Have any cruises booked?…Want to save money?…Please read this!…Its a “piggy day” in the neighborhood…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Each morning, we’ve seen this huge pig, but he/she hasn’t been in an advantageous spot for a photo when the yard in shrouded in greenery. This morning, we had a chance to see “a pig in the mud.” We howled.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

One day soon, we’ll walk in this area,  quite a distance from the beach in front of the villa.

Sure, we were worried that topics for posts would be sparse during our second stay in Bali. That’s not been the case thus far. With a huge list of future topics for our remaining 52 days, we doubt we’ll be struggling for fodder.

As each relatively quiet day passes in pure splendor in this peaceful and relaxing environment we find ourselves entrenched in the local culture and busy walking to regain my strength along with considerable time exercising in the pool.

Now this sounds like a boring life which may in fact be typical for some seniors. But for us, we’ve learned that intense observance of our surroundings, of the most seemingly innocuous situations brings us laughter and pleasure beyond what we may have felt had we’d been settled in one place.

Side view of the huge muddy pig.

No doubt, if we stayed in Bali much longer (which we won’t) eventually we’d run out of photos and topics. We can easily manage 52 more Bali posts to hopefully hold the attention of our readers who may be chomping at the bit for our new locations with subsequent photos and experiences.

Sit tight, dear friends. We have so much upcoming once we leave Bali, you’ll have to hold on for the ride along with us. We’re excited to say the least. 

Even during next summer’s two months in the US we’ll have plenty of photos and stories of our former home state, photos we hadn’t considered when we lived there. Certainly, these past years of travel have created a new perspective, we’ll both utilize during the two busy months. 

As we walked on the newly paved road, at first, from quite a distance, we thought these were two dogs. As we approached, we realized they were piglets. They scurried about as we approached, but stayed long enough for a few photos.

Our readers will get their fill of Minnesota and Nevada, both states, of which have plenty to see and do. I don’t know how much time we’ll spend outdoors in Nevada in July and August when temperatures average 103F, 39.4C and 106F, 41C respectively. That’s toasty. However, there’s plenty of stunning indoors and evening outdoor possibilities warranting a plethora of photos to share.

Funny, but I keep forgetting that once we arrive in Seattle in May, 2017 we’ll be embarking on an Alaskan cruise. That in itself will be quite the adventure, one that many of you have already experienced which we, old timers that we are, have sorely lagged behind. 

We’ve met countless cruisers who’ve sailed Alaska. Being close to Vancouver next May, it made sense to book an Alaskan cruise especially when we’d hoped to get to Minnesota closer to the time the grandkids would be getting out of school for the summer. This nine night cruise made the timing to Minnesota almost perfect.

We expect the piglets must be about two months old. They grow quickly.

Speaking of cruises, yesterday while Tom was engrossed in his usual “searching for cruises” mode he examined the pricing on cruises we’d already booked. Many cruise lines and cruise booking agencies have a “best price” policy prior to the due date of the final payment. 

As we happily continue to use Vacations to Go for all of our cruise bookings with rep Brooklyn Earnhardt, we appreciate her enthusiasm is ensuring we get the best possible price and perks. However, its the traveler’s responsibility to check for price and perk changes. 

Cruise booking companies don’t spend time researching the best daily price for 1000’s of cruises worldwide and then contact their customers with price reductions. At this point, there may be software that performs such as task on a moment by moment basis. 

I can’t explain why we’re so fascinated with barnyard animals.  We literally squeal ourselves when we get close.

There are online apps Tom can use to check although there are nuances in our bookings that may make the latest pricing, inaccurate when we’ve chosen to book upgraded balcony cabins within a variety of categories. As a result, almost every day he spends a little time checking directly into the cruise line’s website for changes. 

Yesterday, he spotted a price reduction on an upcoming cruise on March 1, 2017, that changed a few major points for us. To make the changes, it’s necessary to speak to a live person at Vacations to Go while they call the cruise line to confirm price reductions/changes.

Here are the details from when we originally booked this cruise in January, 2015.

With the huge time difference, when they’re open, we’re sleeping and when we’re up, they’re closed. The only good times to call is either very early in the morning or after 9 pm. 

Flowery offerings left on the ground for the holiday celebration.

When our rep from Vacations to Go, Brooklyn (here’s her email address) wasn’t in yet, we spoke to a manager to get the ball rolling with the changes but Celebrity’s office was closed. The manager made notes in the system on our requested free upgrades and last night at 9:00 pm, we called back. It was 8:00 am in central US (one day earlier). 

After the 30 minute Skype  call with considerable hold time, we were able to lock up the changes. We called their business office’s landline using our Skype phone number. Our cost of the two call was well under US $1, IDR 13,077.

Scurrying away together to get out of our way.

Here’s what we received for taking the time to call:

Perks we received at our original booking for the March 1, 2017 cruise:
1.  Free gratuities (valued at US $26.90, IDR 352,390 per day for two)
2.  US $300, IDR 3,923,100 onboard credit
3.  Regular drink package (valued at US $55, IDR 720,500 per person per day

More offerings left upon the paved road.

New perks with free upgrades:
1.  Free gratuities (valued at US $26.90, IDR 352,390 per day for two, same as above)
2.  US $300, IDR 3,923,100, onboard credit (same as above)
3.  Regular drink package upgraded to premium drink package for 12 day cruise at an additional US $10, IDR 131,000 per day, valued at US $65, IDR 851,500 per person per day with a total savings valued at $240, IDR 3,138,480
3.  Unlimited WiFi for two devices, valued at US $300, IDR 3,923,100
4.  Price reduction for cruise itself for two, valued at US $315, IDR 4,119,255

Busy backyard of a hour on the morning walk. Few yards are landscaped.  Most don’t have garages, let alone cars, and yards are used for “stuff.”

In total, the added benefits are valued at US $855, IDR 11,200,500.  But, the value isn’t all about the money, per se. Having these perks enhances the overall cruise experience.

The onboard credit of US $300, IDR 3,923,100 will be interesting when trying to determine how we’ll spend it when our usual expenses during a cruise include the cost for the above perks which for this particular cruise are included. Guess we’ll try a few of the specialty restaurants while I replenish a few cosmetic items at great, duty-fee prices, usually my favorite Lancôme mascara.

The total 30 minutes we spent on Skype plus another 30 minutes Tom spent researching, made it well worth the trouble. We realize we’ve written about this topic several times in past posts, but many of our readers have since booked their own cruises, making this information most relevant to them at this time.

Blooming in our yard in Bali.

Remember,  in order to reap these benefits, it’s necessary to ask for the price change before the final payment for the entire cruise is due, usually 60 to 90 days depending on the cruise line. Plus, many promotions have a short window, as short as a few hours or as long as a month. Otherwise, they will not be provided.

We hope this information is helpful to any of our readers who book plan to book cruises in the future or currently have a cruise booking pending. For those of our readers who don’t cruise, we apologize for repeating ourselves.

This morning, we had another exciting walk in the neighborhood with fun new photos we couldn’t resist sharing today!

Have a fabulous day!


Photo from one year today, September 7, 2015:

Kangaroo family resting under a tree on a hot day. No photos were posted on this travel date, one year ago. Instead, we’ve included a favorite Trinity Beach photo posted on the prior date. Please click here for the post.

Two more bombings in Thailand…”I’m not a celebrity but get me outta here!”…Seven days and counting…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Elaborate exterior of oceanfront property.

Yesterday, there were two more bombings in Thailand. Click on the following link for details. When I read this article this morning I was reminded of a TV show called, “I’m a celebrity get me out a here” and although we’re certainly not celebrities we’re kind of looking forward to “getting outta here.”

Much of the loss of life has been local people, not the intended tourists in many cases. In addition to the horrific loss of life and injuries, these incidents have a deleterious effect on tourism, preventing many tourists staying away entirely or ending their vacations/holidays earlier than planned. The locals pay the price when their many small businesses suffer under these circumstances.  .
 
That’s not to say that Bali is exempt from bombings and a variety of terrorist-type attacks. And yet as we speak people are being murdered as a result of heinous radical behavior all over the world including in our own USA.

Gated oceanfront property.

We won’t elaborate this topic today since we covered it in detail over these past week. Most of us have access to news from a wide array of media outlets that keeps us informed, biased or not, as to what horrific events are transpiring throughout the world. It’s heart wrenching.
 
One week from today will be heading to Phuket International Airport for 10:15 am flight, including one layover to return to the capital city of Denpasar to the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. We’ll spend one night in a hotel in Kutu before we commence, the next day, on the four or five hour harrowing drive. 

We weren’t certain of the purpose of this trellis or the plastic bag (sometimes used to “catch” grasshoppers or crickets) when it appeared mostly weeds were growing beneath it.

Before we head out from Denpasar we’ll stop at the Carrefore Market to purchase food items that are unavailable anywhere close to the villa in Sumbersari. At all costs we want to avoid having to return to Denpasar for another long drive during our upcoming two month stint in Bali prior to returning to Australia for a number of cruises, vacation home stays and more.

Between October 31, 2016 and April 22, 2017, we have four cruises booked around Australia, the fourth of which sails from Sydney to Seattle.  t’s hard to believe this is coming up after spending 23 months in the South Pacific having satisfied our curiosity and our interest as to what this part of the world has to offer.

Travelers could easily spend a lifetime exploring many more islands and considerably more of the continent of Australia. We have no delusions that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. With visa restrictions allowing us entry into Australia for a continuous period of three months we’re disappointed we never made it to the Outback.

The exterior of many homes are adorned with elaborate decorations, doors and artwork.

We’d investigated the possibility of renting a caravan/motor home but found the cost prohibitive and the time constraint restrictive. Although the concept of renting a caravan/motor home has some appeal for the future when we’ll for the US, at this point doing so is not a priority.

With only a week until our departure from Thailand we’ve begun to think about our final meals, packing and preparations for our departure. As always, on the last day, we’ll be posting the final expenses for the six weeks we’ll have spent in Phuket, Thailand.

The expenses will be considerably less than our usual expenses based on the fact that we haven’t done much while we’re here do my current condition; no restaurants, no tours and few tourist venues. The low cost of the less-than-stellar rental car will be included. Overall, the car has served us well.

Many residential streets are narrow with room for only one car to pass without a bit of maneuvering.

I wish I could say we’ll be heading out to take more interesting photos but right now, it’s simply not on the agenda in light of recent attacks in tourist areas.  We have enough new photos yet to share over this next week and with only one more quick trip to the market we’ve already begun the process of winding down.

Thanks to all of our loyal readers for sticking with us during this quiet time. Hopefully, as I continue to improve we’ll be able to share more interesting photos and events in our lives.  Much more excitement will begin on October 31st when we board Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas for the 33 day cruise circumventing the Australian continent. 

We’re very excited about this cruise and being back aboard ship. This will be quite a test for us to see how we feel about long cruises. The longest cruise we’ve experience to date was the 18 days from Honolulu, Hawaii to Sydney Australia in June 2015. 

Entrance to apartment building under constriction.

Tom says, “One of those days was only two hours long when we crossed the international dateline making that cruise only 17 days.” The cruise line unfairly referred to it as an 18 day cruise. Hmm…

Returning to the US in eight months, we’ll recover the lost day for a 24 day (or will be two hours of the 25th day?). Confusing. We’ll report back on that as it occurs.

May your day be filled with wonderful surprises that make you smile.

Photo from one year ago today, August 24, 2015:

Fresh greens appeared to be a little higher priced than the grocery stores at the farmer’s market in Cairns. For more photos, please click here.

Defining new goals for future travel…More interesting Thai art…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
No disrespect intended here when Tom wanted to illustrate the size of this statue while also making me laugh at his copycat antics.

After 46 months of travel, we’ve come to a number of conclusions as to what makes this life altering experience most meaningful with the utmost of flow, most realistic expense-wise, and most readily maneuverable as we age.

Foremost in our minds, which we’d hoped to accomplish all along, has been to cruise to as many locations as possible, avoiding airports with excess luggage fees, hours of waiting and travel time, long lines and a usual amount of frustration.

With our objective to see as much of the world as we can, staying in fabulous vacation homes and cruising as often as possible within our itinerary, we’ve done well so far. 

This precious statue in the front yard reminds us the sweet, gentle nature of the Thai people.

Good grief, we’ve been to every continent in the world except Antarctica, which we’ll visit in slightly over 17 months. Having accomplished each continent to some extent, we’ll now need to begin retracing some of our steps to see those fabulous countries and locations we may have missed the first time around, those that appeal to us the most.

Our future decisions will be entirely predicated by these three factors:
1.  An intense interest and desire in visiting a new location
2.  Convenience we can create through using cruises more than we have as a means of transportation thus avoiding flying as much as we have in the past
3.  Affordability – Are we at a point where we may be willing to pay a little more for cruises we may have avoided in the past?

Here again, another heartwarming rendition of the Thai people.

This is not to say we’d like to be cruising all the time. We don’t. The idea of spending three months or more on a cruise ship doesn’t appeal to us. The upcoming 33-night back-to-back cruise beginning on October 31st is about as long as we’d ever desire to be at sea, although we anticipate this cruise with considerable enthusiasm.

In these past 46 months we’ve been on 14 cruises (includes the recent river cruise) averaging one cruise every 3.2 months. This doesn’t mean we want to cruise more often. We just want cruises to become even more efficient in getting us to locations where we’d like to stay for one to three months in between.

This piece is above the bed in the master bedroom.

When a new reader from Houston, Texas wrote to us yesterday in a much appreciated personal email, she mentioned a trip she and her husband thoroughly enjoyed traveling on the Trans-Siberian train from Mongolia to Moscow. This appeals to us. There’s so much more world for us to experience.

Have you checked our map on the right side of the homepage under the main photo of us taken in front of the Treasury in Petra, Jordan? When looking at this map, it’s obvious we have many parts of the world yet to visit. 

Large pots such as this located in the living room are popular in Thailand.

Actually, we’ve only been to 54 countries of the world’s 196 which translates to slightly less than 28% of the world’s countries. Considering there are a number of countries we’ll never visit due to political unrest, wars, visa restrictions and danger for tourists, we still have plenty of countries remaining to visit.

For us, this is not the Amazing Race, with a clock ticking to accomplish as many feats as possible in a designated period of time. This is our lives and we’d merely like to do what appeals to us as each year we strive to expand our horizons, our experiences and our knowledge of the world, its people, its cultures, its wildlife and its vast beauty.

More textured Thai art in the master bedroom.

For me, if I was the only person deciding, I’d park myself in Africa for years to come to further explore my love of wildlife. For Tom, he’s totally content to continue as we have. We compromise.

But, within that framework, we both know, health providing, we’ll return to Africa sometime in the next several years where, he, too, has a lot more he’d like to see such as Victoria Falls, the gorillas in Rwanda and many more safari adventures.

Within 16 months, we’ll cruise to South America where we have an entire continent to explore with never ending opportunities in fulfilling many more dreams of seeing that which appeals to us the most.

This exquisite piece is located outside on a wall near the pool.

With current bookings extending to March 4, 2018, ending on March 18, 2018, 19 months from now, we have plenty of time for research in extending our itinerary and further fulfilling our more defined criteria as we’ve stated above.

Today, we’re heading out for an easy sightseeing venue and grocery shopping. We’ll be back tomorrow with new photos. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Please, keep those wonderful email messages and comments coming! We’re loving hearing from YOU!

Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2015:

This parasitic plant in our yard in Trinity Beach, Australia appears to be a face looking up to the sky with leaves in its mouth and throat.  Vegetation is another fascinating aspect our lives. For more, please click here.

Final post on Cambodia and Vietnam Viking Mekong River cruise and tour…Photos of us and more…Why did we choose this particular cruise?

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Camera in my hand while Tom carried our little insulated bag with chilled bottled water as we exited the boat for a tour.

Today is our final post on our recent tour of Cambodia and Vietnam by land and river over a period of 15 days to which we added an extra three days. Certainly, 18 total days in two countries is hardly enough time to gain the perspective we acquire when spending two to three months living in a country.

The first night aboard the river boat for a lecture by our cruise director Enrico, about the upcoming adventure.

With the number of tours we attended, the three cities in which we stayed; Hanoi, Vietnam, Siem Reap, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we had an opportunity to experience a little understanding of life in these cities and two countries, both in today’s world and in the past.

Why did we choose this particular tour/cruise? During our past 13 ocean-going cruises we had opportunities to ask other cruisers as to their favorites. 

Visit to Ho Chi Minh Memorial in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Many mentioned this cruise as one of their favorites each offering their personal reasons which may have included; (for older citizens) vets having fought in Vietnam during the war; having lost a friend or loved one during the war; or having diligently followed the news of the war during its progression and later, or simply having an interest in war history.

For Tom, having lost his brother-in-law Ernie (brother of his ex-wife) whom was KIA in Vietnam in 1970, always felt visiting Vietnam was some sort of betrayal. 

Not quite clear (not our photo) at dinner aboard the river boat with some of the many new friends we made on the cruise/’tour.

But, after hearing from many US and Aussie vets we met on past cruises, who expressed that visiting Vietnam was cathartic and ultimately healing, he reconsidered with a little prodding from me.

My reasons were less profound. One, I wanted to see Tom find peace in the process and two, an immense curiosity after reading and hearing over a period of many years, of how both Cambodia and Vietnam as they’ve recovered from the war and decades of horror and strife, now welcome citizens of the US and others from around the world with open arms.

This day’s ride through Phnom Penh in a rickshaw proved to be very uncomfortable for me and I was thrilled when it was over. Otherwise, it would have been a fabulous outing in the busy city.

Neither of us were disappointed. From the moment we landed in Hanoi, Vietnam to the flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to the full day bus ride through the Cambodian countryside and then back to Saigon, each element of our travels left us with a new awareness and knowledge we’d never experienced had we not visited this part of the world.

Tom’s most meaningful experience of the entire period we spent in Cambodia and Vietnam was the visit to the Cu Chi Tunnel, which left him reeling over acquiring a better understanding of the perils of war and the challenges of life for the soldiers during these many years. Please click here for the first of our several links for Tom’s personal experiences in the Cu Chi Tunnel. Please see our archives for the remaining posts in this series, a few days later.

At the Kampong Cham Temple in Cambodia.

My most powerful experience was the eight hour bus ride (with stops along the way) through Cambodia. Staring out the window of the bus for hours, taking only a few photos along the way, I sat alone in the two seats toward the back of the bus, while Tom sat alone across the aisle. 

Not a big fan of “selfies” I took this one of us as we began the ride through the old French quarter in Hanoi, riding in what was referred to as an “electric car,” comparable to a six person golf cart.

This quiet time to myself was spent in its entirety in imagining life for the people of Cambodia, the Killing Fields, the loss of life of millions, and how since that horrifying period in their history, somehow they’ve managed to rebuild, to regrow and to heal. It had a profound effect on me, a memory I’ll always carry with me.

A beautiful young girl and adorable boy at the orphanage in Kampong Cham.

Traveling the world isn’t always about personal gratification and pleasure. Yes, at times, it is. But, for us, we try to embrace the significance of the power and meaning for others living in lands foreign to us. 

It’s not always about the popular tourist attraction and taking good photos to share. It’s about filling our hearts and minds with humility, awe and wonder of the world around us, its people, their culture and their way of life.

The reflection of Tom’s head in the plastic headliner in a taxi in Hanoi after purchasing his tennis shoes.  Its silly things like this that makes us laugh out loud.

We are eternally grateful for the time we spent in Cambodia and Vietnam and the wonderful people we met along the way; the gracious locals, our never faltering tour directors, Kong and Lee and of course, the many other passengers we met who, like us, had their own special reasons for embarking on this memorable journey.

May your life’s journey bring you joy and purpose.


Photo from one year ago today, August 3, 2015:

We spotted this kilometer distance meter at a scenic overlook in Port Douglas, Australia which illustrates distances to various cities throughout the world.  For more photos, please click here.

More new Phuket photos…Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Tuk tuks come in all shapes, sizes and colors in Thailand and are commonly used by tourists and locals as opposed to a more expensive car or van taxis.

Some vacation homes don’t have items we may need for preparing meals. We fully understand this when most tourists stay less than a week seldom preparing meals other than a light breakfast or a sandwich and a bag of chips for lunch.

Colorful water toys with a variety of beach equipment and gear at a shop near the beach.

Today, I wrote to the owner asking if a staff member could deliver a can opener, making it possible for us to make homemade ketchup to use with tonight’s dinner of lettuce wrapped bacon cheeseburgers, salad and veggies. We just received a reply and a can opener will be delivered soon.

We have all the ingredients, but needed the opener for a can of tomato sauce used in making the ketchup. (Store bought brands of ketchup are loaded with sugar and our recipe is not). 

Pillars at entrance to the pier.

If it was affordable to eat out every day it wouldn’t be much fun in this heat and humidity to be getting dressed to head out for dinner each evening. At this point, we shower in the morning, put on our swimsuits which we wear all day through dinner, rinsing them out at night before going to bed. 

Many types of boats are moored in Chalong Bay.

This way, we have almost no laundry other than the sweaty tee shirts, shorts and underwear we’ve worn when heading out. The thought of getting changed into street clothes to go to dinner isn’t particularly appealing right now. 

High speed and luxury boats anchored at the shoreline.

Once a week, using a washer we found in an outdoor closet, we do a small load hanging it indoors to dry on the rack with most items taking a few days to dry in the humidity. The house cleaners replace all the bath towels, hand towels and bedding twice a week, so there’s no need for us to wash anything more than our few personal items.

View of Chalong Bay in Phuket.

Overall, living in this house in Rawai, Phuket is relatively easy. Surely, if I was fully recovered, it would be considerably easier. Not feeling 100% makes the hot and humid weather more noticeable and the simplest of household tasks more challenging. Also it’s had a huge impact on my desire to get out sightseeing. Hopefully, soon, this will change as I continue to recover.

Back view of the popular lighthouse from Chalong Beach in Phuket.

We’re now at a point where we’ve almost completed posting the photos and stories of the tours we attended during the cruise/tour to Cambodia and Vietnam from July 8, 2016, to July 22, 2016. 

The Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City.

Tomorrow, we’ll include some remaining photos not necessarily related to one another, but worthy of sharing with our readers who’d like one final peek at the amazing cruise/tour that included a total of seven nights in three luxury hotels and seven nights aboard the Viking Mekong. (In addition to the three nights we’d booked on our own in Hanoi before the cruise/tour began).

Meeting room in the palace.

Today, we’ve included photos of one of the final tours we attended in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (either name is acceptable to use). On July 21st we boarded the bus for the tour of the former Presidential Palace, now known and the Reunification Palace. 

View from upper level of palace toward the congested street.

Had I been looking for sites to visit in Saigon, this venue may not have been on my radar. But once inside the huge building, we were both fascinated. Tom, of course, as a history buff, always seems to enjoy visiting historical buildings where my interest may lie in the opportunity to take photos when possible.

The ambassador’s/dignitary’s room (pre 1975).

The Reunification Palace provided such an opportunity and thus, we couldn’t resist posting this last round of photos from this historic site. From this site, we gleaned the following information where those of you interested can find more details:

Tourists gathered at each of the room’s entryways.

“The iconic Reunification Palace made its name in global history when in 1975 a tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate – thus signifying the end of the Vietnam War.

View through second story decorative stone pillars to the gardens below.

The palace is like a time capsule frozen in 1975 with two of the original tanks used in the capture of the palace parked in the grounds. Originally the site of the Nordom Palace also known as the Governor’s Palace its first role was as a home and workplace for the then French Governor of Cochinchina.

The Reunification Palace is a landmark not to be missed by any tourist visiting Ho Chi Minh City.Surrounded by lush tropical gardens, the palace hides secret rooms, antique furniture and a command bunker within its eerie corridors. The Reunification Palace is still in use to host occasions including APEC summits and national events of significant importance.

Reunification Palace Highlights                

Desks in the lowest level bunker.

The Reunification Palace is a five-story building with the basement housing a warren of tunnels, a war room and telecommunications centre.The war command room still has maps on its walls and period telecommunications equipment on display, whilst adjoining basement rooms feature war propaganda materials.

 Other areas of interest are the third floor featuring a card playing room, a fourth floor which once had a casino and was used for entertaining guests and a rooftop terrace with a heliport.

Old computer systems in bunker.

The Reunification Palace entered the world history books in 1975 when a Vietnamese Air Force pilot (who was also a communist spy) flew an aircraft over the palace with an attempt to bomb it. Although no real damage was caused this was a significant step towards the fall of Saigon and the ending of the Vietnamese War.

Communication equipment in bunker.

On 30th April in 1975 at 10:45 a North Vietnamese Army Tank rammed the main gates and entered the palace grounds before hanging its flag on the balcony to declare victory for the communist party and thus ending the Vietnam War. 

More radio equipment in bunker.

Meanwhile staff escaped from the rooftop minutes before the palace was overrun, known as Operation Frequent Wind this was part of history’s biggest ever helicopter evacuation and included the departure of General Thieu.”

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Please stop by! Have a great day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 2, 2015:

In Port Douglas, we visited the Four Mile Beach. For more photos, please click here.

New beach photos of Phuket!…Shopping for shoes in Vietnam…Good deals!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
We arrived at the pier and main entrance area to Chalong Beach.  Here’s information about this bay from this site: “Chalong’s muddy East Coast shoreline makes it rather unsuitable for swimming, but it’s an ideal and natural spot for yacht mooring. As well as the Boat Lagoon, Yacht Haven and Royal Phuket Marina, Chalong is a center of intense boating activity. Early mornings and late afternoons are the busiest times at Chalong, when diving and day trip groups are bundled on and off boats. The Ao Chalong Yacht Club, which organizes regular sailing races, makes its base here, and its bar is a favorite spot for sailors to swap yarns and party.  Challenge’s most noticeable feature is its 720-metre long, seven-meter wide jetty, which replaced the rickety old wooden pier in 2001. A parking area and a number of restaurants, shops, tourist information kiosks and open-air waiting areas have been built to serve the many visitors passing through. There’s also a one-stop customs, immigration and harbor master service to assist visiting vessels, as well as a new marine rescue centre.”

It’s been hot in Phuket, much more so than it was in Bali.  In an attempt to avoid using air con, by mid afternoon we begin to fade a little, feeling we need an escape from the heat and humidity for a while.

Tour information and sales building surrounded the area, a popular tourist location. Life jackets are ready on the sidewalk for the next tour group.

With the master bedroom’s ceiling lower than the ceilings in the main living areas, it’s more economical to use the AC in the bedroom. By 3:00 pm each day we’ve been turning on the overhead fan and AC in the bedroom to spend 90 minutes watching mindless drivel on my laptop while we cool off before heading to the kitchen to make dinner.

Tourists dining, shopping and staying undercover while awaiting their boat tours.

Not only does this cool us down before we begin preparing dinner in the hot kitchen (too many mozzies to eat outdoors) but it gives me a chance to get into a prone position for a while to straighten my spine. Sitting and standing for extended periods seems to have a negative effect. 

Entrance area for tourists to access the tour boats.

In Bali, we did the same, even prior to the injury, to take a break from being so hot. Having dinner at 5:00 pm is definitely early, but eating only one meal a day makes dining at the early hour more appealing. While on cruise ships, we tend to dine after 7:00 pm since we’ll have had another meal earlier in the day.

Tourists preparing to load the boats.

Each morning when it’s cooler, we do all the meal prep. Now, instead of leaning over the short countertops, I use the cutting board while seated at the dining room table as Tom brings me everything needed for the meal and then putting everything back into the fridge. Bending over, pulling food out of the refrigerator is impossible at this time.

Under usual circumstances we’d have walked this pier.  I wasn’t ready for such a long walk.

Once I’ve washed the veggies in a large bowl of bottled water, I dry and chop them as needed for the upcoming meal. This may include as many as 10 items when each night we have salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, onions and celery plus a cooked vegetable or two on the side, plus whatever veg may be included in the main course.

Another pier in Chalong Bay.

Having everything prepped keeps the actual cooking time down to about 30 minutes preparing the main course, to tossing the salad with homemade dressing, to cooking the side vegetables. By the time we sit down to eat, we’re both hot and sweaty.

No motorized vehicles are allowed on the pier.

Note:  Bali is located 957 km from the equator at 8 degrees south, while Phuket is 872 km from the equator at 8 degrees north, making it hotter in Phuket than Bali.

Photos from Vietnam continue from this point in today’s post

Tom had worn this pair of tennis shoes since we began our journey over 45 months ago. It took them falling apart to this degree to get him to purchase a new pair. It was less about  being frugal and more about his lack of interest in shopping. Thank goodness, he gave these the heave ho at the shoe store. 

I don’t know if we could live long term in such a hot climate only using AC at night. No doubt, the majority of the world’s population that live in hot climates don’t have access to AC and many are without electricity and running water as we’ve seen in our worldwide travels.

Tom’s new tennis shoes, most likely knockoffs. At that point he had no choice but to make a purchase after checking out three stores in Saigon. I negotiated these down to VDN 300,000, US $13.45.  Surprisingly, the quality seemed good, but if they only last a while, no big deal at this price.

None of our vacation home landlords have prohibited us from using the available units located throughout the houses we rent.  That’s why they’re available, for example, in each room of this lovely house in Phuket. 

The shoe stores appeared to have all knock-offs.  Kong advised us to negotiate.

But, due to a sense of responsibility for our energy consumption, we try to use air con as little as possible in the same manner we frugally use other sources of power and utilities as we travel the world. 

On our last day in Saigon, on a bus tour with the cruise passengers, we stopped at the lacquer factory.  Since we have no home there was no point in making a purchase although many passengers did so.  These are popular items travelers often bring or ship home after visiting Southeast Asia.

Yesterday, after we uploaded the post we decided to head to the beach for photos on the sunny day. Also, the idea of being in the AC in the less-than-stellar rental car was somewhat appealing. 

Although reasonably priced and nice looking I had no interest in buying jewelry.

By 12:30 pm we were out the door returning a few hours later in time for our 3:00 pm bedroom cool down. We enjoyed the drive more than we’d anticipated. Once we were off the bumpy road and on the highway, the drive was tolerable for me although there was a fair amount of traffic for a Sunday afternoon. 

The craftsmanship appeared to be of high quality if one could use such décor in their homes.

Tom stayed cheerful amid the wild traffic with tuk-tuks, motorbikes and cars running amok and helpful as always after we parked the car and walked at the beach taking photos as he carefully hung onto me. After many weeks of lessened activity, he’s assuming I’m not as steady on my feet as I’d been before the injury.

Interesting use of color and design.

Tourists were everywhere at the beach, shopping, eating and spending money at a variety of shops, venues and tours. More than once we were approached by boat ride “sellers” asking if we wanted to go out on a boat.  I doubt we’ll be able to do so while in Phuket as I continue to exercise great caution in everything I do. Bouncing on a boat would hardly be suitable at this point. 

We wondered if these pretty plates were suitable for serving food or merely decorative. One never knows when purchasing products such as this, if lead based paints are used in production. 

In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed the time out and about. In a few days, we’ll head out again to explore other beaches and points of interest in the area as we’ll continue to share new photos during our remaining month in Thailand.

Pretty colors.

Continuing on, as we wind down to the final stories from the Cambodia and Vietnam cruise/tour, we have a few fun shopping photos to share.

Have an pleasant last day in July or first day in August depending on which side of the International Dateline you reside!


Photo from one year ago today, August 1, 2015:

This was the first time since we’d arrived Queensland that we saw this many sunbathers at a beach in Australia. The sun was very strong resulting in the use of rental umbrellas and many beach-goers staying in the shade. For more photos, please click here.

Scenes from a rainy day in Phuket…Story and visit to a location of a romantic movie viewed aboard the Viking Mekong River Cruise…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Kong encouraged kissing in front of the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House, where the movie, The Lover, was filmed in Sa Dec, Vietnam in 1992. We had no trouble cooperating!

As I continue to improve a little each day after spending more time resting and less time bending and walking, I’m anxious to get out to take photos.  Traveling on the bumpy road from the house in the less-than-stellar rental car is an athletic event in itself, requiring me to hang on for dear life even if my stability weren’t at risk.

There are numerous open air type markets and shops along the highway.  I was having a hard time in the rain taking good photos with the window open.  Thus, the rear view mirror was in the photos.

It has nothing to do with Tom’s driving skills. He’s as careful as he can be driving the old car on the rough roads. Once we reach the main highway the roads improve tremendously although seeing out the scratchy windows is its own challenge. 

We feel badly that we’ve yet to post many local photos hoping that today, after posting, if there’s a little sunshine, we just might give it a try and make an effort to find our way to the beach to take some photos to share.

A church or temple along the highway.

In the interim, we only have a few photos from our last trip, our on a rainy day that hardly meet the standards of what we prefer to post. Surely, our long term readers understand the dilemma and for those of our newer readers, please bear with us…better, is yet to come.

Finally, I’m beginning to feel hopeful that this injury is temporary. Given another month of recovering and I expect to be as good as I was before the occurrence around June 1st in Bali. No words can describe how excited I am to return to my “old self” being able to do the simplest of tasks without Tom’s help. 

Watch out!  There’s a tire in the road!

Oh, don’t get me wrong. He’s been amazing, never once complaining about waiting on me; pouring my coffee, iced tea, setting my computer on my lap atop the stack of pillows I use to keep the screen at eye level and so much more. I’ve appreciated every bit of assistance saying thank you each and every time. 

Not once in these past two months since the injury has he been “overly grumpy” regarding my situation. That’s not to say he doesn’t do a minute or two of “overly grumpy” for some other often peculiar reason, having absolutely nothing to do with me. 

Yikes! The less-than-stellar rental car’s windshield wipes don’t work well.

I must admit I haven’t been my usual “overly bubbly” self during these months of pain and discomfort.  Despite my optimism, it did kick in when Tom was having angst when he was unable to find a gas station while worrying about running out of gas. 

Ms O.B., kicked in with cheerful encouragement and optimism while he fussed while driving in the rain, terrified of running out of gas and barely able to see out the windows of the less-than-stellar rental car. Some things never change. For him, grumpiness seems to revolve around driving, traffic and transportation.

Lots of tuk-tuks and motorbikes were on the highway in the rain.
Hopefully, tomorrow, we’ll be back with new photos of Rawai Beach in Phuket. We’re hoping to head out shortly now that we have a sunny day.
Kong suggested we’d find a “happy room” (restroom) down this passageway between the house and the building next door.

In the interim, as we wind down the final few photos from the Vietnam and Cambodia cruise/tour, we’re particularly excited to share today’s story about a movie we watched during the cruise.

Interesting design in the 121 year old Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House house in Sa Dec. See here for more details.

There was a meeting/video room on the lowest level in the Viking Mekong  where the cruise staff held meetings, cocktail parties on rainy days, evenings and conducted a variety of lectures and seminars, most of which we attended.

Each room contained original furnishings.

The seating was relatively comfortable with rows of similarly heavily padded sofas and chairs grouped together. I was able to sit for extended periods amid a bit of squirming and repositioning once I maneuvered down the steep stairway.

We were offered hot tea and a rest while inside the house.

With no elevators on the boat we had a series of three stairways, some steeper than others, to navigate during the cruise which never kept us from attending any activities on other levels, such as the two levels up to the sundeck where the nightly cocktail party was held. Our cabin was located on the same level as the dining hall and disembarking ramp which proved helpful with my injury.

View of the street and the river from inside the house.

We’d read some online reviews for this cruise/tour where a few passengers complained about the stairs aboard the ship. During the cruise, we came to the conclusion that this cruise/tour may not be ideal for those with mobility issues which was my case due to the injury. 

Ornate ceiling and lighting fixture design.

We had no other place to be during this period and had no choice but to continue on. Had we a permanent residence we may have decided to forego the cruise and stayed “home” to recuperate, perhaps losing the entire cruise fare. But, that’s wasn’t us. The small ship and three hotels were our “home” during that 17 day period.

Over a period of several days, Kong mentioned a movie he suggested we watch that was to be held after dinner on July 18th at 8:45 pm the following day we’d be visiting the location in Sea Dec, Vietnam where the movie had been filmed and was the basis of the story. 

Elaborate Buddhist shrine in the house.

This concept, particularly appealed to us when we usually make an attempt to watch a movie made in a country in which we’re living at a particular time such as when we watched (as an example) such films as “Casablanca” while living in Morocco in 2014 and “The Descendants” while living in Kauai, Hawaii in 2015.  (Please click links as included here).

Watching a highly acclaimed Academy Award nominated movie made in Vietnam was especially appealing when we’d be able to experience the actual location where the movie was made in Sa Dec, Vietnam the following day. Watching the movie which was inspired by a true story at the location of the house, made the tour all the more exciting. 

Bedroom in the house with some updating. The house is used as a B &B for certain events explaining the flat screen TV.

Kong had warned the passengers that the movie, The Lover, was “racy” with explicit sex scenes. None of that phased us a bit. We’ve always enjoyed a well done sexy movie and this would be no exception.

By 8:45 pm, we made our way down the steps to the meeting room on the lowest level of the ship. After yet another big meal, I wondered if we’d be able to stay awake for the two hour movie but as it turned out, neither of us dozed for a moment during the movie. 

Artistic design on dining table.

However, the “packed house” dwindled down throughout the movie to a total of eight of us by the end. As passengers exited as the scenes became racier, we heard some grumbling over the movie being “too explicit,” “too racy for public viewing” as many couples got up to leave during the viewing. We looked at each other giggling as the room almost completed cleared out.  This made for interesting conversation the next day.

Table décor in main living room, most likely a modern day addition.

The movie, beautifully filmed in 1992, included excellent acting by its equally beautiful and exceptional Asian actors, cinematography (for which it won awards), an appealing musical score and an interesting story line. Yes, it was racy which may have been daring for Vietnam at the time but the sexy scenes were done tastefully.

The next day, we embarked on an action packed tour as we’ve described in past posts with photos, a portion of the tour to Sa Dec included the tour of the historical aristocratic home for which the story, The Lover, was inspired.

A popular tourist attraction, Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House  is easily visible from the main road in Sa Dec.

Visiting the historic aristocratic house left us feeling happy we’d watched the movie in it entirety the previous evening. Enjoy today’s photos from that visit.  We’ll be back with more tomorrow!

Have a restful and pleasant weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, July 30, 2015:

Many of the restaurants in Port Douglas, Australia (Queensland) are huge and elaborate attracting the most finicky of diners and tourists. For more details, please click here.

Exploring expenses in Phuket…Only a few more stories from our cruise/tour on the Viking Mekong River Cruise…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
There was enough food here to last a week.  Check out the amazing total cost below!

As we live in many countries throughout the world its impossible not to imagine what it might be like to live permanently in the particular country as a retiree. Are prices reasonable? 

Check out the size of the fish and steak portions. Tom was craving peanuts adding a few packages to the stash.  The brats in the bottom right of the photo are gluten, grain and sugar free.

Is good health care available? How are food prices both at the markets and dining out? Are prices for housing and utilities affordable for those on a fixed income? Fuel prices? Vehicle ownership? Insurance? Satellite or cable TV and Wi-Fi? It goes on and on, the usual expenses for daily living for those who settle in one location must bear on a daily basis.

 Using this app to convert the Thai baht (THB) 3,803.25, we discovered we’d only spent US $109.38.  We were shocked to say the least. (See the photos of everything we purchased).

For many seniors living in an assisted living facility, nursing homes and certain senior complexes, many of these expenses are factored into an often outrageous monthly rate.

Our cost of living observations begins the day we arrive in any new location and continue through the day we depart. Unfortunately, the rent we pay for a vacation home is not necessarily a good barometer for rents one may pay as a permanent resident. 

We purchase so many items, it took several photos to include all of it.

Vacation homes often include all the above expenses, except food and transportation and, may include some form of household help as is the case here in Rawai, Phuket with cleaners coming twice a week to clean and change the bedding and towels.

Free range eggs, beef and celery rounded out our purchases. 

In most locations, our first exposure to the cost of living is when we shop for groceries. However, we aren’t necessarily educated on our first foray to a grocery store when on that first occasion we usually spend as much as 50% more than when we’ll shop in future weeks to replenish our food supply.

The fresh produce department is packed with locally caught treasures at reasonable prices.

That first trip includes staples such as laundry soap, sink soap, bar soap, paper products, insect repellent, cleaning supplies and other household goods we may seldom replace during the one, two or three month stay.

Looks like Sam’s or Costco, doesn’t it?

Its the second grocery shopping trip, usually a week after we’s arrived when we’ve become more familiar with locally available products that we can shop, as you do, for weekly groceries getting a better perspective of what it would be like as an expat or retiree.

Row after row of frozen foods.  We don’t buy much in the way of frozen foods when most contain additives.

When two days ago, we walked into Makro Food Service store, located within minutes of the vacation rental, we knew we were in the right place.  As we perused the aisles, starting with the produce department, we immediately began loading up our cart. 

Little neck clams. 

Typically, Tom pushes the trolley while I select the items. When we’ve found everything on our list in the produce department, he brings all of it to the weighing station to be priced and receive a sticker.  It’s an efficient system we’ve mastered over these past years. 

We weren’t able to determine which type of seafood this might be.

In our old lives he rarely grocery shopped with me. When we were still eating fruit (5 years ago) he thought watermelon was US $.09 if including a page of Holiday gas station stamps. When we started shopping together after leaving the US, he was shocked at what he thought was high prices while I was excited to see how much less groceries are in other countries.

Squid, yet to be cleaned.

Over these past almost four years, he’s become familiar with some prices, but not as I have with my innate fascination with food and its pricing. As we made our way through the Costco-like aisles and with our growing grasp of the Thai baht (THB 1000 equal US $28.75) as opposed to the US dollar, I was pleasantly surprised over the prices.

(Photos from this point are those from the Mekong River cruise/tour, although the Phuket story continues on).

The sign as we approached the brick factory by sampan boat.

We tossed every item from our lengthy weekly grocery list (on an app on my phone) into the trolley after first deciding on our meals for the week based on availability and quality of a variety of protein sources. 

Upon entering the brick factory we had to walk over planks and rough terrain. Once inside it was an easier walk.

Generally, we don’t allow prices to dictate our purchases. Only consuming one meal a day plus an evening cheese plate snack, we find we can choose almost anything that strikes our fancy and stay well within our monthly food budget.

Most of the employees in the brick factory are women.

We’d include the entire receipt from Makro but its written in the Thai language which uses special characters that aren’t easily translated.  Instead, for today’s purposes, we’ve included a photo of the total on the amount charged to our credit card when we checked out.

It was toasty inside the factory especially this close to a kiln.

When Tom placed all the loose items in the trunk of the car, I used my phone’s app to calculate the total bill, shocked by how little we spent for the amount we’d purchased. I even went as far as counting all the items when we got “home” thinking they must have not charged us for half the items. 

Rice as shown here is used in the brick making process.  It was very dusty as we toured the facility.

The receipt was indeed accurate prompting us to take photos of the items we purchased before putting everything away to share with you today. How could we not share this? This isn’t the first time we’ve done this, nor will it be the last. 

We couldn’t imagine the hard work required of these employees in such a heavy duty and hot environment.

Are we going to experience “price shock” when we visit the US in a little over nine months? It’s entirely possible when at that point we’ll have been gone for almost five years.

First the kiln is filled with the clay bricks and the kiln is sealed.  Then the fire is started to maintain the heat.  Depending on the size of the kiln, it can takes weeks for the bricks to cure.

Could a retiree or expat live comfortably in a country like Thailand? It’s too soon for us to make such an assessment but we did see many people from all over the world shopping at the market, hearing a variety of languages and dialects that indicated our presence in this village is not so unique after all.

Our guide let us enter inside a still warm kiln.

It appears the produce is pesticide free based on the insects I’m encountering when washing each item (using the bottled water only). The steak Tom had last night definitely was grass fed (we’ve learned to detect the difference in grain fed as opposed to grass fed beef). My salmon fillet was fresh and moist and couldn’t have tasted better. 

Tom took this photo of the vent at the center top of the kiln.

Tonight, Tom will have freshly cooked steak again and I’ll have yellow fin tuna. Our sides will include a huge salad with homemade dressing, fresh whole sautéed portabella mushrooms, buttered green beans and hard boiled eggs, a perfect meal by our standards. More on cost of living in Phuket as we experience more during the next month…

Neatly stacked tiles ready to be transported.

As we continue to wind down our Mekong River cruise/tour, today we’re including photos (sorry that they’re interspersed with Phuket photos above) from what proved to be an interesting visit to a brick making factory in Sa Dec. Situated on the banks of the river, we arrived by sampan boat and walked up an easy ramp to the property. 

As much as a variety of brick making supplies were littered about the facility, it was very organized.

We still have a few more stories to share over the next several days.  Looking forward to continuing to see our loyal reader/friends here each day. 

Our sampan was waiting for us to finish the tour of the facility and moved the boat close to the shore so we could take off once again.

Enjoy the weekend as we roll into August.

Photo from one year ago today, July 30, 2015:

This enormous Banyan Tree in Port Douglas, Australia reminded us of the tree across the street from our condo in Honolulu. For more photos, please click here.

Finally, we got out with photos coming tomorrow..Tour of the Kampong Cham Temple in Cambodia…Great pics!

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Us at the Kampong Cham Temple in Cambodia.

We hope our readers are still interested in the few remaining stories and photos we’ve continued to share from the Viking Mekong River cruise which ended over a week ago.

In front of the steps leading to the temple.

Each day has included a blurb on our current location in Phuket, Thailand and a second portion on tours and stories we hadn’t been able to share during the cruise/tour due to a poor Wi-Fi signal.

It was one hot day.

This morning we signed up for new more sophisticated Wi-Fi service, VOOM, which is supposedly high speed being offered by Royal Caribbean on most of their ships. 

The ornate designs of temples is fascinating.

With a 33 night (back-to-back) cruise upcoming on October 31st (a mere three months from now) on RC Radiance of the Seas, we didn’t want to experience more horrible WiFi impeding our ability to post in real time, hoping to prevent the necessity of posting stories for events that occurred in the past as we’ve done over this past week.

Scary faces to ward off evil spirits.

Bear with us, we only have a few more of these “past” stories and photos and soon will be all about our current location in Rawai, Phuket, Thailand which in itself encompasses endless opportunities for both stories and photos. Tomorrow, we’ll begin posting Phuket photos.

We entered the temple for more detailed views.

Yesterday, we had a chance to begin the photo taking process when, for the first time since our arrival a week ago, we got out of the house. The rain never stopped all day. 

The details illustrate the joy of the Cambodian people.

By 1 pm, after the rental car had been dropped off, I suggested we go out anyway. Who knew when it would be a sunny day? Besides, we needed photos and groceries. 

Alternate views of shrines.

The older car, a stick shift with somewhat foggy windows wasn’t the ideal vehicle for taking photos on a rainy day but we did our best. However, the day didn’t start out as idealic as we’d have liked.

(Photo out of context with today’s other photos. But, yesterday, we mentioned, we’d post the rental car photo). The rental car’s a little rough, but will serve our purposes over the next 34 days until we leave Thailand.

The address we have for this property or any variation therein, doesn’t show on any map. We had no SIM card in our phones and maps wouldn’t work anyway.  The owner suggested we just get ourselves to the highway and we’d figure it out.  Had it not been raining so hard, we may have been able to do so more easily.

Pagodas and shrines within the temple.

First, we had to find a gas station, next an ATM.  Based on the weather, we decided we’d find a nearby market to get us through a few days since driving across the island to the superstore, Makro didn’t make sense in the downpour.

The detail of the craftsmanshi is astounding.

With the fuel gauge on empty when we started off, Tom was a bit “overly grumpy” when it was impossible to look out the window when the windshield wipers didn’t work well. The only option was for me to open my window, letting in the rain and keep looking along the highway for a fuel station. 

That wasn’t as easy as one may think. Every so often, we’d spot a solitary fuel pump, stop and find it was unattended and/or didn’t work. Tom’s frustration level escalated while my usual “overly bubbly” optimism kept him forging ahead.

We weren’t certain if these flags were temporary or permanent to celebrate a particular holiday.

Finally, after about 20 minutes of “driving on empty” we found a traditional fuel station which accepted credit cards since we’d yet to stop at an ATM.  As we pulled out of the fuel station with a full tank, we spotted a tiny pharmacy around the corner with an ATM machine outside their door. 

These smaller buildings are residences for the monks.

I was desperate to find some type of heating pad and we needed to get the cash to pay for the rental car, TBH 9000, US $258. Mission accomplished!  The pharmacy had a hot-cold pack which easily heats in the microwave and we were able to get the cash we needed from the ATM.

Ornate details.

Feeling hopeful after our success, we continued down the highway with hopes of taking a few photos. Suddenly, through the foggy windows, I spotted a huge sign for a Makro store that supposedly sells beef and more products than the prior market where we shopped. 

Young monks working at the temple.

We wouldn’t have to travel across the island to shop each week and could use this location only minutes from our house for our remaining days on the island. We couldn’t have been more thrilled when we entered the mini-Costco/Sam’s Club type store which had every food product we could possibly use in our way of eating. 

A live monk was sitting inside the temple out of the scorching sun.

I was like a kid-in-a-candy-store. We hadn’t seen such variety since we were in Trinity Beach, Australia a year ago with the abundance at the Woolworth Market (Woolies), farmers market and grass fed meat market.  Even the great markets in New Zealand didn’t have the variety we found at Makro.

We were happy we had a car. Had a driver been waiting for us, it would definitely impeded our ability to scour through the aisles with ease finding everything on our list. 

Mausoleum on the property in varying sizes based on the deceased placement in the family.

Not unlike many superstores in the US, no bags or boxes were provided when checking out. We could only imagine how cumbersome it could have been to load the trunk of a taxi with “loose” foods and produce. Tomorrow, we’ll share the cost of our groceries with photos. We were shocked over the final total.

The less than stellar car will serve its purpose for the upcoming month, although we realize driving far is risky. Then again, the bumpy roads and stick shift driving would deter me from being interested in long drives at this juncture in time.

I avoided walking this stairway when the bus drove us to the garden.

On an upcoming sunny day, we’ll take off for the beach which I could see yesterday at a short distance through the fuzzy windows and pouring rain.  There won’t be any lounging in the sand on a towel (or bouncing boat rides) but surely we’ll be able to take photos of the exquisite scenery in this area.  Please stay tuned for updates.

Continuing on with a cruise/tour story….

On Thursday, July 14th, we embarked on a bus tour while still in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Kong had assured us it would be a relatively easy tour without hours of walking and trekking up steep and rough terrain.

Mom and baby monkey hoping tourists will offer them food.

As it turned out, the tour of the Kampon Cham Temple was manageable for me when we avoided the long steep stairway from the temple. The bus driver drove a small group of us down to the garden area of the temple reachable by road as an alternative to walking the steps.

Off they went, when we had nothing to offer.

There’s a fascinating story about the Kampong Cham Temple at this site which is too long to share here but may be worth reading if you’re interested. For the sake of space and time, we’re winding down today’s post with photos from this excellent experience and tour.

Someone on a tour which later visited the orphanage must have handed off a lollipop to this monkey.  We giggled when taking these photos.

Thanks to all of our readers for bearing with two-topics posts over this past week. We only have a few more cruise/tour photos to share. 

This monkey figured out it would last longer if he licked it instead of chewing.

Be well.  Be happy!

Photo from one year ago today, July 29, 2105:

Every beach along the way on our road trip to Port Douglas, Australia, had it own personality. They may all look like sand, rock and water but we find each one to have it own unique scenery. For more details, please click here.

Car delivery today in Phuket…Continuation of the ox cart rides for Viking Mekong River cruise passengers…Two videos and photos!

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
Tom’s video of the oxen along the bank of the river early in the morning.  Second video below.

This morning at 10:00 am an employee of Gregory’s (our Phuket property owner), brought us the rental car. For the excellent price of THB $9000, US $258 for our entire stay we’re pleased with the older car. We’re hoping the pouring rain will stop and we can end our six day stint indoors.

Tomorrow, we’ll include photos of the “used” car and photos we’ve taken while out and about proving the weather improves enough to get out. At the moment, there’s thunder and lightening. 

The second bedroom in the Phuket house which we haven’t used.  The en suite bathroom contain the Jacuzzi tub.

We’re anxious to head across the island to purchase beef and groceries.  Beef is not popular in some parts of the world that hold the “cow” as holy based on religious beliefs and is not fit for human consumption. 

Many religions and cultures throughout the world consume a vegetarian diet. However, many Thai people include beef in their diet, although it may not be readily available in some of the local grocery stores and markets.  

Yesterday, four housecleaners appeared at the electronic gate at 9:00 am to clean the house. Letting them in via a wall switch that slides the electronic security gate open, they all entered, sharing their names as they graciously bowed to greet us. 

The Jacuzzi tub in the second bedroom’s en suite bathroom.

All we remember of their names as they hurriedly entered is that two of the four had the same name, not unlike the two Katuks in Bali, whom we’ll see again soon. 

Only one of the four cleaners spoke a little English, but they had no trouble knowing what to do and required little coaching from us. They maneuvered  efficiently and quickly through each room, obviously with a familiar routine they’ve implemented in the past. 

Today’s pouring rain.  As soon as it stops, we’ll head out. If it continues throughout the day, we’ll wait until tomorrow.

When the Jacuzzi tub’s water supply wasn’t working correctly, they immediately contacted the maintenance guy. I believe his name is Bo. Within minutes he arrived to make the repairs and an hour later he was out the door with the task completed. 

Although using the Jacuzzi may be an excellent idea at this time, it’s been so hot in the past 24 hour I haven’t been motivated to use it. With the amount of water and energy required to use the tub, I may only use it once in a while providing I notice some added improvement from doing so.

The opening in the wide electronic sliding security gate.

We’re still remaining mindful over the excess use of air con and continue to only use it only at night in the master bedroom. During the day we’re doing fine without AC. After becoming accustomed to heat and humidity in Bali and living in hot climates throughout the world over these past years its not different here in Phuket.

We can’t help but giggle over how, in our old lives, we’d never have tolerated this heat and humidity without turning on the whole house AC.  How much we’ve changed over this period of time!

Occasionally during the day, I rest for a few minutes in the bedroom using only the overhead fan to keep me comfortable. We keep the bedroom door shut at all times to keep out the mozzies and flies for better comfort at night.

Now on to our continuing Mekong River cruise posts with today’s story, a continuation of the ox cart rides. We’d yet to share today’s two videos we are now able to post with a strong WiDu signal here in Phuket.

I’d have loved to join in on the ox cart ride under different circumstances.  But after seeing the carts and the sitting positions required of the riders, we both knew there was no way I could have participated.  

I encouraged Tom to join the others but he decided to stay behind with me when the carts were intended for two passengers and he’d have to ride alone. That wouldn’t have been that much fun for him. Its the idle chatter and shared experiences that make such an activity memorable. 

They reminded us of the buffaloes in Bali although oxen are smaller with shorter horns.
Instead, we stayed behind attempting to get online to post the day’s story and photos. As mentioned in an earlier post, the WiFi signal on the boat was extremely poor, worse than we’d experienced on any cruise in the past. 

It was only with the assistance of thoughtful cruise director Enrico who encouraged me to sit at his desk using his computer, connected to a wired network, that made it possible to upload any posts at all while on the ship.  We realized how frustrating this must have been for our worldwide readers who, at times, didn’t see a new post for days.
As the ox cart participants piled into the carts, many seniors older than us, we were thrilled to be able to take today’s included videos. Of course, it would have been more exciting to be able to do a video while in a cart, but we did the best we could under the circumstances.
The staff shoveled this path the prior night to ensure passengers could make it up the river bank.

Later, many passengers explained the bumpy nature of the ride making us feel grateful we’d made the decision to stay behind. Adding the extreme heat and humidity to my already difficult condition, always made the tours more challenging regardless of their general difficulty.

We enjoyed watching the white oxen hanging out on the bank of the river on the prior evening, early in the morning and again when they were hooked to the wagons seemingly content with their occasionally required tourist trek. 

Off they went on a 40 minute ride..

As we watched the oxen for quite awhile, we noticed the gentle interaction between the handlers and the oxen, as they were rubbed and petted as one would lovingly pet a dog or cat. It was comforting to see. With a cart driver for each cart carrying a pair of passengers we didn’t see any rough treatment used to get them moving.

By 11:45 am, the passengers were back on board and by noon, the ship’s anchor was raised and we cast off for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, another historically interesting stop in our journey along the Mekong River which we’ve already included in prior posts.

With more stories to share, we’ll continue along this path with a few more cruise posts as we add more and more on Phuket as soon as we get out.

Have a beautiful day!


Photo from one year ago today, July 28, 2015:

One year ago we spotted this package of crocodile meat in Australia priced at AUD 15, USD $10.91.  ext time we’re in Australia, we need to try this. For more details, please click here.