This bleeding heart so well depicts Hawaii’s gorgeous colors.

Today’s photos are from the post on this date in 2014, while we were in Honolulu, Hawaii. For more on this date, please click here.

Today, several flights have opened up that will be allowed to fly out of India. They include; Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, and Bahrain. None of these options are appealing to us for the following reasons:

1. Singapore: We’ve been there twice, staying for a week the second time. Singapore is a clean and safe country but offers no countryside and is all cement with tall buildings, although with many added trees and flowers. We saw what we wanted to see there, and based on the population and crowded venues, we’d have no interest in returning.
2. Malaysia: We’ve been there in the past. Very pretty in some areas. Very crowded. Low incidence of COVID-19. But, Malaysia doesn’t appeal to us at this time.
3. Dubai: We spent two weeks in Dubai in 2013, living in a high-rise condo complex and visiting most tourist hot spots. Lots of cement, high-rise buildings, and no countryside. It was not appealing to us for a return.
4. Bahrain: We’ve never been there but aren’t interested in visiting the Middle East at this time.

Wow! The greenery and flowers in Hawaii amazed us as we walked the streets of Honolulu taking these photos.

Also, yesterday, a newly published document from South Africa has banned travelers from India and the US, a double whammy for us. Also, there are no flights out of India to Africa at this time. Otherwise, we’d visit other African countries and wait to enter South Africa.

We continue to receive thoughtful email messages from our readers stating they’ve read about the countries we may be able to visit that have opened their borders. However, we’re out of luck if India, particularly Mumbai, doesn’t offer flights to those countries. The international airport is still officially closed in India. As of now, there’s no discussion as to when it will re-open.

Many exquisite flowers bloom year-round in Hawaii.

If, at some point, we get tired of waiting, we’ll always have the option to return to the US. But, until there’s a viable vaccine or the numbers of cases drop considerably, we feel safer staying in the safety bubble of this hotel. If something comes up, we’d be ready to leave in 24 hours, although most countries require a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of arrival to enter.

In that case, the hotel driver will take us to a drive-up testing center, and we’ll receive our results by email the same day. Now, we await our package from FedEx before we can consider leaving, regardless of possible flights becoming available.

We seldom find orange flowers, but in Hawaii, flowers are prevalent.

We’ve considered the possibility of returning to the US to stay in Kauai, Hawaii, until the virus issues settle down. Overall, Hawaii has had a low incidence of COVID-19. As US citizens, we wouldn’t have to worry about visa restrictions. However, we’d need to get health insurance for me which would be very costly since I never signed up for Part B Medicare, and to do so now would be more expensive than if we’d signed up seven years ago. There’s a penalty for not signing up at 65 years of age. Go figure.

Also, groceries and dining out are expensive in Hawaii, as well as rental cars. At the moment, we’re living here for approximately 40% less than it would be in Hawaii. In Hawaii, vacation home rentals usually result in taxes and fees of an additional US $1000, INR 73417, per month over and above the rental rates.

Tom is thrilled to be in Hawaii.

If we wait to travel to Africa, we can live there for approximately 20% less than we’re paying in this hotel in India with meals. At this point, we’re living well below our budgeted amount. Hawaii would exceed our budget. So, as appealing as this idea is, we have to shelve it.

I can’t recall seeing yellow hibiscus.

In other states in the US, holiday home rentals are very high, especially in warmer climates. We’re not interested in staying in a tiny condo in a snowy, icy location at this point. Few US states have warm weather in the winter months, at least none of which appeals to us right now. Plus, the lockdown and amount of COVID-19 in many states are also off-putting. We don’t want to trade this weird situation for another, not much better.

Beautiful!

Instead, we’ll continue to wait, dealing with our mountains of “paperwork,” website-related tasks, finalizing our taxes with our accountant in Nevada. And of course, dealing with FedEx on the still-undelivered-package from the USA. Nonetheless, we’re grateful for what we do have right now, as opposed to what we don’t. We’re safe, cool, partially entertained, fed with no housework. Plus, we have each other. That’s a huge benefit!

Stay well.

Photos from one year ago today, October 1, 2019:

One year ago, we posted photos from 2015 while we were In Fiji. While there, we stopped on the road to take photos of the sea, but my eyes caught something moving at a distance. Getting out of the car where there was no fence to keep these piglets contained, we squealed with delight, as did this little white piglet who seemed happy to see us. For more photos, please click here.