Friday, 03/08/24

We wake today fresh and ready to explore a new place. This is our second actual day however it will be referred to as ‘Day 03’ because we crossed the International Date Line and a whole day has gone past! We go downstairs for a complimentary breakfast and find some interesting items on the breakfast bar, the most unique was “Idly” and “Sambar Dhal”, some kind of a rice bread with a very spicy sauce to pour over it. I personally liked it a lot!

After breakfast, we go upstairs to prep our cameras and grabb our umbrellas for the weather is threatening rain every day for our stay here. But being the troopers that we are, we will not let the weather forecast dampen our spirits! Pun intended. Outside the elevators we see an interesting sign! It seems there is a violation more serious than smoking in a hotel! We’re going to have to locate this fruit called Durian and find out why!

We walk a few blocks and locate the “Hop On, Hop Off” bus, which we will lovingly call the HO HO Bus from now on. Everywhere we see things that remind us it is ‘The Year of the Dragon’! We have a touch of a problem with finding the correct bar code for the driver to scan but he lets us ride the bus to the main terminal where we get the issue fixed and we get back on the bus and ride the ‘Yellow’ line around the city.

Our cameras are in their element again and start happily snapping away. We are in the open top level of the bus and the weather is being cooperative. Although it wasn’t until after we sit down that we realize some of the seats were wet! Oh well, it is 90 degrees and 85% humidity so the wet seats are not all that uncomfortable in comparison!

We get to see the famous Marina Bay Hotel and the Tree Garden from the bus along with many other architectural wonders that Singapore has to offer. After riding the yellow loop, we get off and find a restaurant to have a bite to eat and a cold refreshing beverage. It even offers one IPA beer that is difficult to find outside the USA or Australia!

We walk around a while and try to locate a company that sold us eSims for our phones prior to ever starting this trip. We have their address and their office appears to be in the upstairs of a shopping mall here in Singapore. We use GPS to navigate to their address and it leads us into the mall. We happen across some interesting sights in the mall where some kind of dragon festival is happening and the displays are all made of balloons! Back outside we spot a ‘DuckBus’ (amphibious vehicle) which was made famous in Boston and we have occasionally seen a couple times around the world!

We never do locate the company, even with the aid of a security guard in the mall. It turns out the address is just a shared address for mail purposes. So we get back on the bus to ride the ‘Red’ line. But Elee has spotted an interesting temple to check out at stop number 2 and we get off to check it out. As we approach it, it starts to rain. But we have armed ourselves with umbrellas and we pull them out.

We get photos of the temple and then check our GPS maps. It is almost equidistant to the next bus stop or our hotel. It has been a good day so far so we opt to hike it back to our hotel as more photos from the open top levels of the busses is not a welcome thought in the rain.

Back at the hotel, we shed our wet things and take a welcome nap as we contemplate what we will do for dinner. After a much needed rest, we head out in search of a local restaurant. One criteria, they must serve wine. By the glass. We find the “Restaurant Row” only a few blocks from the hotel. We actually stumble across a Michelin Restaurant, Poutin, and they tell us they have one table left for 2. There will be a 15 minute wait. No problem. While we wait, we browse the menu. Wait, appetizers are starting at $20. Entrees start at $40. Still not horrible. Then we get to the wine list. Only by the bottle starting at $75. Okay, but wait. Elee drinks white and I drink red. Adding $150 in wine to the meal does us in. We try to slip out the door before being seated and they coerce us back in. We finally tell them it is not what we are looking for. We have only started this trip and $300 for dinner will set the wrong precedent!

So back out on the street, we browse 10-15 more restaurants and only find a couple with wine. Only by the bottle. Finally we find “Tyrewhitt” and get glasses of wine and a sample platter of bar food. We feel like we have completed our typical Friday night Happy Hour Date Night!

So a fun day and evening and we are tired. Back in the hotel, we check our pedometers and find we have walked over 12,000 steps today. Going to turn in and set back out tomorrow! All in all, Singapore is living up to its reputation for being an exciting city!

Goodnight!

To begin this trip

I thought I’d share a profound poem by an Italian Poet. This has been translated into English but I fear there may be something lacking. But here it is, the best I can render it….

September 18, 2021

A Poem About Traveling, by Gio Evan

Try to travel, otherwise you may become racist, and you may end up believing that your skin is the only one to be right, that your language is the most romantic and that you were the first to be the first.                                  

Travel, because if you don’t travel then your thoughts won’t be strengthened, won’t get filled with ideas. Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies that fit perfectly with your nightmares to make you live in terror.     

Travel, because travel teaches to say good morning to everyone regardless of which place we come from. 

Travel, because travel teaches to say goodnight to everyone regardless of the darkness that we carry inside.                     

Travel, because traveling teaches to resist, not to depend, to accept others, not just for who they are but also for what they can never be, to know what we are capable of, to feel part of a family beyond borders, beyond traditions and culture. Traveling teaches us to be beyond.

Travel, otherwise you end up believing that you are made only for a panorama and instead inside you there are wonderful landscapes still to visit. 

– Gio Evan, poet and songwriter.

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This poem brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. It would be my honor to one day meet you Gio Even! You are a man beyond words! Please read this again. And again. And again!

Goodnight All! Blog Posts on RTW 24 are coming real soon!

March 06-07 Travel Days

So we board our first plane in Los Angeles and take a short one hour flight to San Francisco. Then we board the flight that will take us straight to Singapore. Here are some pics from LAX and the landing in San Francisco (SFO). I even think I spot Rice Paddies in SFO! Who’d have thunk? It is delayed 30 minutes. Not a big deal. Then we get on the tarmac and delay most of another hour.

The captain comes on the radio and explains that we will have tailwinds to Singapore (which is odd for a westerly flight) and that Singapore will not allow us to arrive early. So we finally take off and are told that we will arrive in Singapore on time. Sixteen and a half hours in the air. A long time! Plus another hour and a half in the plane for the delay! 18 hours in the plane! Crossing the International Date Line really messes with your sense of time! No, we are in tomorrow. You are in today! But Elee has found the perfect seats for us in Premium Economy. We have footrests, reclining seats that recline further that most seats and ‘leg lifters’ that supported our calves. Add to that a sleep package pouch that had sleep masks, toothbrush and sundries. Toss in a huge blanket (larger than any airline blanket we have ever seen) and a pillow!

So we spend the first couple hours relaxing and watch a movie each. I choose an old Tom Cruise race car movie, Days of Thunder, and Elee muscles her way through Barbie. More power to her! Then a hot meal arrives and because of our seat positions, we get served not only a hot meal but with stainless silverware and glass wine glasses (with an open bar, of course!).

Movies completed, tummies filled, blankets arranged, I take a sleeping pill that my doctor always kindly prescribes for me when I travel, and I actually get most of 8 hours sleep in a couple of 4 hour shifts. Then I wake and watch another movie. This time I attempt to be brave like Elee and watch Barbie. But 15-20 minutes in, I can’t tolerate it and have to go looking for another action/adventure movie. PS: Elee admits to me that she fell asleep watching Barbie and only woke up near the end!

I watch another movie after and manage to time it so my movie ends shortly before landing and it works perfectly. As we approach Singapore, the last hour has fabulous views of the sunset and I grab some shots with my cell phone which I will try to upload here. We are seated over the wing so not truly clean shots but fun colors.

We get off the plane and have to go through Customs. We find the line to stand in that says, “Nothing To Declare” and we get in that line. No sooner are we in line and an official looking lady looks at us and asks, “Nothing To Declare?” We say ‘No, Nothing To Declare’ and she signals us to open a gate and leave! So we do. There is another check to go through and I clear it with flying colors and walk out. I look back and they have flagged Elee for some reason and send her through another line. But she is through and out in a couple minutes. Nobody is looking at me so I take a photo of the Security area. Usually, one is told not to do that. But here we are!

A half hour taxi ride to the hotel that was pre-arranged and all is good. Our driver was even in the terminal looking for us so it was a happy arrival! All is looking good! We check in to the IHG hotel and get into our room, which is somewhat small but we manage to figure out how to place our luggage. Glad Elee had the absolutely brilliant idea of packing an internal bag/pouch marked “Singapore” and I followed suit.

So we walk outside and down the street which is filled with food restaurants and we choose one, FYR, that serves wine and bar food and all is good! We stop at a small market on the way back to the hotel and pick up bottled water and room snacks and turn in for the night. I get this blog written and it is time for sleep!

Day 00 – Pre travel jitters – Mar 05, 2024

Well here we are again. Do I have everything packed? Do I have all my paperwork in order? Do I have my Apple Airtags attached correctly so I can track my luggage locations?

This will be our second longest vacation ever, second only to our Round The World 2020. But the allure of adding 12 new countries to our list is exciting! Getting up at 4AM to catch our first flight is a bit disconcerting but we can do this.

So off I go to finalize my luggage and zip them up. See you on the plane(s)!

Day on our own in Bucharesti, Tuesday, Oct 17

We will sleep in this morning, having absolutely no schedule. We make ourselves coffee and tea in the apartment and kick back, enjoying having no schedule today. Around 11:30 AM, we get dressed and wander downstairs into the city. About 3 blocks away we find an interesting lunch restaurant and stop in for a bite.

After lunch, we walk down the street and find a large park with a small lake in it. We stroll around the lake and take in the sights and the people. Back in the city streets we walk back to the apartment. We are tired from the entire vacation and we lay down for a nap.

An hour or so later, I get up and tell Elee I want to take a walk. She chooses to stay in and nap. I go out and head in a different direction, photographing a lot of very old buildings. Even an autumn display going up on a store. I keep walking, looking for interesting restaurants for dinner. I finally find a good one called “Vatra”, and I make reservations for 6:30PM. We need to eat early as we will be getting up around 3AM to leave for the airport at 4AM for a 7AM flight.

It is still time for another nap and we snooze some more. Then we head out to Vatra and get seated for dinner. The food is good and I order a bottle of Feteasca Neagra, my new favorite Romanian wine. It is so good!

Walking back to the apartment, I manage to get a few more night shots of old buildings, including one of a restaurant with an interesting name! I’m sure they mean ‘meatballs’, right?

Tomorrow will be about 9 clock hours of travel, but with time zones, it will be 19-20 hours of travel. I hope my sleeping pills work and that I can sleep on the plane! Good night everyone!