So much is on the horizon…Perusing culture on a walk in the neighborhood…All new photos…

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We spotted this friendly neighbor (no English) making bowls as shown in her hands that are used for offerings at the Hindu temples.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

This flat-bottomed fishing boat wafted by a few mornings ago.

OK, I’ll stop whining, or “whinging” as the British and Aussies say in this slang expression, about the wifi problems in Bali. Although no rep has been here to make repairs yet we were able to manage a weak enough signal last night to download today’s photos which took a few hours. The result? A workaround for now. 

I’ll shut up about it. If you don’t see a post at any time over the next 19 days, you’ll know why…no signal at all. We looked up the worst wifi locations in the world and Indonesia was #4. Now we get it. 

Each time we walk by her home, a few blocks from the villa, we find her working.

With few remaining suitable tourist venues for us to explore, we’ve decided to save these for our next period in Bali beginning in September. For now, most likely we’ll stay put other than embark on a few short road trips during these remaining 19 days. 

This is a temple in the neighborhood where locals congregate for prayer and meditation. 

We have plenty to do in the interim, especially if the WiFi comes back stronger (oops, sorry) after the supposed upcoming repairs. We have several future bookings to arrange which we’d planned to tackle while here, poolside in the shade of the cabana. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do as many as we’d hoped on the outstanding “to do” list.

One year from now we’ll be arriving in Minneapolis, give or take a few days. We’re hoping to rent an RV in Seattle, returning it in Las Vegas with approximately a five or six-week stay in Minneapolis in between. Once we arrive in Nevada, we’ll return the RV, rent a car and stay with son Richard in Henderson. 

Low tide from the second story of the villa.

With our US arrival less than a year away, we need to book one of these vehicles soon when many RV rentals are snapped up well in advance for the busy summer months in the US. 

An extended one-way rental contract requires a phone call to make the arrangements. We haven’t been able to remain on a Skype phone call long enough to make the arrangements. We’re hoping for a better scenario at one of our next locations to wrap this up before we head back to Bali.

Abandoned old barns and buildings may be tucked away behind vegetation.

Over the next few months beginning on June 28th we’ll be busy with many flights and experiences taking us to a multitude of locations in Southeast Asia, part of which is included in the Mekong River Cruise: 

1.  Fly to Singapore – stay 7 nights in a hotel (apply for three visas at various embassies)
2.  Fly to Hanoi – stay 5 nights in a hotel (cruise/tour starts on the 3rd day)
3.  Fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia – stay 3 nights in a hotel (part of cruise/tour)
4.  Mekong River Cruising to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – 7 nights on the riverboat until cruise ends
5.  Ho Chi Minh City – stay 2 nights in a hotel
6.  Fly to Phuket, Thailand – stay 41 nights in a vacation rental
7.  Fly from Phuket, Thailand back to Bali, Indonesia for another 59 nights beginning September 1st.

Most Hindu homes have an elaborate family temple on site.

Whew!  This all transpires over a period of 124 days. This may be one of the busier travel periods in a short duration we’ve experienced to date. Although, as I write this while discussing it with Tom, he easily rattles off an earlier busier period in 2013 when we were on six cruises over a 69 day period including only one flight from Dubai to Barcelona. 

When we look back at our past posts which we do almost daily, not only as we’re posting but, also for our personal enjoyment, we can’t believe what we’ve done so far. How did this happen?  How did we do this?

We enjoy walks in the neighborhood although early mornings are best before it gets too hot.

We’re undoubtedly mindful of possibly boring our readers with our lazy days by the sea and/or pool but we need only look back at where we’ve been, what we’ve seen, and what we’re yet to see in the future. Hang on, folks, the adventure continues…


Photo from one year ago today, June 8, 2015:

A year ago today our ship docked in Suva, Fiji. The Fiji Police Band played on the pier as a welcome to the ship. The band was undercover due to the pouring rain. We didn’t get off the ship when we had an upcoming one-month booking in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, later visiting Suva on a few occasions. For more details, please click here.

Tom’s amazing photo for “Sightings on the Beach in Bali”…Impressive macro skills!…Small things…

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This is a common site on the road, a motorbike loaded with vegetation for the local’s cows and buffalo, which they harvest at no cost from the forests including designated locations in the national parks.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

This praying mantis actually looked at Tom while he took this photo. Good shot, Honey!  He was as big as the palm of my hand.

When life is so simple that we spent the better part of a day watching and taking photos of the interaction between a female and a male praying mantis positioned on the infinity edge of the pool, we know we’re in paradise.

As I spent my usual 35 minutes exercising in the pool, it was hard not to notice the two good-sized creatures seeming to be keeping an eye on one another over a period of hours, long after we got out of the pool and our short stints in the sun to take cover under the cabana.

The vegetation in Bali is breathtaking staying lush and green with fairly consistent short bursts of rain. We haven’t experienced one entirely cloudy day in over a month.

As they waded in the water on the stone edge of the infinity pool I made my way as close as possible. The larger of the two which I assumed was the male, seemed to look me in the eyes, totally unafraid of this huge being in his presence. 

While in the pool I asked Tom to get the camera and take a photo of the praying mantis from the ocean side of the pool, never expecting it would come out so well.  When he got this great shot, I couldn’t stop smiling.  h, nature. Even in its most primitive form of insects, there’s magic to behold.

It’s common to see these archways upon leaving a town or village. Selamat jalan means “have a good journey” in Indonesian.

In my old life, if I’d seen anything crawling, walking, or flying in my close proximity, I’d have screamed and run for cover. Now, in this life, I can’t grab the camera quickly enough to take a photo, whether it’s an ugly scorpion as shown in this photo I took in the bathroom or a butterfly we attempt to capture near the blooming flowers.

This scorpion was in the master bath, very close to the hanging bath towels. Since that time, we have been shaking out our towels and clothing before use.

No, we’ll never have the skills of a professional photographer using the relatively inexpensive lightweight cameras we replace every 18 months or less due to humid conditions. But, taking photos nonetheless provides us with some pretty wonderful memories we delight in sharing with our readers.

Yesterday morning when Gede stopped at a few choice spots on the trip to Negara. In this short period since our arrival, he’s come to understands how much we love taking photos of the simple aspects of life in Bali as opposed to the typical tourist locations.

On yesterday’s trip to Negara, Gede stopped so I could take this photos of workers planted rice for the new season.

Of course, we’re far from many of the typical tourist locations which for us isn’t disappointing. We still have hundreds of photos we’ve yet to share as we continue to explore a few times a week whether on a road trip or a walk in the neighborhood, both of which are equally interesting.

Yesterday as planned, we completed the paperwork for one more of our required embassy visits while in Singapore, the 60-day extension for our second trip to Bali beginning on September 1st.  As required by the Indonesian immigration department, we must provide proof of our flights both in and out of the country during that period.

The rice paddies are meticulously designed for perfect crops.

After completion of the necessary applications and printing them on the villa’s printer, we got to work on the flights we’d yet to book. September may seem like a long time from now but time flies quickly this needed to get accomplished before we depart at the end of this month.

Finding good flight times is always tricky when neither of us likes flying in the middle of the night. We don’t sleep well on a flight making the following day challenging while we’re in a state of sheer
exhaustion. 

Note the scarecrow in another area where the workers were planting rice for the new season.

As we’ve aged staying up all night isn’t as easy as it used to be in our youth.  On several occasions, we’ve traveled overnight which after one good night’s sleep we return to feeling well and energized.

Tomorrow, we’ll share the details of our required early departures, losing a few days of prepaid rent in order to accommodate our itinerary. We don’t expect or ask property owners to credit us for a day or two early departure (or late arrival). This isn’t always a scenario we can easily anticipate a year or two in advance when booking vacation rentals and flights much later.

Calamari and prawns over a bed of stir-fried vegetables, a wonderful meal made by the two cooks that we both enjoy.

Today, we’ll prepare yet another batch of “paperwork” for the third of our four required visa
applications. We can’t wait to be done with this stuff to be able to go back to our previous level of
mindless drivel as we continue to search our surroundings for more “small things” photo ops.

May your day present you with “small things” you find interesting.

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

The waterfall in a park in Tahiti we visited with our friends, a popular tourist attraction. For more Tahiti photos, please click here.

The 12 hour trip from the ship to Bali…

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Had we not been traveling the highway as such a clip, we’d have been able to take dozens of photos such as this, of famous Balinese gods, kings and queens.

There remains a sense of awe and wonder for this life we live. After our taxi whizzed through Singapore’s 7 km tunnel under a part of the city and the sea, we couldn’t help feeling charmed by the crisp cleanliness and beauty of the hot humid climate creating an exquisite environment in full bloom.

There are more motorcycles on the roads in Bail than anywhere else in the world.

We’ll return to Singapore for a week in a mere 59 days in a hotel booked and paid with our only upcoming expenses meals and transportation. In the interim, we look forward to life in Bali.

These types of stone statues are frequently included in new construction designs to maintain the integrity of the Balinese culture.

In our old lives, such a week’s long holiday that we’ll have in Singapore would have left us reeling with anticipation and excitement.  Now, entrenched in this peculiar lifestyle, we attempt to avoid taking it in our stride. If we ever lose that sense of wonder we still so passionately possess, it would be time to reconsider.

Interspersed with newer buildings many historical structures remain in Bali.

For now,  on occasion, we awaken in the middle of the night wondering for a split second where we are only to realize that we’re living this life. A smile washes over our faces in the dark and we know we are home…wherever that may be and… it still feels good.

The over two-hour drive (of a total of four hours) through the capital city of Denpasar (pop. approximately 856,412), has numerous shops and malls, some very old and operated by local merchants and others more modern as shown here.

The fact that we stand together in this passion remains a mystery.  How did we get here so united in our interests and desires?  How did this commonality fester and grow to provide such a strong foundation in both our relationship and our commitment to carry on?

Typical scene on the narrow highway; an old Balinese structure and the helmet of a passing motorcyclist.

Perhaps, the answer is irrelevant. Perhaps, like life itself, we acquire a quiet acceptance of our place in the world. Somehow, we’ve found ours.

These are typical shops along the main road as we traveled to Negara.

As I spew these thoughts aboard the flight from Singapore to Bali,  I’m reminded of our vulnerability and the need to let our future in part remain in the hands of hopefully qualified pilots and means of transportation.

Basket weaving is commonly seen in tropical climates as a means of adding to a vendor’s wares.

We can’t always be in control. In part, our ability to hand over the reins at times with dignity, grace, and ease becomes as much a vital part of this journey as when we have the potentiality of being in the driver’s seat.

Balinese architecture remains a constant in Bali.

And thus, as we’ve arrived in Bali after the harrowing four-hour drive through some of the worst traffic on two-lane roads, we’ve ever seen, we’re prepared for this leg in our journey. We’re unpacked, in our swimsuits and absorbing the exquisite views and property.

Pottery making is common in Bali, some plain, others highly decorative as shown in the far right.

We look forward to the adventure with the same degree of passion we felt 42 months ago. Photos and stories of tropical island life begin. Stay with us, stay beside us,  as we continue on, longing to share it all with you.

As darkness fell we finally reached the area of the road with an ocean view.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with more photos of Bali, as a dream of paradise on earth is definitely in our midst. 

Happy day to you as well.

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

Stunning Anthurium flowers in Kauai as we began to wind down the last weeks of our four-month stay on the Garden Island. For more details, please click here.

New ship photos…Managing travel days…

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A beautiful sunset as we passed the tip of Australia.

This morning at 7:00 am we crossed the equator.  There have been several time changes over these past several days, including two separate 30 minute time changes, a first for us. Now, we’re back on the hour as we continue toward Southeast Asia.

Time is moving quickly as our cruise winds down. With only three days until we disembark the ship to make our way to the Singapore International Airport to fly to Bali, we realized it was time to book transportation from the port to airport.

An elephant made from towels left on our bed at night during turn down service. (My reading specs).

Most often we aren’t able to get off the ship until 8:00 am or so. This time we made special arrangements to disembark earlier at around 7:30 am with the driver arriving to pick us up at the port at 8:00 am. 

The Flowrider, a fun activity for those who can participate.

Hopefully, this should leave us plenty of time to get through customs and immigration making it in plenty of time for our 10:45 am flight to Bali. Sure, its a tight schedule for our liking and Tom is a little worried. But, as always my rationale remains the same;  get there safely and in good health and the rest is incidental.

The miniature golf course.

Missing a flight is not something we’ve experienced as yet and of course, we hope we’ll never will be in that situation. The reality is, as inconvenient as it may be to miss a flight, we’d figure it out. It may cost time and money but as mentioned above, safety and good health always supersede all else.

At a distance, the rock climbing wall next to the sports court.

We’ll be anxious to get as far away from Denpasar Airport as quickly as possible. Listed as a high risk location, with attacks in Bali over these past few years, the further away we get from the big city, the more at ease we will be.

Once the pre-arranged driver in Bali picks us up at the airport, we’ll be on our way on a four hour drive to the house on the southern coast. If all goes as planned, we should arrive at the house around 6:00 pm with the household staff holding dinner for us.

Close up of the rock climbing wall.

We requested an easy dinner for our arrival; chicken, cheese, and veggies. Once situated we’ll be able to review our food restrictions, shopping list and future menu options with the cook and staff. 

As always, we looking forward to being unpacked, organized and checking out the quality of the wifi.  If the wifi proves to be problematic, we have a backup plan to rent an unlimited hotspot from a company that is located two hours from the house that charges a small fee to deliver it to us at the house. We’ll report the fees if this proves to be necessary.

View from upper deck of the hot tubs by the pool.

As I write today’s post, once again we’re sitting in the Promenade Café. So far over the past two hours new friends of Tom’s have stopped by to sit with us over a cup of coffee. 

As I continue to write, one ear is directed to their lively conversation as they make every effort to include me in the idle and pleasant chatter. Gosh, this is almost too much fun, interacting with people hour after hour.

I suppose we’ve handed out no less than 150 business cards to ensure our new friends can easily reach us after the cruise, reading our posts old and new, and be able to contact us and we them, when we return to Australia and eventually Tasmania. How fortunate we’ve been to meet so many wonderful people!

May someone new cross your path today and bring you joy!

Photo from one year ago today, April 27, 2015:
Due to a poor internet signal, we’re unable to post the one-year-ago photo.

Five hour drive and four hour flight, …Saturday morning Rocks Market…Boarding day!…

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The aft of Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas. Soon, we’ll be boarding this ship for a 14-day cruise.

Yesterday, once we arrived at the beautiful airport in Auckland we checked our bags, purchased beverages, and sat at a table to wait for the flight. We’d prepaid the excess baggage fees online of US $270, AUD $350. Luckily our trusty little travel scale was accurate resulting in no additional fees.

In a few hours, we’ll board the ship across the street from the hotel.  To speed up the boarding process, passengers were given “appointment” times to get to the pier.  Our time is 2:00 pm. The ship leaves the port of Sydney at 5:00 pm. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to wait in line to board for a few hours.

Flying on Emirates Airlines to Auckland, NZ to Sydney, AU was less exciting this time around than on other occasions at the beginning of our travels. Sure, we get our own remote and TV screen with current movies to watch.

A glimpse of the Harbor Bay Bridge from the hotel rooftop.
(Tom watched Revenant and I watched Star Wars, The Force Awakens, a movie Tom wouldn’t be interested in watching with me. He didn’t care for his movie, but I loved the story and CGI in mine).
Vendors were busy preparing their wares for sale at the market.
And yes, we were handed menus from which to order dinner, but I’d pre-ordered a gluten-free meal much of which I avoided when it mostly contained gluten-free starches and sugars which I don’t consume. Even the baked salmon was covered in a sugary sauce. 
Most restaurants have outdoor dining.

Salmon doesn’t need sugar. I laughed to myself when I saw they’d put a GF fruit bread on the tray with a packet of margarine. Who designs these meals assuming passengers would prefer chemical-laden margarine over real New Zealand butter? Go figure.

It was fun to see the various handicrafts at the farmer’s market.

The huge plane, an Airbus 380, was packed extra tight which appeared to be due to the addition of extra seats.  We didn’t remember the aisles being so narrow on our last two Emirates flights. 

I’m always drawn to these exquisite smelling soaps but we have no room in our bags for such things.

Overall, other than finding humor in the contents of the meal it didn’t matter to me. We’d brought along an appropriate lunch of egg salad and smoked cheese which we stopped to eat at a picnic table in a small town on the five-hour drive from New Plymouth to the airport in Auckland. 

This is a large market extending over several blocks.

By the time we arrived in our hotel, the Old Holiday Inn the Rocks of which we’re “members” it was 9 pm (it was 11 pm to us), I had no interest in eating out as Tom had suggested, not for himself but for me. I passed on his offer. 

The smells of good food from a variety of cafes wafts through the air as we wandered through the streets.

Plenty of food will be available when we board the ship later today. This morning neither of us is interested in breakfast. There’s tea and coffee in the room which we both enjoying now as we’re online.

A charming building along the boulevard next to the Rocks Market.

This is the second occasion we’ve stayed in this particular hotel and we’ve found it to be an excellent choice.  The service is great, the bed is comfortable and the room has free wifi for members, perfect for our tastes.

We noticed the sign reading “free-range egg and bacon roll” which sounded great!

The port is across the street from the hotel.  The last time we boarded a cruise from this location was on January 5th when we hailed a taxi to drive us to the port. Today, Tom is bound and determined we can get our heavy bags down the ramps and steps. After checking out the ramp this morning during our walk, it looks as if we can do it.

We’ll need to get our luggage down this ramp with steps. We’ll figure it out!

Yesterday morning, as we drove away from the alpaca farm, tears welled in my eyes as I hummed out the car window like their hum. Instantly, they all turned to look at me as if they knew we were on our way. 

Amaranta Designs presented a unique product at the Rocks Market which is opened every Saturday and Sunday in Sydney in the “Rocks” area near the pier.
We were particularly fascinated with the flat handcrafted candles. The owner, Louise designs each candle which then are made by hand in Lithuania.  For her website, click here.
These beautiful flat candles took our breath away.  It was easy to appreciate the designs.
Moments later, we waved goodbye to our favorite brown cow and she too looked our way, licking her lips and kicking up a leg or two as soon as she recognized us. 
Lucky Penny Keyrings.

Tears welled up in my eyes as we drove away, not from sadness but from the joy for having had this amazing opportunity to experience this magical place with the mystical creatures. Thanks to Trish and Neil for their kindness, generosity and love.

Luckily, we arrived early enough to avoid big crowds. We chatting with a couple who’d just come off the ship we’ll soon be boarding. They had a fabulous time!

Now, we continue on with enthusiasm for what the moment brings, for what is yet to come and for the memories we’ve accumulated along the way. We’re so grateful…

Photo from one year ago today, April 16, 2015:

The waning sun on a less cloudy evening in Kauai taken outside our condo door.  For more photos please click here.

Favorite photos..Leaving for Auckland tomorrow morning at 10:00 am…

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This cria who’s birth we were able to attend when we first arrived on the farm was born only 30 minutes earlier. 

Normally, a five-hour drive to get to an airport would be too long in our perspective. But, New Zealand is so beautiful, we have no qualms about the long drive, especially when we’re leaving early enough we won’t feel rushed. 

When we first arrived and the flowers were still blooming, we particularly loved this photo of Mount Taranaki.

On this return trip to the airport in Auckland, we won’t feel compelled to stop to take photos when we’ll have completed all of our NZ photos unless, of course, we see an irresistible sight.

A one-day-old cria nursing.

Upon arrival in Auckland, we’ll make our way to the car rental facility, drop off the vehicle taking their free shuttle to the airport. Our flight isn’t until 5:55 pm.

Our favorite neighborhood cow who’d walked up to the fence to see us when we were on a walk.

We’ve finished most of the packing except for the clothes we’re wearing today and the few toiletries we’ll use through tomorrow morning. Staying overnight in Sydney, we’ll both will wear the same clothes tomorrow and again on the day, we board the cruise, only changing underwear. 

This photo made us laugh over and over especially with the shorter alpacas ears down and other alpaca’s ears at full attention. 

Spending two weeks on a ship with limited wardrobes along with the cost of having laundry done by the ship’s laundry service (necessary mid-cruise) getting two sets of clothing dirty before we even board the cruise makes no sense. If we spill on ourselves, we’ll haul something clean out of a suitcase.  

Grapes growing at the OkurkuruWinery which we visited on two occasions.

Once on the cruise, we have enough to wear to avoid frequent repeats. Jeans and khakis are allowed in the main dining room except on dress-up nights. Shorts and nice tee shirts are acceptable everywhere on the ship during the day.

This peculiar occurrence, never observed by Trish and Neil, had us ready to go into the paddock to help these two tangled alpacas.  The larger alpaca wasn’t too happy with this situation. Fortunately, they managed to break apart.  Once we knew they were OK, we couldn’t stop laughing. 

We weighed our bags moving items around to reduce the baggage fees we’ll pay later today for the third checked bag. It’s tricky weighing the bags on our stand-on travel scale. Tom weighs himself first and then weighs himself again holding the bag. 

We visited the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St. Mary in downtown New Plymouth on its last open day when it was closing permanently due to earthquake instability.

The only way we could weigh the bags is in the upstairs bathroom with a solid surface floor with the remaining floors carpeted. Once Tom lifted the large bags he barely had room to stand on the scale and not bump into something. 

This photo, taken through the glass in the kitchen window, was the first of many times she peered inside watching me prepare dinner. Love this!

It all worked out when both of our larger bags weighed under the allowance of 30 kg, 66 pounds. The remaining third bag, based on our reshuffling everything should weigh under 20 kg, 44 pounds, resulting in fees of NZ $522, US $362. It’s frustrating to have to pay so much for the extra bag but as hard as we try we can’t dispose of one more item in our possession. 

Tom at Taylor Dental in New Plymouth on the day he had his abscessed tooth pulled a painless and inexpensive experience at NZ $170, US $115.

Today, when all is done, including both today’s and tomorrow’s post, we’ll spend time with the alpacas, hand-feeding those interested and laughing over the playful antics of the youngsters. 

There are countless creeks and streams in New Zealand.  We’d hope for sunny day photos but many times when we went out for the day it started sunny and clouded over within the first hour.

It’s not easy leaving here. We have many memories we’ll carry with us, some of which we’re sharing in today’s and tomorrow’s post as our favorite photos. Tomorrow, we’ll share the expenses for our 87 days in New Zealand.

We visited Plas Mawr, a historic architecturally interesting home by invitation of its owner June, whom we met while grocery shopping.

Unfortunately, the Internet signal here doesn’t allow the posting of as many photos as we’d have preferred and, with the many photos we took while here it was difficult to pick and choose favorites. Many others were left behind that our less frequent readers may have missed and possibly enjoyed.

When Trish and Neil went on holiday, we watched over the birth of two crias, an extraordinary experience for both of us.

Feel free to go through the archives on the right side of our daily homepage to see any posts you may have missed for this location or any other locations, all the way back to 2012 when we first began posting. To access each year, month or day, click on the little black triangle to open that period of time.

The front dining room at the Table Restaurant where we dined on Valentine’s Day.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the final expenses and a heartfelt goodbye to this special location and superior experience.

Beautiful flowers when we visited the Pukekura Botanical Garden near the mountain.

May your day bring you a superior experience as well!


Photo from one year ago today, April 14, 2015:

Sunset in Kauai, one year ago.  For more photos, please click here.

Wrapping it up!…Four days until we leave New Zealand…Fun videos…

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Video #1, of the alpacas coming down our driveway
on Friday morning. 
I started today’s post at 7:30 am.  Up at 5 am, my new automatic wake up time, I bolted our of bed, folding and packing more items that have since dried indoors after the past few rainy days.

Today, when it started as a sunny day I started the washer as soon as I made it downstairs. With no clothes dryer, we have to take advantage of sunny days if we prefer to leave here with entirely clean clothes. 

 

Video #2 as the alpacas entered the paddock in our yard.
This past week I’ve been washing and wearing the same two outfits over and over, knowing I’m giving the shirt the heave-ho before leaving. Having purchased some new items here in NZ, there’s no room for any questionable or worn items I seldom wear. Tom is doing the same. 

Generally, our individual clothing suitcases (one each) weigh about the same. This time, we plan to be completely packed, able to weigh our bags by Wednesday, and pay for any excess online. 

On Friday morning, Trish and Neil gathered the alpacas in the smaller mating paddock. Some needed injections to keep them healthy and Neil, a physician, can easily handle this process without calling the vet.

We’re flying on Emirates Airline, our favorite airline to date. Their baggage allowance for one “free” bag each is 30 kg., 66 pounds. This helps us tremendously on the flight from Auckland to Sydney this coming Friday. Emirates provides a 10% discount if excess baggage is paid in advance online. Many other airlines don’t offer ‘free” checked bags.

They all look on as others got their injections.

When the upcoming cruise ends on April 30th, we’ll fly from Singapore to Bali on Jetstar Asia. They too have a “free ” allowance for one 20 kg, 44 pounds, checked bag. In this case, we’ll have considerable excess baggage fees and reorganizing our stuff the night before the cruise ends.

In both cases, we’ll have to pay extra for the third bag (between us) that contains shoes, toiletries, powers cords, business cards, and medical supplies. 

Sure, it would be great not to have a third bag, but as often as I go through that bag there is nothing we can eliminate.  After all, our bags contain every physical possession, we own and duh, we don’t have anywhere we call “home” to regroup and repack, unlike most other travelers.

Finally, they were done and releases the alpacas into the paddock.

We always get a kick out of seeing cruise passengers with more luggage than us. That used to be us in our old lives on the few occasions we traveled over the years – way too many heavy bags. As we’ve learned in our travels, at times, it’s a painful and expensive lesson.

Through the glass at the kitchen window, sleeping while standing.

Now, we accept the reality that what we have is what we have. Eliminating many items isn’t practical when many countries don’t have what we’d need to purchase to replace certain items during a short-term stay. 

Trish and Neil left for their three-week holiday in South Africa on a 17-hour flight on Friday. Early that morning they moved 47 of over 100 alpacas to our yard now that the grass has regrown. Also, they wanted us to have one more amazing week to interact with them.

Being an alpaca mom is an exhausting job and many naps on occasion during the day. The adult alpacas are tagged through their ears. The cria (newest babies) wear collars with nag tags until they later receive their permanent tags. It’s imperative to tag them for health and mating reasons.

A local woman they employ as a farm helper stops by a few times a day to add the extra nutrients the alpacas need, lined up in colorful bowls along the inside of the fence of the paddock. It’s hysterical to watch their enthusiasm when they see her coming with the bowls as they hover in one massive group close to the fence.

Today, our two videos include one; when Trish and Neil walked them up to our driveway, and two; as they entered the paddock outside our back door. Have a look! 

They’re funny and so adorable.

Most afternoons many will rest at the side of our house.  On sunny days most will sit in this location with shade, providing a break from the heat of the sun.

Since they arrived in the yard, we’ve spent hours outdoors watching their playful antics, treasuring every moment knowing soon we’ll say goodbye. Last night only minutes before dark, the antics of the young ones running and leaping through the air, left us laughing again and again.

Now, it’s time to stop “playing” and get “down to business” with laundry, packing, scanning receipts, and reorganizing the house to put everything back in its place.  We always attempt to leave the property as tidy as it was when we arrived.

May your day be productive as well!

Photo from one year ago today, April 11, 2015:
Although Hawaii may not be the perfect climate for cactus to proliferate, many varieties of cactus seem to thrive as this has that I spotted on the tour of the Princeville Botanical Garden. For more photos, please click here.

Booking new flights…We couldn’t get any closer…

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In the early evening a group of the babies get together to play, running through the paddock, making us laugh over their playful antics.

There are always flights looming in the future.  As much as we’d hoped to sail our way around the world using cruise ships as a means of transportation, it just doesn’t work out that way.

As we’ve become more and more knowledgeable (Tom particularly) about the routes of cruise ships, we’ve come to accept how impossible that is to accomplish.  Were cost no object, it may be a different scenario opening up many more possibilities.

If money were entirely no object, one could easily charter ships to almost any part of the world.  Long ago, we accepted that we have limitations on what we can and can’t do based on cost and practicality, neither of which is a disappointment, just a reality.

Not only do we dislike flying for the vast inconveniences, commotion and baggage fees, we don’t get excited booking a flight as we do when booking a new location, a vacation home or a cruise. 

These two babies sat in this spot staring at us for hours, occasionally napping.

Its not the flying part we mind.  Its everything leading up to it including the laborious process of searching online to find the right flight, at the right time of day, on the right date, on the right airline, at the right place and with the right seats.

Then, there’s the challenge of deciding…do we book early (up to 330 days ahead of schedule as allowed by most airlines) or do we wait and hope for better flight options and prices further down the road?

I wish I could say we have a definitive plan for booking flights.  We don’t.  We’ll mention that we need to book a flight, discussing a possible time frame during which it needs to be done.  Then, on an unexpected day, one of us searches, discusses it and we find a suitable option, getting it booked and out of the way.

This isn’t a quick process completed in five minutes.  We’re often checking and rechecking to verify there are no errors.  We use Expedia on our website, accumulating points we’ve yet to use. 

The alpacas, young and mature all get along well and enjoy staying close to one another. With 30 in this paddock and 60 more in other paddocks, its a pleasure to see how they interact with one another.

We’ve found the jumping around to dozens of websites offering supposed better deals, only to discover that overall prices are not a whole lot different from one “supplier” to another. 

Often, blocks of flights and seats are offered by ancillary websites.  We’ve chosen not to spend hours trying to maneuver through all of these myriad options when in the end, we may pay the same price or at times, a better price.

Plus, we’ve found good customer service with Expedia when on a rare occasion we’ve encounter a booking question.  Their reps are easy to reach with quick and painless resolutions as their imminent objective.  This works for us.

Its hard to believe how these young alpacas have quickly adjusted to our presence.

The flight we needed to book (now completed) is upcoming on April 15th from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia for our fourth visit to the beautiful harbor city. 

Again, we’ll stay overnight one night to ensure there is no risk of missing the cruise.  Staying overnight the night prior to a cruise is a maneuver we long ago decided would best avoid stress. 

If we arranged a flight on the same day as a cruise and its delayed for any reason, we’d be in big trouble.  We’ve heard stories of this occurring and don’t want any part of it. 

As always our motto comes into play as shown in the heading of our homepage. For one reason or another, we simply think of our travels in regard to our motto, “Wafting Through Our Worldwide Travels with Ease, Joy and Simplicity.”  Its from this premise that we continue on, at times spending a little more to ensure the least amount of stress and frustration.

Napping together.

Finally, we booked the flight with our favorite (to date) airline, Emirates, who’s coach seats are comparable to first class on other airlines.  It cost a little more than a few other options but its safety history, roomier seats and customer service are definitely a consideration. We could have saved a total of NZ $62, US $40 booking on another airline at a less desirable time. 

Instead, we chose our preferred choice of Emirates with which we may ultimately save the difference in baggage fees.  They don’t charge for the first bag per person (see below) and there’s no charge for carry on bags.

Here’s the flight we selected which includes a two hour time difference:

Emirates logo
5:55p – 7:25p
Emirates
3h 30m
AKL – SYD
Nonstop
$188.70 as of 59 minutes ago

5:55p to 7:25p 3h 30m  

Auckland (AKL) to Sydney (SYD)
Auckland Intl. (AKL) to Kingsford Smith Intl. (SYD)
Emirates 413
Economy / Coach (Q)
Airbus Industrie A380-800 Passenger
Seats
Preview availability
Bag fees
Baggage fees when purchased at the airport (Prices may be cheaper if purchased online with Emirates)
Carry on: No fee
1st checked bag: No fee up to 30 kg
2nd checked bag: No info
How to pay: Emirates
 
This airline doesn’t charge fees for this weight of 30 kg, 66 pound which serves us well.  We’ll only have to pay for our third smaller bag online. We’re content we’ve made the right decision in booking this flight.
The babies all hang out together running through the paddock and playing.  All of these cria were born since this past December, growing quickly.

Now, back to matters at hand.  Yesterday, Trish and Neil moved the alpacas moms and babies to the paddock in front of our deck providing us with easier viewing.  We spent most of the day watching them enjoying every moment.  No longer afraid of us, they readily approach making our experience all the more heartwarming.

 
Soon, we’re heading to the Farmers Market Taranaki for more eggs, fish and produce, hopefully arriving early enough to ensure these items are still available.
 
Have a joyful, stress free day!
________________________________________
 

Photo from one year ago today, January 31, 2015:

This was our first photo of “Birdie” whom we came to know and love.  In no time at all, he responded to his name coming when called many times each day, often bringing along his mate, another Red Cardinal with different markings and coloration.  His presence in our lives over the four months in Kauai added to our glorious experience.  For more details, please click here.

One more day…Wrapping up the details…This and that…More favorite photos…

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Tom and I after dinner on his birthday when my clothes were dirty from my flying lobster tail landing in my lap.

Yesterday, I finished packing except for a few toiletries we’ll need today and tomorrow morning. Tom has waited to pack until today, but all of his clothes are neatly folded, button shirts plastic wrapped and stacked on the extra bed in his clothing bedroom.

Gee…its been nice for each of us to have one extra bedroom to store our clothing, making packing all the easier and more convenient. We’ve rarely made extra bedrooms a criterion in selecting vacation homes. If they have more than one bedroom, great. If not, we carry on.

When we originally planned our travels in 2012, we’d expected family and friends would visit from time to time. This hasn’t occurred much when we’ve been too far away in most cases. 

Tom’s sisters and brothers-in-law visited us early on in our travels in the vacation home in Henderson, Nevada, our kids and grandchildren visited the Big Island and my sister visited Kauai this past March. A few other visitor possibilities have arisen but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough space at the time.

Making three bedrooms or more a criteria would greatly reduce the opportunity to visit certain countries when prices for vacation homes may be higher in some locations due to demand with an overall higher cost of living.

We spent time with the honeymoon couple, Samantha and Danny at dinner. This photo was taken by our taxi driver after a dinner out at the Arts Village.

As a result, we’d chosen location and price as our top priorities, number of bedrooms as a matter of convenience, not a necessity. Since we plan almost two years out, if family or friends would like to visit, we’ll always know well in advance what’s booked in the future and if it will work.

This Pacific Harbour house has actually been one of our favorite houses as far as houses go, although we haven’t had a view other than exquisite vegetation which has been fine. The private pool has compensated for a lack of oceanview. On a few occasions, we’ve had both with more yet to come.

Anyway, on to this and that…many months ago when we lived in Trinity Beach Australia, we were contacted by a couple from the US, around our ages, who planned to travel the world for two years to then settle down. 

They’d asked lots of questions as to the feasibility and the particulars and we were happy to offer suggestions.  Tom had met them online at the popular cruisecritic.com and, we’ll be on the same cruise in two days, departing from Sydney. 

It’s not unusual to meet other passengers on cruisecritic.com well in advance of the cruise with plans to meet in person once on board the ship. At this point, we have three such meetings planned for this cruise, two separate groups for private excursions for six, a planned dinner, and of course, the couple traveling the world for two years who’s cabin in on our same deck.

Tom, on the night of his birthday for a fabulous dinner at the Pearl’s gourmet restaurant, Seduce, definitely deserved a five-star review.

As we chatted back and forth with Doreen for over a week via email we realizing writing was taking too much time, we decided to speak on Skype which worked much better. We covered a lot of ground. Our site has tons of information on the “how-to” of world travel from what we’ve learned over these past four years on continuing research. 

But, with over 1250 posts to date, searching through our archives for each entry is time-consuming, especially for the less experienced web users. We’re always happy to assist in any way we can. Of course, after these 39 months of travel, we still have a lot to learn but feel we have a handle on many areas of concern.

Last night, I heard from Doreen once again after a few month’s hiatus to hear they’ve been enjoying living in an apartment in Sydney and are busy packing for the cruise. We made a loose plan to meet in person at the first organized cruisecritic.com party which most likely will be held within 24 hours of boarding the ship. A notice will be posted in our cabin as to the dates and times of parties.

It’s from these events (as well as simply sitting about the ship) we usually have an opportunity to meet many other travelers, some on vacation/holiday only and others who travel frequently. 

This photo is so me…lots of disgusting looking seafood which I find delectable.

At times we hear of others who’ve sold everything, as we have and are traveling permanently like us, but we’ve yet to meet anyone, as yet, who has no home base. We’ve met many couples and individuals who’ve been traveling long term or to many locations over a period of years with a home base they return to from time to time. 

However, we often find tremendous enjoyment in meeting others who may not travel more frequently than once or twice a year or less. After all, there’s more to us and to them than travel. All of us have a diverse range of interests that has nothing to do with where we live or where we visit, providing many opportunities for engaging conversation and commonality.

Tonight, we’ve decided to dine in having “breakfast” for dinner using our remaining eggs, cheese, fresh mushrooms, onion, and tomatoes. Mainly, we’re motivated to dine in more due to the fact that we didn’t want to wear anything that may need washing other than the few casual items we’re wearing today, than in using any leftover items. 

Leaving tomorrow (Monday) at 7:45 am, and with rain today there’s no further opportunity for another load of laundry. Yesterday, with the sun out off and on, we managed a bit of pool and chaise lounge time. We both have a little tan base which will enable us to spend 40 minutes a day at the ship’s outdoor pool without the necessity of sunscreen.

(From considerable research over these years, we’ve discovered that the use of sunscreen prevents the absorption of Vitamin D. Only about 20 minutes on each side should be a small enough dose of sun to reduce the risks of skin cancer and yet add an excellent dose of the vital vitamin. More sun exposure may be risky, especially for fair-skinned individuals such as Tom).

This photo from Christmas Day at the Pearl is so “Tom,” who loves good meat and sweets.

Thanks to all of our readers for continuing to share in our ongoing journey over this past year when we’ve stayed in locations for longer periods than we may in the future; eight months in Hawaii and four months in Fiji.  During these longer stays, we’ve come to realize that future bookings will most likely not include four months in one location, except for one. 

The only country where we’ll live for four months is upcoming in Bali beginning in April when we’ll live in the same property two times, two months each, with a two-month break in between, all due to visa restrictions.  The property was irresistible, affordable with the ocean and a pool, and breaking it up into two segments should work well for us. More on that later.

After tomorrow’s post which will automatically upload while on our way to the Nausori Airport in Suva, which includes all of our expenses for both islands and a grand total for the four months we’ve spent in Fiji. The next morning you’ll see a post about our one-day stay in a hotel in Sydney with a few photos. From there, posts will be aboard ship and on the excursions, we’ve planned.

Happy day after the New Year’s celebrations and may those still working, may you have an easy and painless entry into the new year when heading back to work. 

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

This sign served as a valuable warning to keep us and others from exploring beyond this point when we visited Lava Tree Park one year ago. For more details, please click here.

Wow!..Six days and counting…Four months have already passed?…Now, switching gears and countries…

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We’d been warned against purchasing locally caught fish when its often caught close to the shore where bacteria is heavy in the waters from sewage disposal.  As a result, we never purchased any fish during the past four months.  I’m looking forward to cooking fish once we arrive in New Zealand.

It seems like yesterday we arrived in Fiji.  By our perception, four months in Fiji passed in the blink of an eye.  When we mention we’ll be in the US in less than 17 months, having fulfilled our goals for seeing many areas of the South Pacific it sounds far away. To us, it will transpire in no time at all.

All we have to do is look back 17 months ago to recall how quickly time has passed when we spent two weeks in Paris and then two more weeks in London.  Those memories are forefront in our minds, as if it was only a few months ago.

Dried leaves used for weaving rugs and other items.

It seems as if once we embarked on this journey time seemed to fly more quickly.  In our old lives when we took an occasional vacation (few, due to my then poor health), the days passed so quickly that all of a sudden it was Wednesday, the middle of a one week trip.  

As hard as one may attempt to live in the moment and enjoy each remaining day of a “vacation” the looming departure date is hard to ignore.  Most travelers have experienced that sensation while on vacation/holiday, especially when having a fabulous time.

Pineapple is a commonly grown fruit in Fiji, often available for the taking in many areas.  In the farmers market, they sell to visitors, not many locals.

In our lifestyle of perpetual travel we seldom feel a sense of dread in leaving a country (although I struggled leaving South Africa).  We don’t experience angst in anticipation of leaving, only a bit of discomfort over lengthy travel days where flying and waiting time exceeds eight or ten hours. 

Anything less, is a breeze.  These days, we don’t think about packing until one or two days before departure although I may start folding and organizing three of four days earlier always in an attempt to lighten the load for upcoming flights.

Pineapple leaves stripped from the pineapples are used for weaving and decorations.

Flying from Fiji’s Nausori Airport in Suva next Monday will definitely result in paying excess baggage fees.  With our luggage containing everything we own each bag is heavier than normally allowed.  Most airlines allow one checked bag each.  We have an extra third bag containing supplies, shoes, toiletries and first aid.

Each airline has its own varying weight restrictions and we’ve found we’ve paid more on multiple flights in this part of the world than in many others.

Unquestionably, our dislike of flying and its associated commotion, delays, tight quarters and baggage fees has been instrumental in our preferring cruising to flying whenever possible.  Cruising doesn’t include baggage fees, includes housing and meals and is an easy way to travel to many parts of the world in one fell swoop. 

Rows upon rows of pineapples for sale for one third the cost as in Hawaii.

After 11 cruises in the past three years, we’ve learned to avoid crowds and long queues associated with hundreds of people trying to gain access to tourist venues and getting on and off cruise-arranged buses.  We prefer to be included in small groups tours arranged by people Tom meets on the CruiseCritic website who are looking for participants in six or eight person charters. 

While on the ship, we tend to be observers of various activities rather than participants, organize meal and pool times when the crowds are lighter, instead spending time in small groups with people we meet.

The kid’s face is priceless as he checks out the big slices of locally grown watermelon at the farmers market in Suva.  Hope his dad made a purchase.

Of course, we’ll spend the better part of each morning preparing the day’s post, often sitting in a spot where we can easily chat with those around us, making the process all the more entertaining.

Need I say, we’re looking forward to being aboard the cruise a week from today.  No doubt, if available, Tom will participate in the daily “Shed,” an Australian inspired “men only” get together where they discuss “guy things.”  In some countries this gender specific gathering may be frowned upon as “sexist.”  But, in Australia, not the case.  Women are not welcomed and no one seems to care.

I’m thrilled when he’s has the opportunity for these two hours without me able to interact with other guys.  He says he enjoys it not as a means of being away from me for a few hours but for the camaraderie. How sweet, he is! Regardless of the reasons, I always find others to chat with in his absence, often other women who’s partner is also attending the “Shed.”

We stopped at a meat market in Suva but didn’t make a purchase when we had the long drive back to Pacific Harbour and had yet to grocery shop.

Today, we’re off to the Arts Village for a few final groceries to fill in the blanks for our remaining six meals, five of which we plan to have at home.  With careful planning, as always, we’ll be leaving behind only a few condiments and spices.

The sun is trying to peek out of an almost entirely cloud covered sky.  Whether today will be day 12 of rain is yet to be seen.  The hanging clothes from laundry of three days ago hasn’t fully dried.  The cool weather of New Zealand, where we’ll arrive on January 19th after the cruise, sounds rather appealing at this point.

Have a fabulous day as this holiday season winds down.

___________________________________________


Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2014:

A whale’s back, spotted yesterday.  I took this whale photo from the lanai at one of the rental houses on the Big Island.  On this day, one year ago, family began leaving the islands to head back to the mainland.  At this point, we had no idea when we’d see everyone again but now its on the itinerary as mentioned above.  For more photos, please click here.