in spite of another downpour. We were protected under the forest canopy. I saw my first Sloth and figured that even if I did nnot see much else I would be happy ... and that turned out to be the case....A Cayman and one little monkey hiding in a tree was about the extent of it.

back to Bocas, had a nice ceviche and a fresh lemonade and back to the room to clean up for dinner.

Last night's dinner was at Pecado, a very crowded but good restaurant on the corner one block up from our hotel.
Lunch yesterday was at lili's where we had "Killin me man" wings - excellent - bought the sauce.

Steve reported that his trip today was ok. Beach not as nice as Thailand and snorkeling not as good either. Well, he got some nice T-shirts.

Tomorrow, I believe we will try and see the butterfly garden and then we fly back to PTY in the evening.

Bocas del Toro

2009-12-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

yesterday at Red Frog beach... today supposed to take boat tour of other islands all day but is raining again this morning...

Panama

2009-12-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

Hardly slept in Miami and then off to the airport at 4am to catch my flight at 7:30am
Parked in Miami fast park - a bit hard to find - and then check in to Copa Airlines was slow but security was fine. Flight was good to PTY and then taxi downtown to pick up Steve and then to domestic airport to fly to Bocas del Toro. Is interesting little place. Lot of poverty, not much here but tourists, hotels and restuarants. walked around a bit - only 2 streets here - and then dinner at Lemongrass. so-so

Slept late this morning and now it's raining. off to lunch soon.

Machol Miami

2009-12-25T01:12:00.000-05:00

Off to Miami/Lauderdale for a few days of wild and crazy Israeli Dancing- all night long!

Then on to Panama on Sunday morning very early... stopping in Panama City to meet Stephen and then we fly on to Bocas Del Toro.

Christmas at the Mercato shopping center Naples Florida

2009-12-16T23:29:00.000-05:00

click on the link below and the click to play the video.

http://e-grrl.smugmug.com/Various/videos/6996776_zagsV#742929149_oYt5C

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-13T17:54:00.001-05:00

Greetings!

click on the link:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/J0o3Ukso9arRaQlzuKgL

-------------------

Naples Florida

2009-12-09T15:37:00.001-05:00

Hangin out a bit in Naples then on to Panama!

Mumbai airport

2009-11-14T13:12:00.001-05:00

Managed to get thru security without having laptop stolen. I didn't take it out of my locked bag.
Worked like a charm!

Sent from my iPhone

Bombay last day

2009-11-14T00:39:00.000-05:00

Haven't been feeling well.. was nauseated yesterday and overnight felt quite ill.

Feeling somewhat better this morning, I only had some toast and tea for breakfast. I was sitting with a couple from England who were also going home tonite. They were telling me that a lady they know had her laptop stolen at the security in Mumbai airport. The way it is for women is that they go through a separte area that is curtained off and they cannot see their bags going though the x-ray.
when the bags and trays come out of the x-ray anyone could pick up something and walk away while you may still be behind the curtain. Also the airport staff can easily take things. Now I'm going to worry all day that my laptop will be stolen. I'm madly copying my backed up photos onto a flash drive. I really can't recall if I had deleted any cards after copying to the computer. I know that most, at least, are not deleted. My only hope is that nobody wants a crummy pink netbook or that I check in at a lucky moment when theives are busy stealing something of better value.

That's the problem with India. Everyone is begging or trying to rip you off or telling you a pack of lies.
Everything is corrupt here. Couple that with the noise, garbage piles, filth and pollution, smells of urine and feces everywhere and the main conclusion is that India is interesting to see, but you really have to assess if the difficulties make it worthwhile. I'm still happy I did it, but I don't think I'll be back.

travel day

2009-11-13T13:22:00.000-05:00

uneventful travel day from Varanasi to Mumbai - via Delhi
Varanasi airport is small, drab and hopelessly inefficient ... but one can expect no better - after all it is India.

had a bowl of Hot and Sour soup at Ling's and back to the Suba Palace for an early night .. it's my last night in a bed for the next 20 or so hours.

will try and buy another bag tomorrow so I can shop a bit - no room otherwise.
ordered some more India imitrex at $2.50 a pill (vs $16 a pill in canada)

Village weaver

2009-11-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

Varanasi woman

2009-11-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

Varanasi last day

2009-11-12T10:40:00.000-05:00

This morning I was picked up at 9am and taken to a small village about 20 km outside of Varanasi where there are silk weavers working in their homes.
I was a good chance to see how people are living. In one house there was a modified bicycle being used as a loom. Other homes had the same looms as you see in the silk factories in the city. Some looms ause cardboard cut out forms for the pattern and other looms are the old type that require some special talent to create a pattern.

I got some good photos of people, kids and babies. a good pic of kids in school - one "school" was a dark hole in the wall and the "teacher" was not much older than the kids. Another lesson was being given outside on a cement pad.

Varanasi is indeed amazing and no trip to India is complete without spending a few days here.
Some roads are still not paved and most roads in the old part of the city near the ghats are closed to all but rickshaws and motorbikes. The streets are completely packed with traffic and much as I tried to get a good photo of the traffic, it was not possible to convey the reality by camera... you simply have to experience it.

Amazingly it seems that the city is safe even for a woman travelling alone.. I was very careful and suspected everyone of wanting to knock me down and grab my camera but my fears were for naught.
Of course there are many many "touts" people trying to get you into their shop or on their boat or whatever ... and many beggars, but that's the case everywhere in India.

Hanging out at the ghats is a must ... so many characters .. so much religious frenzy.
The burning ghats, of course are my favorite ... and so this last afternoon I headed back down again.
On my way from the main ghat to the small burning ghat I stopped in at the Lotus Lounge for a bite to eat. The pumpkin orange soup with spices and cashews is fantastic. (70rps)
Then I had some fried eggplant with yogurt cucumber dipping sauce (75 rps)
.. again very good but turned out to be too much food. so my whole dinner was about 3 dollars.

At the small burning ghat I watched a body burn for a bit and then looked at some freaks. there are self professed "priests" here that coat themselves in ashes and hang around smoking weed.

Wandered back to the main ghat now that it was dark and visited my favorite bead shop for some wrist bands for 5 rps each .. then instead of wandering through the narrow streets in the dark, I grabbed a tuk tuk back to the hotel.

...leaving in the late morning for the airport and back to the Suba Palace in Bombay.

Varanasi burning ghat

2009-11-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

Varanasi burning ghat

2009-11-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

Varanasi drying cow pats

2009-11-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

Varanasi

2009-11-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

Great day today. Got up fairly early and took an auto rickshaw (tuk tuk) to the ghats.
Wandered around there for hours ... you can walk along from ghat to ghat .. great photo opps.
At the smaller burning ghat at the south end, I met a lovely Italian woman named Serena. we went over to Lotus Lounge - a cafe overlooking the Ganges - and had a drink - it was really quite hot by then.

After she headed back to her hotel I continued north on my own. went up to the main burning ghat qand hung around there watching for a while. lots of action today. photos are not supposed to be taken at the burning ghats, but I was able to sneak a few at the south one and at the north one, I climbed up an empty building - with some India guy tagging along with me, telling me I could get photos up there - after paying some money to one of the people who come there and wait to die. So I took a bunch of photos with my canon .. I had left the Nikon back in the room because the auto-focus was giving me some trouble and I haven't been happy with the photos from that lens. After I took a bunch of photos from above, I handed some old lady 20 rupees and quickly left. my tag along friend
said she was mad... lotta nerve, she's lucky I gave her anything.

Then I decided to walk through the narrow streets of the old city but ended up going in circles. tried again and managed to get out to the main road but which main road, I wasn't sure. I walked and walked and walked and finally found the gate where I could catch an auto-rickshaw back to the hotel.

My feet were killing me by the time I got back but had to freshen up for my visit to the fort and palace at Ramangan.
The fort is small and there is a museum there that costs 15 rps entry fee - no photos allowed.
The museum had a collection of old cars from the maharajah of varanasi but they were housed behind metal gating and it was difficult to see them .. also laden with dust.
There were some interesting old cars tho. There was also a weapons room that was mildly interesting and then there was a room with stuffed hunted animal trophies. Overall the museum was dusty and decayed and in particular, the animal room. I had to laugh at the stuffed bear that was so rotted you could hardly tell what it was! Typical of the India people to have a museum in such a poor condition. the walls were filthy, the lighting poor and the displays a wreck. There were signs everywhere that photos were forbidden and then I saw a sign that said, "no spitting". That was adjacent to a corner where the wall and floor were stained by spit from eating betel nuts - or paan. typical of india people to ignore signs and directions.

the fort is situated on the ganges across from the city and there is a spot with a nice view, especially around sunset. Ramangan is apparently known for its "lassi" so I had a cup. The cups are unfinished clay and the lassi was good. (yoghurt)

back to the hotel and then out to dinner. I went back to the Canton Restaurant at the Surya Hotel. This time I had a Lasuni Tikka .. it came with the mint chilli sauce and was excellent.
I think that restaurant may have served the best food I have had yet in India .. except for Shar-E-Puja in Goa.

Stopped in to a small provisions store for some chocolate and cookies and then to bed.

Tomorrow is my last day here and I have booked a trip to a small village about 22 km out - just for something to do. In the afternoon I expect I will head back down to the ghats for the last time.

Varanasi Ghats

2009-11-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

Varanasi (Benares, Kashi)

2009-11-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

What a day of ups and downs!

UP:
got up at 4:30 am for my trip to the Ganges for sunrise. excellent.
After the boat trip I came back to the hotel for breakfast (included with the room) - which was good... and then I was picked up again for my city tour. Drove around town - but each street - while every interesting - looks much like another. It's very difficult to get one's bearings here ... the tourist map is useless and even if it did have some streets marked on it, it wouldn't make any difference because the streets themselves are not marked. So whereever I was, there were some fabulous traffic jams and I did see the Benares Hindu University (BHU) and a few temples aincluding Mother India Museum that has a relief map of India and environs (quite interesting) Also - of course - taken to a silk weaving house - Varanasi is famous for hand-woven silk.

DOWN:
after my 2 day trips ended around 2 pm I decided to go back and try my luck again at the Airtel office. .. to get my GPRS activated - I was still paying for it! I decided to enlist the help of the travel agent in the hotel thinking that maybe showing up with a local might help .. well it didn't! They were the same incompetant fools as yesterday! Still giving me a pack of lies and bullshit. I was so angry!
I walked around a bit to relieve my anger.

UP:
Then I decided to go back and hang around down at the ghats. but how to get there? a tuk tuk stopped while I was standing at the street corner, contemplating my predicament, and I asked "how much to ghats?"
He said 100 so I said 50.

He agreed but told me that he was going to get another tourist and take us both at the same time .. I said fine and waited for him .. sure enough he was back with a young French lady and off we went.
When we arrived at the ghats I asked him to wait an hour for me and then take me back and we agreed on 100 back. the ghats are great to hang around ... traffice back to the hotel after sunset is a nitemare.

Anyway .. back I went to my hotel, planning to check out the restaurant at a neighboring hotel - The Surya. My friend in the tuk tuk told me she goes there in the heat of the day to hang at the pool ... so I stopped in to check out the restuarant that claimed to have different types of food - not just Indian.
The hotel looks great - arranged around a central lawn with tables. The pool is beautiful! (the pool in my hotel is a cess pool - not maintained) Dinner - chicken biryani - was excellent too!

Got some water and back to my room for a shower and bed - exhausted.

DOWN:
no hot water! last night when I ended up showering in luke warm water I figured I just didn't wait long enough for the geyser to heat up ... well it should have been ready by tonight!
called housekeeping - they came and looked and then called maintenance who then looked and claimed the element was out. So now I speak to reception and I am asked how many buckets I want !!
I told them no buckets - I want a hot shower (shades of West Papua!) I was near tears.
They claimed to have no other rooms. what to do?? what to do?? get dressed and find another hotel???
.... after about 5 minutes of holding my head in my hands they came back and gave me another room.

UP:
now i'm in an amazing suite having showered in hot water and feeling good ....
going to get up early and go back to the ghats to hang out in the early start-up hours and then at 3 pm I have a car booked to take me to the palace-fort on the other side of the Ganges.