We arrived in Chennai…Food issues…Another long travel day with a few worrisome moments…

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This blind priest prays in this position all day, standing outside the  Eklingi Temple. As a functioning temple, no photos are allowed. Silver was used in embellishing the interior, and it was stunning.

Yesterday at 1:00 pm, our driver, Vishnu, picked us at the hotel in Udaipur to begin the harrowing drive to the airport for our 4:00 pm flight on Indigo Air with an expected arrival time Chennai after changing planes in Bangalore.

The first flight was relatively smooth. No food is served on Indigo Air unless pre-ordered and paid for online, although the flight attendants will serve coffee/tea and nuts for a fee during the flight.
We’re always in awe of the detailed carvings, many of which require decades of diligent work to complete.

Since my breakfasts are somewhat skimpy due to a lack of foods I can eat other than eggs in one form or another, I was hungry and thirsty by 5:00 pm when the flight was in the air, and the flight attendants began serving.

I ordered a small bag of almonds and a cup of green tea, enough to hold me for a few hours until we’d expect to arrive at our hotel in Chennai, sometime after 9:30 pm. There’s nothing I can eat at the airport stands that are available after we’ve gone through security.
Every carving has a special meaning.

No doubt, food has been an issue for both of us in India. Don’t get me wrong, I love Indian food, although most dishes are laden with thickened sauces, lentils, and potatoes, none of which works for my way of eating.

Sacred cows were kept safely on the grounds of the temple.

Tom, on the other hand, is struggling more than I am. He won’t even try most Indian dishes when his taste buds don’t allow for heavily seasoned or spicy foods. If spices are left out of most words, they become bland.

Generally, there are other visitors when we visit temples.

He doesn’t eat dark meat. For example, he’s ordered plain chicken, but pieces of dark meat are often cut into smaller pieces with the bones. The chicken appears to be boiled and, without the Indian sauces and spices, doesn’t appeal even to my less picky tastes. 

Nagda Temple is not a functioning temple, but the Gods contained therein are attended to daily. They are symbolically brought food, flower offerings, and bathed each day. No visitors are allowed when the Gods are sleeping.

We’ve yet to see white chicken breast offered as the main dish option. We’ve asked, but they don’t seem to know what that is. It’s a cultural thing. We keep reminding ourselves we are in a unique culture and what they eat is different from what we know.

Many Gods are represented in artfully crafted stone and marble.

Vegetarian dishes are out for Tom, although he’s ordered vegetarian fried rice and potatoes on several occasions. The reality is, we are making the best of it, somehow not starving and filling up on foods that do work for us.

I order omelets for breakfast each day. Tom has eggs and toast, enough of each to fill him up. There’s no bacon, no ham, no meat side dish of some type. Dinners are challenging when most are buffets with literally nothing I can eat and nothing Tom will eat.
A ceiling in one of the temples.

Anyway, when our first flight was 30 minutes late taking off, we were worried we wouldn’t make the second flight with only a one-hour layover. We checked out flights online only to discover there were no flights from Bangalore to Chennai after our scheduled flight at 7:30 pm. 

If we missed the connecting flight, we’d have to spend the night at the airport until the first flight in the morning. What a dreadful thought that was. As we rushed to our gate at the second airport, having to take a bus from the plane to the terminal, we thought we were going to miss it.
Many God sculptures in temples have been pillaged over the centuries. And yet, the Hindu people still treat the temple with the same symbolism and respect, as if they were still there.

As it turned out, when we arrived at the appropriate gate, we discovered the connecting flight was delayed by 45 minutes. Relief! We could sit back and relax until it was time to go.

Once in Chennai, our new driver Raj explained he would be with us on all tours and road trips until March 29th. He sleeps in the nicely appointed SUV, which, much to our delight, even has WiFi, which will be great on the long road trips. 
Tom takes a photo of me taking a photo of one of several beautiful temples.

We couldn’t believe Raj sleeps in the car, but apparently, other drivers and guides in India do the same. I’ve yet to ask him where he’ll shower and do his laundry. I assure you I will ask and report back here.

The temple structures were made of marble which is abundant in India, but over the years, the white color has changed to this light brown coloring.

When we arrived in Chennai at the most peculiar hotel, the Ibis City Centre, at 9:30, it made no sense to have dinner that late. Tom wasn’t hungry. I was starved. He explained he’d sit with me if I wanted dinner. There was nothing on the menu that appealed to me. Thus, I passed on eating and went to bed in our (as stated above), the most peculiar hotel.

These massive pillars remain along with these 400-year-old temples.

As for the peculiar hotel, it’s clean, friendly, and ultra-modern, circa the 1990s, with lots of colorful molded chairs and black lacquered tables. There isn’t a single bit of evidence that we’re are in India, anywhere in the entire facility. It has the fastest WiFi signal we’ve had anywhere in India, so that helps.
We’ll leave again tomorrow for another road trip to our following location, which we’ll share once we arrive. Tomorrow, March 7th, will be our 25th wedding anniversary, and we’re excited to spend it overlooking the sea in a gorgeous traditional Indian hotel.

We met this lovely French woman, Stephanie, a yoga instructor who’d come to India with many of her students. After chatting across tables at dinner, we invited her to sit with us, and a lively conversation ensued. We are always so delighted to meet beautiful people like Stephanie in our travels.

This morning we visited some temples, unlike anything we’d seen so far, reminding us of our visit to Singapore in 2016. More on that tomorrow while we prepare the day’s post in the WiFi-enabled vehicle on our way to the following location.

This is such a good experience for us, unlike anything we’ve done in the past almost 7½ years, which we’ll carry with us into the future, God willing, a long and healthy lot… For YOU, too!

Photo from one year ago today, March 6, 2019:

Little came looking for me, wondering why I hadn’t been sitting outdoors after the primary surgery as I’d usually done. Oh, Little, you put such a smile on my face. For more photos, please click here.

Arrived in Udaipur after a 16 hour travel day…The latest tiger photos are delayed…The pure joy of safari…

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We passed over many sprawling rivers in Kanha National Park.

Note: We’d intended to post the new tiger photos today, but apparently, our order for the camera-to-computer adapter from Amazon India didn’t get delivered. Subsequently, we’re posing other safari photos and will get caught up as soon as it arrives. Thanks for your patience.

By the time we arrived at our hotel in Udaipur, the Fateh Sagar Lake Hotel, it was already 8:30 pm. We’d left the Tuli Tiger Resort at 4:30 am. As expected, we were greeted by a tour guide at the layover point in Mumbai, who drove us to the next terminal and again by yet another tour guide at the airport when we arrived in Udaipur. 

The beauty in Kanha National Park is breathtaking.

This personalized service is slick. We never have to figure out where to go and how we’ll get there. It is all arranged for us, included in our Indi tour package with Tailormade Journeys. Rajiv has done a fine job covering each step of the way. From time to time, we have questions that are responded to quickly and efficiently.

On the first of two flights, I ordered a small container of almonds and a cup of tea. Tom never ate a thing. We’d planned to go to dinner upon arrival, but after being so tired, we decided to go to bed and hopefully sleep by 10:00 pm. For the first time in a long time, I slept through the night. Tom awoke several times but also managed to get sufficient sleep to feel refreshed today.

A pair of Sambar deer.

The included breakfast is served at the hotel’s restaurant, and we both looked forward to a hearty meal to start the day. Although we can’t get bacon or any facsimile, we usually eat lots of eggs with veggies for me and eggs and toast for Tom. It fills us for the day.

The hotel in Udaipur isn’t as plush as we’d expected. Still, it has a view of Sagar Lake, and our room is spacious, clean, and well-appointed with everything we need: good WiFi, air-con, comfortable bed, and good plug-ins for our adapters and converters.

The bulky gaur, a rare type of buffalo.

The hotel reminds me of those I’d visited in years past, which was historic with 1930s decor. We’re pretty OK here. We’re staying in Udaipur for four nights total, and on Thursday, March 5th, we’ll head to Chennai. In the interim, we’ll be visiting points of interest in Udaipur and surrounding areas starting today at noon. We’ll share photos and stories of those visits over the next few days.

But today, we wanted to wrap up our final safari experiences, including the last sighting of a tiger in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh (there are 28 states in India and eight union territories).

Many people live within the national park in modest houses such as this.

At the moment, we’re awaiting the arrival of the SD card adapter. Once it arrives from Amazon India, I’ll download the photos from the camera, which contains all the final safari photos.

On the last day in Kanha, I went on both the morning and the afternoon game drives on my own. Tom felt a little under the weather and is fine now, but he wasn’t quite up to bouncing around in the safari vehicle for 10 hours.

As I sat alone in the center seat of the safari vehicle’s three rows of seats (including one row for the driver and the naturalist) with a park representative in the third row), I felt comfortable and at ease. I had three professional guides to focus on finding a tiger, and all I had to do was balance myself on the outrageously bumpy roads and take photos when we spotted something.

A peacock was searching for a mate.

Of course, my eyes were peeled on the surroundings, hoping to spot the familiar stripes of yet another tiger. Yet, it was almost equally exciting finding other exciting species such as those we’ve included in today’s photos.

Once the safari ended, I found Tom waiting for me in the lobby, where he stayed and worked on his laptop in my absence. It was great to see him, but I felt liberated and pleased with going on safari by myself.
 
After my long and difficult recovery, it felt good to be independent for a day after a year of Tom’s thoughtful and generous hovering. I’d managed to get in and out of the safari vehicle independently without him or anyone spotting me, which requires cautious maneuvering to avoid injury.
Sambar deer on the side of the road.

We didn’t sleep more than four hours on the last night in Kanah, and after the long travel day, I was exhausted last night. The substantial bouncing for 10-hours left me a little stiff and sore, but not unlike the feeling after a good and healthful workout. Today, I feel like new.
Today, we headed out on a much-anticipated exciting tour in Udaipur, details of which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

Have a fantastic Monday! We’ll be thinking of YOU!

Photo from one year ago today, March 2, 2020:

This adorable female kudu is suffering from TB, as indicated by the tumor on the left side of her face. For more, please click here.

A travel day with challenges…

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The outdoor dining room at Tuli Tiger Resort. It was very cool at night, and we had to bundle up for dinner.

It was unbelievable. We were going to the Nagpur airport to take a flight to Mumbai, change planes, and head to four nights in Udaipur.

When asking various people at Tuli Tiger Resort, we received varying opinions on how long it takes to get to the airport in Nagpur. We anticipated the drive would be between four and five hours, depending on traffic. Since our travel company planned a driver at 4:30 am, we went with it.
I enjoyed the special meals they made for me, along with a few salads. They don’t serve lettuce salads in India.

We considered it might be too early, leaving us with too many hours to kill at the airport instead of sleeping, but we went with it, and we were certainly glad we did.

About three hours into the drive, we encountered the worst traffic backup either of us had ever seen. Hundreds of trucks were lined up in a dead stop on either side of a narrow road for at least five miles due to a convoluted road construction zone.                 
One day I had the best kimchee I’d ever tasted. Perfection!

Nothing was moving! Our driver got out of the SUV on several occasions to see what he could find out. But, each time he returned to the vehicle, we were left without a clue when he spoke no English and couldn’t seem to relay the information with hand signals adequately.

After an hour without moving, we were concerned we could miss our flight. When we’d grumbled about getting up at 3:45 am for our driver’s arrival at 4:30, we were now grateful for the extra early start.

Photo of life in the small towns located within the border in Kanha National Park.

Finally, after over 90 minutes of angst and a bit of frustration, we were on our way once again, albeit a little concerned about getting to the airport on time. If we missed the flight, there wasn’t another until the next day. What a mess that would be!

Luck was with us, and we made it on time. We checked in, paid the overweight baggage fees of US $33.25, IDR 2400, boarded the bus to the plane on the tarmac, and we were on our way for the first leg to Mumbai.

We were crossing over a river on our way to the national park.

Thanks to our conscientious travel rep Rajiv and travel agency, Tailormade Journeys, once we arrived in Mumbai, reps with signs with our names were ready to drive us to Terminal 2, which was a seven-minute car ride, certainly not accessible on foot.
By the time we got situated in a comfortable cafe for the remainder of the 3½ hour layover in Mumbai, we’d fly to Udaipur, arriving around 8:00 pm. It’s a long travel day, but we will have four days to relax until we are on the move again. Tomorrow, we’ll sleep in for the first time in 20 days.

Sunset in Kanha National Park on a clear evening,

We are managing the pace OK thus far and hope to keep up, especially when we won’t have to get up so early for a few days.

Tomorrow, at our hotel, the SD card adapter will arrive. Once it does, I will upload all the photos from the camera, including those from yet another exciting tiger yesterday morning.

We will be back again soon!

Enjoy the day, the evening, wherever you may be!

Photo from one year ago, March 1, 2019:

Ms. Bushbuck and growing baby come to call. For more, please click here.

Travel day…We’ve arrived in Bandhavgarh National Park…Here we go eight days of safari in India…

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“The Khajuraho Group of Monuments is a group of Hindu temples and Jain temples in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh India, about 175 kilometers southeast of Jhansi. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures.”

These five or six-hour road trips teach us a lot more about India than any other tourist venues we’ve been visiting day after day. Traveling through the countryside of this country with a population of over 1.3 billion is, without a doubt, eye-opening.

Today on our way to the Tiger’s Den Resort in Bandhavgarh National Park, we acquired yet another perspective of life in India away from the big cities we’ve visited date.

We couldn’t have been more thrilled with our private tour guide, Dr. Anand Tiwari, who had a doctor’s degree in Hindu idols. He explained he’d done a tour the previous day with guests on the Maharajas Express! What a coincidence and an honor for us! He can be reached here for tours.

The distance between towns is often as little as two to three kilometers. Then suddenly, we were caught in yet another dilemma of honking horn traffic, tuk-tuks, trucks, motorbikes, bicycles, cows, goats, and dogs in the streets.

Again, vendor lean-tos line every possible surface with impoverished sellers soliciting passersby, mainly tourists like ourselves. The amount of poverty before our eyes is unbelievable, yet these cheerful people seem to take their circumstances in their stride. 

It’s ironic, but we visited this historic site on a particular day, the wedding anniversary of the revered Lord Shiva, as part of an annual festival. This stairway to his temple was packed with visitors coming from all over India to honor him.

Sure, there are apparent homeless beggars in the street, but overall the people seem to be preoccupied with their work and tasks at hand, often with a smile on their faces. We are the “odd-man-out,” and they may look at us in a state of sheer wonder and curiosity. F

The carvings on the temple resulted in many years of work by skilled artists.

Our India travel agency and rep Rajiv didn’t let us down. Upon arrival at the beautiful upscale safari camp, Tiger’s Den Resort, we were escorted to our beautifully appointed “luxury accommodation” (as they described our room) to find it to be perfect. 

It’s not a tent. It’s a series of rooms, each with its small veranda connected as duplexes might be by a common wall, each with direct access to the outdoors. The furnishes remind us of India in the 1920’s such as the former retail shop in the US, Bombay Trading Company.

The various temples are breathtaking.

As soon as we arrived and explained my special diet, our reception host brought my food list to the chef, who met with me to discuss options. I made it easy for him. Prepare chicken or fish in butter (not harmful oils) with a side of steamed vegetables without starch. Add two hard-boiled eggs at breakfast and lunch, not dinner. Easy peasy.

Visitors climbed these steep, uneven steps, but we opted to observe rather than rise.

We had a nice lunch in the nearby dining room, and now we’re situated in our room or outdoors on the veranda until dinner at 7:30 pm. Perhaps we’ll order a glass of wine for me and a beer for Tom to enjoy on the veranda. Humm…sound familiar…just like South Africa.

Tomorrow at 6:00 am, we’ll experience the first of six safaris we’re scheduled for during our four days at this camp. Our travel agent booked us for “private” safaris each time, with a driver and a naturalist on board in the vehicle. We didn’t expect this but are delighted. It was included in our package. 

We’re posting only two Kamasutra photos etched into the temples here, but they are a part of the history and needed to be represented.

Unfortunately, there’s no WiFi in the rooms, so at the moment, I’m using my Google World phone as a hotspot, and although the signal isn’t great in this area, it’s working. It will cost us quite a lot for the data we expect to use, but sometimes, we have to bear such expenses.

Most likely, when we head to our next location on the 26th, there will be more of the same. The only expenses we’ll incur at either of these safari camps will be tips and beverages. Three meals a day are included in the package. A picnic breakfast will be provided when we go on safari in the morning. Nice.

Another hand-carved representation of Kamasutra as it was practiced centuries ago. It is no longer accepted based on the polyamory (multiple partners) premise frowned upon by the Hindu people.

So now, I must get to the photos of the fantastic tour we had yesterday in Khajuraho to some of the most stunning temples we’ve seen to date. Again, we don’t have much time until dinner, so I need to wrap this up quickly.

This is a goddess surrounded by servants and admirers.

Gosh, I’m excited to be here. It reminds me of Africa, and nothing warms my heart more than that! Will we see a tiger? Maybe, maybe not. But whatever we see, we’ll share here with all of you.
Happy day.

Travel day…Amritsar to Varanasi…Two flights with layover…Excitement at the India-Pakistan border…

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The soldier prepared for the big event.

As I write here now, it’s during our original two-hour layover in Delhi. After the first flight on Vistara Airline (owned by Singapore Airlines) was late by 40 minutes, the wait to board was dramatically reduced.

We boarded the flight 35 minutes after check-in at the airport, so my choice was to rush through today’s post or try to finish this tonight after dinner. Since we didn’t arrive at our hotel in Varanasi until around 7:00 pm, I tried to rush through to get this post uploaded so we could have a less hurried evening and leisurely dinner, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

The bleachers were packed with enthusiastic Indians.

With our driver Prince arriving at our hotel in Amritsar at 9:30 am to take us to the airport (our last contact with him), we wanted to have breakfast in the hotel after we’d packed everything and were ready to go.

At 9:40, the van was loaded with our bags, and we were on our way to the Amritsar International Airport. We were arriving two hours before our flight left plenty of time to kill.

Note the headdress o the performers/soldiers.

We met a lovely Indian couple who now live in Australia and visiting family in India. The lively conversation with this particular couple made the time fly while we awaited our flight. Before we knew it, we were boarding the first of the two flights.

I’d preferred to spend more time preparing today’s post about the exciting visit to the India/Pakistan border ceremonies. Still, this schedule is the “nature of the beast,” as we spend two hectic months of travel through India, staying in each new location for two or three days.

Aligned and ready to perform.

Is this pace tiring us? Surprisingly, it’s not. Sightseeing for one or two days with one day of rest in between is working perfectly for us. We’re rested, well-fed, and enthusiastic as we continue.

This is not to say we’d do a tour such as this again. This scenario in India is unique. Most likely, such an extended private tour such as this in any other country would far exceed the cost we paid for these extra 55-days over and above the Maharajas Express seven-day tour through India. 

The crowds roared, particularly from the Indian side.

Below is information regarding the extraordinary experience we had been a part of the electrified festivities. 

The Indian people are dedicated to protecting their borders, evidenced by their loud and enthusiastic participation during the ceremonies, dancing, chanting, and reciting their national expressions of love and patriotism to their country.

The soldier lined up to perform their classic high kicks.

We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces during the almost two hours we sat in the tiered seating in the bright sun in the VIP/foreigner’s seats, only about eight rows up from the performance.

Unfortunately, my photos aren’t as good as I would have liked. The sun was in my eyes, and it was impossible to see the subjects of the photos. I could only point and click.

Military police from either side of the border.

Now, as I write again, we’ve arrived at our hotel in Varanasi close to bedtime. The city is beyond description. We are sharing what we were able to come up with during the ceremonies. We’ll share details in the next few days.

Tomorrow, we have to be in the hotel lobby at 6:00 am tomorrow to head to the dock to board a boat for the Ganges River for the sunrise and more. We had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. It’s not quite the caliber of the hotels we’ve stayed in so far in India, but we’ll make the best of it. 

Military guards protected the perimeter.

Time to wind down for the night. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Hang tight. Thanks for traveling along with us.

Here’s information on the ceremonies:

“The lowering of the flags ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force, BSF) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance-like maneuvers and raising legs as high as possible, described as “colorful.” It is a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, brotherhood, and cooperation between the two nations. Similar parades are organized at Mahavir/Sadqi border near Fazilka and Hussainiwala/Ganda Singh Wala border near Firozpur.”

Every eye in the stadium was focusing on these professionals.

We’re going to give this ultra-hard bed a try and see how we do. Nighty night to all!

Arrived in chilly but gorgeous Shimla, 7400 feet above sea level, at the foot of the Himalayas…

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*Note: there are no photo captions today due to poor WiFi connection.

Yesterday consisted of a full day of travel. We started the day by meeting our Delhi guide in the hotel lobby at 6:45 am after we’d grabbed a quick bite to eat, We knew we wouldn’t have access to food until 12 hours later.
After a harrowing ride to one of 46 train stations in Delhi our guide and a porter known as a “coolie” in India helped with our bags escorting us to our train car. Our guide showed us to our seats.

Our heavy bags were tossed onto the overhead compartment while we got settled in our assigned seats. The legroom was adequate. No doubt, this train from New Delhi to Kalka wasn’t anything like the Maharajas Express but we were reasonably comfortable and at ease. 
Once the train departed the station we were served a variety of items in stages: bottled water,  juice cartons, tea, cookies, bread, and a hot fried vegetarian dish. Tom nibbled on the cookies and bread while I sipped on the hot tea. The four-hour ride to Kalka was uneventful. With the heavy fog and smog, we weren’t able to see much of the passing scenery


We played with our phones while the time passed quickly. At 12:00 pm, we had to make our connection. Tom was worried about getting our bags moved to the other train. But, as expected, a steward helped us and we easily found our train, appropriate car and seats, and an easy spot for our luggage. No worries.
On what is referred to as the Himalayan Queen Toy Train we made our way to the historic town of Shimla, at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Shimla is known as the summer capital of British rulers. 

As a matter of fact, the British TV series Indian Summers, which we thoroughly enjoyed, was filmed in Shimla.
The scenic five-hour train ride made its way through 103 tunnels, 800 bridges, and an incredible 900 curves.  We took many photos, but in parts, the smog and scratched windows impeded the view.

The distance to Shimla is a paltry 58 miles (93 km) but based on information we discovered, the winding mountain tracks and slow speed resulted in the over five-hour train ride.
Upon arrival in Shimla we had no idea how our driver would find us when there were dozens of cars pinned in the tiny parking lot. Magically, he appeared and helped load our bags and we were on our way to a tucked-in-the-hills Indian influenced Radisson Hotel.

Once we arrived at the hotel after quite a delay checking in, we were escorted to our room. When I attempted to begin the missed post due to travel day, my computer’s blue screen prevented me from starting Windows 10. I tried every possible fix, but it was so severely corrupted, I was unable to get it started.

I hardly slept all night while worrying about a fix. This morning I spent another three hours trying to resolve the issues to no avail. The only alternative was to start over with a new laptop.
Today, I ordered a new Chromebook from Amazon India, which will be delivered to the hotel where we’ll be from February 17th to the 20th. In the interim, I’ll be using Tom’s laptop which is a bit cumbersome for me since his keyboard was different from mine.

Today, we’re hanging out at the hotel. Tomorrow, we’ll be touring Shimla with our newest guide, Prince. We’ll continue to take photos, but it will be easier for me when I have my own laptop.

Since today is the one year anniversary of my open heart surgery (referred to as a “heartaversary” during which we didn’t post for two weeks, I won’t be adding “Photo from one year ago” for the next few weeks. Thanks for your patience and we’ll do our best with the photos.
Be well.

We’re at London Heathrow Airport after 10 hour red eye…Wow! Time zone difference from Phoenix to Mumbai is outrageous!!!…

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Four years ago, in 2016, we spent three months in New Plymouth, New Zealand, living on an alpaca farm. In the early evening, a group of the babies got together to play, running through the paddock, making us laugh over their playful antics. For more photos, please click here.

If shopping is your thing, Heathrow Airport would be heavenly for the shopping/spending enthusiast. Fortunately, that’s not us. We breezed by the designer shops without giving any thought of looking around, even if it may help us kill a portion of the eight-hour layover in between flights.

Now, while sitting in a restaurant called Wetherspoon, we’re reminded of modern technology. No servers attend to our table other than to deliver food and drinks. Instead, we place our food and beverage orders on an app on our phones which requires a download and registration, placing our orders in the online cart, and paying using a credit card or other payment app.

There were no special orders features to specify. I didn’t want croutons on my salad and the dressing on the side. Instead, I flagged down a server, instructing her to our order specifications. Tom ordered eggs, Benedict, without the sauce, and yet both of our orders arrived 10 minutes later without our specifications.

We set both orders back to be redone. Once we leave here, I’ll remove the app. I doubt we’ll attend a restaurant like this while we’re in England in a little over three months.

Perhaps, we’re foolish and old-fashioned to prefer a live server, taking our orders when in what appears to be a mid-range establishment. If it were a fast-food spot, we’d get it. But this is the first time we’ve encountered this scenario in all of our years of world travel.

I suppose this will be the wave of the future. No humans, only machines. However, on the British Airways flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Heathrow, we experienced exceptional service. 

The plane wasn’t entire, and I wandered about looking for three empty seats in a row for the possibility of laying down to get some sleep during the 10-hour overnight flight.

A kindly male flight attendant said, “No worries. I’ll arrange this for you.”

Moments later, he found me and escorted me to an empty row of three seats. He’d swapped out my existing aisle seat for a man sitting in a middle seat, enabling me to have an entire row to myself. Tom was left several rows behind me as opposed to us being across the aisle from me.

The three seats didn’t allow for comfortable sleeping with the seat belts jabbing in my side and back, but after grabbing some of the plane’s little pillows to cover them, I was able to get comfortable enough to sleep for about three hours. 

Tom said he’d slept a total of 40 minutes, not enough to ease the nagging discomforts of lack of sleep more prevalent at this age than ever before in our lives. He’s exhausted, and I’m not far behind him. The three hours of fitful sleep left me weary, especially now, and I am nodding off from time to time.\

We’d accidentally left our converters to be used with our adapters in the checked bags, and now, when the battery dies on my laptop, I’ll be out of luck. The clock is ticking down as I type fast and furiously. 

Had I known how well Tom’s old laptop would work once I reformatted it, I’d have ordered a new battery. Too late now. His new Chromebook should last all day, as he sits there busying himself to divert his attention from being so tired.

But, this is temporary. In another four hours or so, we’ll be boarding the final leg of this long journey and be able to rest a little better than sitting on a hard chair in a restaurant. 

In another 15 hours, we’ll arrive in Mumbai, and surely the excitement of being in this crazy busy city will get our adrenaline flowing. Upon arrival, we will
immediately attempt to adapt to the time zone by eating and sleeping at times consistent with our location. We’ve found doing so helps us to avoid jet lag.See this:
“Phoenix is behind Mumbai by 12 hours 30 minutes.”

This is halfway around the world. This will be the most significant time zone difference we’ll have experienced in over seven years. We’ll keep you updated as to how this goes.

As my battery dwindles, I need to wrap this up. Hopefully, we have time to check for typos. We’ll likely miss a few in our sorry states of being.

We’ll be back in 24 hours or so with more, at which point we’ll be settled in our hotel and have had a bit of rest.


Photo from one year ago today, January 30, 2019:

The littlest one followed the adults as they were on their way out of the Crocodile River next to Marloth Park. Take care, dear readers. For more, please click here.

An incident on the freeway…The active social life continues…

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It was fun to sit by the firepit with Tom’s sisters, spouses, and other residents in the RV park.
We are so appreciative to be able to use Margie’s car while here. It’s an older Cadillac (2001) with over 128,000 miles, but it appears to be in excellent condition.

Yesterday, we had to return the rental car to the Phoenix Airport we’d rented in Las Vegas on November 28th. I drove the rental car while Tom drove Margie’s Cadillac. The drop-off went smoothly.

On our way back to Apache Junction, a 35-minute drive, the Cadillac suddenly started acting up, and then…it was dead. Tom managed to get the car to the shoulder while we sat there trying to figure out what was wrong. 

We don’t have AAA or another roadside service. Why would we when we’re always traveling outside the US? Plus, in the past seven years, we haven’t had a single rental car breakdown. (Thank goodness).

Tom tried a few times to restart it to no avail. Were we out-of-gas? How could that be? Margie had informed Tom that the gas gauge wasn’t working, but she had kept track of the mileage using the odometer to ensure she’d never run out of gas. She felt comfortable we had plenty of fuel until the re-set odometer read 300 miles.

We were pretty far from an exit ramp, making it too long a hike for Tom to take off on foot to buy fuel. Cars were zooming past us at a high rate of speed. Then, I remembered there was some roadside assistance through our Visa credit cards.

I called the number on the back of the card, was on hold for a considerable time, and finally was referred to another number. Over 40 minutes passed until I reached the correct department and was told we’d be hearing within minutes for a service vehicle to assist. 

The cost for the service would be $69 if we were out of fuel and another $69 if the car had to have the vehicle towed under five miles, more if over. We requested the service vehicle come prepared with fuel, and we’d see what transpired when they arrived.

In all, we’d been sitting there for an hour, waiting. Much to our surprise and delight, a car zoomed past us but stopped on the shoulder and backed up to reach us. 

A kindly man offered to take Tom to a fuel station, where he purchased a gas can and fuel for a total of $17. It took about 15 minutes for them to return while I waited in the car. The kindly man drove him back to the car. 

Once the fuel was loaded into the car, much to our relief, it started. At that point, we realized that perhaps the remaining fuel that Margie thought she had in her car had evaporated while she was away during the off-season. Tom gave the man who stopped a $20 bill and the gas can from keeping. He hesitated to accept, but Tom insisted, grateful for the assistance.

None of that mattered. I called and canceled the order for service, and we were on our way to a gas station and then to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. From there, we shopped at Fry’s for items for a light meal to serve when the sisters and husbands visited last night after the gathering at the firepit.

Once again, we had an excellent evening as we continued to enjoy our time in Apache Junction.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow!

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 12, 2018:

Zebra on the veranda! We knew we had to be very cautious not only for our safety but for his as well. If we startled him or told him to get down, he could have broken a leg on the slippery tiles. Instead, we tossed pellets on the ground near the bottom of the steps. For more photos, please click here.

In a rush today…

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It was five years ago today that Tom was checking out the views from one of the two houses we rented in Pahoa, Big Island, Hawaii. Only days later our family began to arrive for the holiday. For more, please click here.

Today, I am in a bit of a rush. I have to leave the house at 10:45 am to drive to Las Vegas to see Susan and to join her for lunch in her new assisted living facility located 45 minutes from here.


I’ll stay a few hours and then stop at Smith’s Market on the way back to Richard‘s home for a few items for tonight’s dinner and then rush back to begin preparing dinner. Richard only eats chicken so as his mom, I try to be inventive and produce another good chicken recipe.


As for the coughs…Tom is in the worst of it now while I am slowly beginning to turn the corner. If it weren’t for Nyquil Cough, we wouldn’t be able to sleep at all. Both of us have fits of coughing at all hours but especially during the night. For some reason, everything seems worse at night.


We’d hoped to go to a movie with Richard while here but there’s no way we would be able to get through a two-hour period without hacking and disturbing everyone. We’ll see how it goes. We’re leaving in eight days.


Why this cough has lasted so long has baffled us. It started slowly on the cruise over a month ago. Tom had a bit of a tickle in his throat and I had a small pointless cough. I spent one night’s dinner in the cabin when I was feeling dizzy and out of sorts not knowing what was wrong.


But, the dizzyness was the beginning of this dreadful virus when only the next day the cough exacerbated. Also, one of the symptoms we have both experienced has been a feeling of utter exhaustion. 


I am past that stage right now but Tom has been going through it over the past two weeks, worsening the past three days. Please, let this be over soon so we can return to our usual enthusiastic selves, especially now that we know we can move forward with travel plans.


Speaking of which…we booked our flights to India on British Airways at a great price as follows (for both of us):

Total price: USD $1675.16
Trip Protection:      117.26

Total:                $1792.42
 
We used a flight booking company (after reading lots of reviews) we’d never used Hop2.com for the best possible pricing. The flight leaves Phoenix on January 29 and ends on January 30, 2020. 
 
There are two over nine-hour flights with an eight-hour layover in London in between. It will be a long 27 hours. This leaves us a few days in Mumbai to refresh and recover before we begin the exciting six night-train excursion on the Maharajah Express.
 
As always, we’ll manage OK on these long flights although neither of us is able to sleep on the plane. It’s funny. I can fall asleep sitting upright on a sofa while watching a show but I can’t sleep for five minutes on a plane in a similar position. Go figure.
 
Tonight’s a big sports night here at Richard’s…the Vegas Golden Knights will play on TV along with the Minnesota Vikings. I plan to get back early enough to make the dinner so we can all settle in and somehow watch the games simultaneously. 
 
Tom can bring up the football on his laptop via NFL GamePass and the Vegas Golden Knights can be playing on the TV. We’ll see how it goes.
 
Thanksgiving weekend is over in the US and life is back to normal also after “Black Friday” shopping frenzy has ended. We’d intended to go to renew our driver’s licenses today but as mentioned, this is supposedly the DMV’s busiest day of the year. Forget that!
Unfortunately, no new photos to share but check out last year’s photo below! It still makes us laugh!

Be well. Be happy.

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Photo from one year ago today, December 2, 2018:
Little decided to check out the inside of the house.  I was in the kitchen chopping vegetables when he entered and looked up to see this! We both couldn’t stop laughing. I yelled out, “Little, is that you?” (I knew it was him). He shook his head a bit like he often did when I spoke to him. He climbed up six very slippery tile steps to get to me, difficult in those “high heeled shoes.” For more photos, please click here.

A much needed restful night in…Using Google Pixel 4XL phone for photos?…

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Richard was a Vegas Golden Knight’s superfan when he painted this mural on a wall in his backyard pool area. We’re looking forward to attending a game with him on December 8th.

Yesterday, I baked seven pumpkin pies. When Tom and Richard enjoyed their miniature pumpkin pies topped with whipped cream while out to dinner on Thanksgiving night, I decided I needed to bake a few pies. 

Two of the pies are low carb, and the remainder is traditional. I made an extra for my sister Susan which I’ll bring when I visit her tomorrow at lunchtime. Richard often has a low-carb way of eating, but when he saw how different the low-carb pies looked, he decided on the regular pie instead. 

I guess I’ll have to figure out how to eat two pies over the next several days. I’ll likely freeze one, and we’ll take it to Arizona when we make the drive on or about December 10th or 11th.To make all these pies and dinner for the next several nights yesterday morning, I grocery shop by myself for the first time in over nine months. I was a bit slow-moving in Smith’s Market in Henderson due to another bad night’s sleep with both of us coughing, but I managed to get it done.

Years ago, while visiting Richard, I’d signed up for the Smith’s rewards card. I’d disposed of the card long ago, but I was able to remember my old phone number, which worked in place of actually having the plastic card in my possession. 

As a result, when I was checking out after spending $300 on groceries, I saved over $34 from recalling the old phone number. Wow! That was a thrill. I purchased all the ingredients for the seven pies, two glass pie pans which we’ll take with us (Richard doesn’t bake pies), lots of Keurig coffee pods (so we don’t deplete Richard’s entire supply), and enough food for four or five dinners.

Last night we had carry-out from Cheesecake Factory. I was too pooped to make dinner after making all the pies. Carryout was perfect. Today, I’m making dinner, enough to last for two nights but made fresh daily.

Today, I’m making boneless skinless chicken breasts stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, onions, garlic butter, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese wrapped in hickory-smoked bacon. On the side; cauliflower mash, steamed asparagus, jasmine rice, and homemade coleslaw.

After we devoured our Cheesecake Factory dinners, we began watching a movie that had recently been released on Netflix, “The Irishman,” which is over three hours long. Of course, I fell asleep on the comfy sofa, ultimately dozing off and on during the movie.

About an hour into the movie, we took a break for pumpkin pie. Each of us could choose a pie of our own without having to share. This is a great way to savor a pie at one’s own pace without worrying about sharing it with others. We’ve often done it this way with my former passion for baking, which has diminished since we’ve been traveling over the years.

By 11:00 pm, the movie ended, and we were off to bed, each chugging the little plastic cupful of Nyquil Cough, hoping we wouldn’t disturb each other’s sleep. It was a useless expectation. We each awakened many times from our own and each other’s coughing. Tom is where I was two weeks ago, and I still have a long way to go to be free of this virus. 

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been posting photos taken with my phone. This is something I’d been adamantly opposed to for a long time, preferring to use a camera. Now, with this new phone, I am amazed by the quality of the photos, as seen in the above photo.

This doesn’t mean we won’t keep using a camera. One of our two cameras “died” while in my carry-on bag on Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Minneapolis, Minnesota. How? I don’t know. Now, we’re left with one camera and will use it for most sightseeing. For now, it sure is fun using my new phone.

When I take photos with the phone, they are automatically on my laptop through Google within seconds. This saves me so much time. Having these many features is astounding to us, having been so far removed from the most current digital equipment for so long.

Our phones work like Amazon’s Alexa. We can ask anything at all by voice and get an instantaneous response within seconds. This is quite fun for me, but Tom doesn’t seem as interested in using voice commands.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope each of you has a peaceful and restful day as well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 1, 2018:

This is our boy Wildebeest Willie, who stops by most afternoons for pellets and several naps.  He waits for other wildlife to appear then gets up to join in on the pellet frenzy. He isn’t interested in carrots, celery tops, apples, or pears.  He responds enthusiastically to his name and most likely responds to terms other residents have given him. Smart guy, that Willie! For more, please click here.