Raki Attack in Cappadocia, Turkey
Greg gently shakes me at 7:00 a.m. The bus is at the station. I discover that Greg and I have had the best night’s sleep of our group. Others have gotten off the bus are various stops through the night, have watched the police go...
On the Ground in Phuket. Some Advice
Phuket, Thailand – truly one of the most unique places I have ever visited. I have been fortunate enough to travel throughout many European cities, so making my way over to South East Asia has been a completely unparalleled...
Blaming The Gods
We have our Turkish breakfast this morning in the garden of the hotel. I say breakfast but it is more like lunch for us westerners. Black olives, a slice of feta, a hard boiled egg, cucumber, and tomato slices, all washed down...
Completing Our Diving Certification: Thailand
We have made it part of our daily routine to actively introduce ourselves to our fellow travelers and today is no exception. On the Dive Tuk Tuk we meet Pete and his two kids Manda, 16 and Theo, 14. Pete and his wife (who isn’t...
I am a Mahout For a Day!
We have no words except THANK YOU to our global travel family for all support, kind thoughts and well wishes as my husband, co-founder, partner of 27 years and chief instigator of our 2004 around the world followsummer trip John...
Best Street Food in the World on Smith Street, Singapore
The day starts with the ritual of finding an internet café where we can plug in our laptop. According to those we talk to, this is simply not done in Singapore. Finally, we discover a wireless zone, and we’re off to the races....
Looking Down the Dardanelles Towards Gallipoli
There is confusion at 6:30 a.m. Haluk tells us this is the Turkish way. The shuttle that has arrived to take us to the public bus station is too full to fit the 8 of us. We stand around waiting while mobile calls get made and...
The Midnight Train to Jaipur
Our last day in Udaipur and the Lake Palace is a quiet one. We have secured a late check-out time from the hotel and plan to take advantage of their ample sitting and viewing spaces outside of our room to try and catch up on some...
The newspaper this morning in Singapore
is full of the aftermath of bombings and the fallout from the Spanish election, tells us that Indonesia, our next stop, has declared that its Dengue Fever epidemic is over – after close to 500 people have died. The paper also informs us that Singapore has been averaging 89 cases/week through 2004, although recently this has declined to an average of 81 cases/week. Deaths from Dengue in Singapore were not stated. We observe that insect repellent has replaced sunscreen since we got to Singapore. We also learn that the US NIH has committed significant dollars to finding a vaccine for Dengue, which has to be good news.
Every contact we’ve had with mother recently has included the advice to go to the Singapore Orchid Garden, and so we do. We take the MRT and then a bus and walk through the lush grounds of…
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The Beautiful Orchid Garden in Singapore
The newspaper this morning in Singapore is full of the aftermath of bombings and the fallout from the Spanish election, tells us that Indonesia, our next stop, has declared that its Dengue Fever epidemic is over – after close to 500 people have died. The...
Our Last Day in Australia
We sleep in a bit this morning on our last day in Australia, but have the suitcases and gear out of the Francis Street apartment by 10:00. We have made a few phone calls home and in particular to John’s Mum in Stratford,...