Temple of Literature…Heading to Cambodia today…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Entrance to the Temple of Literature.
At 12:30 pm today we’ll be checking out of the stellar five star Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and heading to the Noi Bai International airport by bus. We have an included flight through Viking cruises to Cambodia, the next leg of our land and Mekong River journey.
Beautiful manicure grounds of the temple.

Although we don’t particularly care for bus or group tours, this 54 passenger manifest feels small and intimate. Already, we’ve come to know a few other passengers and look forward to many more pleasant conversations and shared activities. 

Apparently, the Temple of Literature is busy most days.

Viking Cruise Line’s reputation for excellence is evident in all the activities thus far with the utmost of class and organization. Nothing is spared in providing each passenger with care and diligent attention to detail.

The Chinese language and the French influence attributed to the Vietnamese language.

Our tour guide, Kong, took a photo on his phone on the food list on my phone. As a result, last night’s dinner at the upscale Nineteen11 Restaurant located in the Hanoi Opera House was prepared to perfection with Kong’s assistance in working with the restaurant staff. That’s the type of service we’re receiving on this adventure. Over the top.

A body of water on the grounds of the temple.

They specially made pumpkin soup for me which was quite a treat. The Australian filet mignon was cooked to perfection with a side of butter sautéed bok choy with garlic, a fabulous side I’d never considered. 

The Temple of Literature was built in 1070.

Tom enjoyed his soup, salad, bread and similar steak with mashed potatoes and vegetable coulis as well as a beautifully prepared Vietnamese dessert.   

There were many areas of the temple to investigate.

I’m in a bit of a quandary posting all these tours. We have more photos than space or time to share of these experiences in Hanoi. Since we’ll in Cambodia by dinner tonight and don’t want to miss sharing some of the integral experiences we’ve had in Hanoi, we’ll continue with Hanoi stories over the next few days and “catch up” as we move along in Cambodia. 

The crowds gathered on their path to the main part of the temple.
Animal lawn sculpture in the temple.

In the event we aren’t able to catch up with so many tours ahead, we may decide to save some of the photos to share after the cruise ends while we’re living in Phuket for six weeks at a considerably slower pace. This whirlwind trip makes the appeal of Phuket’s easy lifestyle all the more appealing.

The historic architecture if beautiful not unlike Hindu temples we visited in Bali. Although Vietnam is a communist country, people are free to choose their religious beliefs as long as they don’t interfere politically.

How did I weather yesterday’s full day of touring? It was a challenge walking the long distances while navigating lots of stairs and uneven walkways. 

There’s no way this photo indicates how hot we were.

Add the scorching sun, heat and humidity and there were moments I wondered if I could continue on. Tom, of course, walked slowly and gingerly alerting me to every step change and holding my hand even as both of our hands were dripping with sweat. 

Gargoyle.

My desire to see everything and to take photos kept me motivated enough to keep going. The tour provided us with unlimited supplies of chilled bottled water, which we guzzled continuously. Each time we neared a patch of shade, Kong alerted us to take cover. We weren’t the only ones sweating profusely. 

Inside the temple.

Since most of the passengers are as old or older than us, they too suffered along with us.  Cambodia is supposedly much hotter and more humid. Today, I feel a little better as I continue to heal and hope by the most challenging of the upcoming tours, Ankor Wat, that I’ll be able to participate.

Statue of Confucius.

Hanoi’s temperature yesterday was 98F, 37C with 80% humidity. I can’t imagine Cambodia would be a whole lot worse. When we struggled through the heat (and my continuing pain) many times we discussed what the soldiers went through in this horrid weather during the war. 

Most revered statue of Confucius in the temple.

On several occasions, those sad thoughts made me give myself a mental slap to tough it out.

Touching the breast of this bird statue with the right hand and the touching the head of the turtle below with one’s left hand is considered “yin and yang” allowing good fortune to flow through the participant. Tom was able to do this but I did so with caution, unable to easily bend down.

Today’s photos are from yesterday’s visit to the Temple of Literature. Future photos will continue of the Hanoi Hilton, (the prison), the Ho Chi Minh Memorial and the city tour we took this morning in small motorized vehicles through streets in the Old Quarter, inaccessible by cars or buses. It was quite an adventure in itself.

A religious service was being conducted while we visited.

Since we’re leaving soon, I’ll only have time to post photos and will do as many captions as time allows. Back at you soon from Cambodia! 

There was a lily pond on the grounds.

Photo from one year ago today, July 10, 2015:

The boat launch at Holloways Beach leading to a river that heads to the sea. It is this type of location where people are attacked by crocs which are commonly found on beached in Australia.  For more details please click here.

Four days and counting until the four hour harrowing drive…Tools for staying organized…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
We printed all the paperwork and documents we could possibly need for multiple upcoming flights and visa applications which will be required on paper at the embassies. Placing each in its own unique envelope seemed to be the easiest way to find what we’ll need. Also, included are the necessary documents for us both of us to apply online for the renewal of our Nevada driver’s licenses, Tom in six months, mine in eight months. The blue envelope contains extra passport-type photos we purchased here for use in applying for the three visas in Singapore.
“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”
Kids on the beach, making sand castles. This is universal worldwide.

Originally, when we booked two separate two month stays in Bali at the same property, we were hesitant, asking ourselves, “What if we didn’t like it? What if for some reason we were miserable?”

At the time, with the commitment to finalize the booking imminent, we decided to take our chances. If we didn’t like it, we’d find a way to make it tolerable. In most cases, if a location isn’t a favorite, we end up spending a good chunk of our time making plans for the future while we stay busy enjoying the location as much as possible.

Fluffy flowers.

That concept is predicated by a good wifi signal, allowing us to do research while the time whittles away. Although we totally loved the house and the staff in Marrakech, Morocco in 2014, we stayed a little too long for the venue, a total of two and a half months. 

But, here in Bali, in this lovely villa, we feel comfortable and at ease. Certainly, the WiFi signal could be better. Gede hopes there will be a resolution by our return. If not, we’ll live with it. We haven’t been unable to post something each and every day during these past almost two months. 

This flower design is commonly used at the ends of posts in Balinese construction.

Sure, there’s always nuances we’d prefer to be different; no flies while we’re dining is probably the biggest one. But then, it’s a reality of life in many parts of the world. 

While living in Australia, we quickly realized that the flies bite so we had to leave the screen-less doors closed in the heat of the day. Here in Bali, only on a rare occasion do we feel a nip from a fly, perhaps from a different variety. I’ve been able to use only a tiny amount of repellent to keep the mozzies at bay, especially early in the morning and late in the day during dinner.

A wide array of tropical flowers bloom in each location we visit.

No English speaking TV?  No big deal. Four hour harrowing drive from Denpasar to the villa (each way)?  Annoying. Visa extension requiring three round trips at a total of four hours of driving time along with hours of waiting time on each of the three days in order to complete the process?  Bothersome. Poor WiFi signal? Frustrating. No opportunity in this remote area to dine in a restaurant from time to time?  Unusual.

On the flip side, we’ve loved so much about this location; the fabulous staff and their attentive care; the outrageous food; the exquisite accommodations; the infinity pool; the ocean views including daily wonders on the beach; the local people and interesting culture; and the unusual experiences we had almost daily in one way or another.

Birds and beasts are symbolic in Indonesia designs.

A few nights ago, there was a crab in our bedroom. That made us laugh. When does one find a crab in their bedroom? With a handful of paper towels I picked it up, depositing it back to the beach.  Buffalo on the beach every evening? Where does one see this? We’ve never lost interest in watching them meander along the shore. It goes on and on which we’ve shared in post after post.

So now as we wind down the remaining four days at the villa we smile with the knowledge and the acceptance of the few obstacles, while for the first time in our travels, we know what to expect upon our return…another two months in Paradise. 

Neighboring villas also have neatly trimmed landscaping.

Will are readers be bored when we’re back here with “same old, same old?” We hope not and, we have a plan. During the upcoming two whirlwind months of activity after traveling to Southeast Asia we’ll be thrilled for a little downtime while back in Bali to begin sharing stories we’ll have saved for our readers. 

We’re planning to save many of our Southeast Asia cultural stories especially from the Mekong River cruise (to eventually be posted when we return to Bali), writing the stories as they occur while the information is  still fresh in our minds. 

Bus stop in the neighborhood.

Of course, we’ll prepare a shorter daily post in “real time” while on the Mekong River cruise as we experience Vietnam and Cambodia both by land and water since we’ll be out on tours most days during the cruise itinerary.

As for Singapore, starting in five days (we’re spending one night at a hotel in Denpasar, Bali before the flight), where we’ll be for one week, we’ll prepare our usual posts with photos as we visit three embassies for the required three visas we need, incorporating sightseeing along the way. This should be quite an experience it itself.

The Hindu temple often has scary statues to drive away evil spirits.

Today, we’ll both pack and weigh our bags, pay the online excess baggage fees and be done. Once again, this will give us peace of mind allowing us to thoroughly enjoy our remaining few days at the villa. 

May your day bring you peace of mind!


Photo from one year ago today, June 23, 2015:

Shopping in Trinity Beach, Australia was as unique as it has been in most new locations.The AUD 227.57 for Woolie’s Grocery Store, (aka Woolworth’s) translated to US $175.86. This total didn’t include the veggies at US $32.77, AUD 42.41 and Italian sausage at US $13.45, AUD  17.40. For more details, please click here.

A bit of a worrisome situation we had to figure out…It all “goes with the territory!”

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
We’re thrilled to be able to see sunsets from the veranda. The long stick to the right is actually the vine of a plant.

“Bali Sightings on the Beach”

With few tourists on the beaches here many interesting shells and mollusks remain on the beach which is nice to see.

We can only control so much in our lives. We try hard not to make errors when the consequences in planning our lives could result in added costs, time and undesired stress and frustration.

When we get into a “pickle” we reflect on what we could have, should have, done to prevent it. The lame excuse, “Well, I didn’t know,” doesn’t serve us well. We should have known every step of the way, especially as we become more experienced in traveling the world.

As we review the circumstances of our most current dilemma, in a quandary as to how to get a visa to Vietnam for the July 8th Viking Mekong River cruise, we can’t seem to embrace what we could have done differently.

The facts to accomplish this remain a hard reality: In order to apply for a visa for Vietnam with multiple entries in a 30-day period, one must send their actual passport to a visa service in the US or their home country or directly to the Vietnam Embassy.

As the sunset progresses, we’re in awe of its beauty.

How in the world would we allow ourselves to be in Indonesia without our passports in our possession, especially when in two weeks we have to drive two hours to another village to the Immigration office to extend the 30 day visas we have now, repeating this same action when we return in over three months?

Also, if we didn’t need to extend our Indonesian visas, we’d never allow ourselves to be without a passport in our possession while in a foreign country. What if one of us became ill and had to be airlifted out of the country or any of dozens of other possibilities? We’re never going to allow ourselves to be in such a position.

For citizens living in their home country, they can easily prepare the necessary documents, including their passports, mail them to a visa service and wait for the return of the packet with the new visa and their passport. 

Not us. Not only will we never leave ourselves in a foreign country without a passport in our possession but, we’re in a remote area of Bali. Receiving the return packet would take weeks to arrive, most likely never in time for our departure. 

Almost gone.

Nor would we have been willing to be without a passport while in New Zealand had we started this process earlier. Thus, we don’t blame ourselves for not starting this process sooner, two months generally is plenty of time to get a visa. In most situations, we’re easily able to acquire “visas on arrival” (VOA) at any given airport or cruise terminal.

Over the past several days we’ve made many phone calls on Skype: to Viking Cruise Line; to the river cruise representative at Vacations to Go; to the Vietnam Embassy in Vietnam; to the online visa company we’ve been using of late, CIBT. 

There is a such a thing as a “visa on arrival” at the airport in Vietnam through any of the dozens of unknown vendors online that provide a visa letter but the problem with this is twofold:
1.  Do we want to give such personal information online to what may be an unscrupulous company of which there are many? Of course not.
2.  “Visa on arrival” only applies to single entry visas for arrival exclusively by air travel at the airport. Our second entry will occur while we’re on the ship and the first visa would be useless.

The US State Department has considerable warnings and information about the difficulty of getting a Vietnam visa. Click here for details.

Me in the pool waving at Tom when he insisted on a photo. We spend lots of time in the pool, especially on days like today, hot, humid and many flies after last night’s heavy rain.

After hours of research, we came to only two possibilities:
1.  Take the risk on the “visa on arrival” single entry airport only arrival using what may prove to be an unscrupulous company and figure it out once we’re in Vietnam. Not an option.
2.  Wait until we get to Singapore on June 28th (late in the day arrival) and head to the Vietnam Embassy (a 40 minute drive from our hotel) the following morning, documents in hand and apply in person. A rush order takes three business days. Luckily, we’ll be within this window. 

The Singapore option provides us with peace of mind. No doubt it will have a bearing on our one week stay when we’ll certainly have a degree of concern over getting this accomplished. But, yesterday we called the Vietnam Embassy in Singapore and its sounds doable. They’re only open for visa applications from 9:00 am to noon weekdays.

We’re well aware of the fact that should we run into any unforeseen obstacles along the way, we could lose the IDR 92,989,424 (wow), US $6598, (plus the airfare we’ve already purchased) we prepaid at time of booking the cruise to take advantage of the “two for one/paid in full” promo at the time.

Yesterday afternoon, after we finally reached the Vietnam Embassy in Singapore, we sighed in relief knowing we had a plan in place. Once we arrive in Singapore we’ll stop at an ATM to get the appropriate amount of cash US $369, SGD 540 for both visas. 

Tom at the edge of the infinity pool while I took the photo.

Adding the cost of two round trip taxi rides to complete the transactions (returning in three business days to pick up the visas) which we hope to double duty to visit a few sites of interest along the return, its a much more expensive and time consuming proposition than we’d expected. 

As it turns out, Vietnam is one of few countries that makes it difficult for US citizens (and others) to obtain a visa which includes such countries as China, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and others. Click this link for more detailed information if you’re planning to travel or simply curious. It’s rather interesting.

The difficulty of acquiring certain country’s visa is totally predicated by reciprocal agreements between the two countries.  As a result, Vietnam is on that “difficulty” list.

In the past few days, we also applied and received the renewal of our one year visas for Australia where we’ll be in and out of over the next year on many occasions (only can stay 90 days per visit). 

The back of Tom while in the infinity pool at high tide.

Today, we’ll apply for yet another required visa for Cambodia (easy online application) again for the Mekong River Cruise  and then we can put this out of our minds until we arrive in Singapore in 48 days, except of course, for the upcoming trip to the immigration office here in Bali within a few weeks.

Gede, our houseman and driver is out of town for a religious holiday returning late Friday. We’re scheduled to go sightseeing with him on Saturday morning at 10:00 am. We’ll prepare and upload the post before we depart and look forward to sharing new photos the following day.

We hope you aren’t faced with dilemmas today. But, if so, we hope you find solutions that put your mind at ease as well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 11, 2015:

Could this Yellow Candle flower we spotted in Kauai be more exquisite with its white blooms? For more photos, please click here.

How we’re spending the two month gap between two visits to Bali…Partial Itinerary…Moo…baa…neigh…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This is our favorite cow to visit when we’re on a walk.  She always sticks out her tongue and does a little dance when she see us.

When preparing yesterday’s post, we realized it may sound a bit confusing regarding our back and forth for two trips to Bali. The bulk of the decision to go back and forth revolved around the fact that Indonesia has strict visa regulations with stays only allowing for 30 days (with 60 days possible). We’ll figure that out soon.

Recently, these fillies/colts were born.

As a result, we thought it might clarify the plans we made for the almost two-month gap in between the two separate bookings for the same property. In part, the owners gave us an excellent price on the villa with a full staff but preferred to get more for the high season. 

The walk in the area is always lovely.

If we’d leave and return, they could get higher rates than we’re paying during the peak season, resulting in excellent pricing for us during the two separate visits on either end of the peak season.

Also, during this two-month gap, we found a two for one special on a Viking Mekong River cruise, providing we paid the cruise fare in full at the time of the booking which we were happy to do for the savings.

Cattle seem interested in humans as we’ve found on walks and drives through the countryside.

In these two transactions, we saved several thousand dollars for venues we may not have found affordable at the full rates and fares. The more countries we can visit at the best possible prices and terms the greater our worldwide experience. 

There are numerous varieties of long-horned cattle in New Zealand.

It’s not that we’re on a mission to visit every country in the world. It’s not practical in today’s world of war and terror.But, we are on a mission of visiting the countries we find interesting and enriching as we continue on our world journey.

The gap between the two Bali stays made sense when by coincidence and admittedly diligent planning and research, we’re not only excited about the time we’ll spend in Bali but also the two months in between and shortly thereafter, as shown below:
                                                                                         # days                        Dates





































































 Sydney Hotel 1  4/15/2016 – 4/16/2016 
Cruise –  Sydney to Singapore  14  RC Voyager of Seas   4/16/2016 – 4/30/2016 
 Bali House  59  4/30/2016 – 6/28/2016 
 Hotel Singapore 7  6/28/2016 – 7/5/2016 
 Hanoi Hotel 3  7/5/2016 – 7/8/2016 
 Cruise –  Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City  15  Viking Mekong    7/8/2016 –
7/22/2016 
 Phuket House  41  7/22/2016 –
9/1/2016 
 Bali House  59  9/1/2016 –
10/30/2016 
 Sydney Hotel  1  10/30/2016 –
10/31/2016 
 Cruise – Sydney to Perth  16  RC Radiance of the Seas   10/31/2016 – 11/16/2016 
 Cruise – Perth to Sydney  17  RC Radiance of the Seas   11/16/2016 – 12/3/2016 

Luckily, the time in Bali will be low-key and relaxing while the interim period will be a whirlwind of flights, hotels, cruises, and comings and goings. Having this hectic schedule is good for us when at times, we can easily fall into the “homebody” mode staying put in one spot for a while. 

Discovering these horned cattle was a first for us in New Zealand.

The above itinerary over a period of seven months requires seven flights, four of which we’ve yet to book. We have plenty of time to book the remaining flights.

Don’t get me wrong…we love quiet times in the country. Without a lazy bone in our bodies, we keep our days full of activities we love to do, ultimately highly fulfilling. 

Many cattle are dehorned.   But, we don’t believe that process is done on this breed.

Although it may appear we’re occasionally “couch potatoes” which on occasion we are, we’re actually quite active most days of the week, not unlike many of our readers, who say they’re busier in retirement than when they were working.

Young bulls down the road from our house.

Of course, living on this farm in itself provides enough daily stimulation, activity, and entertainment as we spend considerable time outdoors enjoying every single moment. 

They often approach to check us out.

With the diligent use of repellent I’m able to spend all the time I’d like outdoors, as was the case when we lived in South Africa, Kenya, and other parts of the world where mosquitoes, biting flies, and sandflies are an issue.

On our usual walk, Mount Taranaki with our favorite cow on the right and a few sheep who often baa at us.

Today, it’s raining with heavy winds with more rain in the forecast. As summer winds down in New Zealand, apparently the much-needed rains have arrived. Knowing this is good for all the grazing animals in the countryside, we’re happy to see the rain, greening their pastures.

Tomorrow, on the day of my birthday we have a planned evening out and a special story with new photos we hope our readers will find entertaining. Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, February 19, 2015:

It was one year ago today, we made the treacherous trek to the Queen’s Bath in Kauai, a known dangerous place to visit. Making our way down this area was challenging. Had we known how dangerous it was, we’d probably wouldn’t have done it. At times I grabbed any sturdy branch I could hold onto and when possible hung onto Tom to keep from falling. When we were done, I was glad to have challenged myself but also realized the practicality of such risky treks makes no sense at this age.  For more photos of Part 1 of this story, please click here.