Monday, April 9, 2018

                   2018 30th Anniversary

                       Nepal

Singapore



                                     Bali



New countries: Nepal, Singapore, Bali
Cities: Amsterdam, New Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), Varanasi ( Ganges River), Kathmandu, Bangkok and Pattaya.
All packed, we leave tomorrow. We didn't take an international trip last year so that we could save for this big one. The last time we were in Amsterdam, where we have started many International anniversary trips, we were stressed to find our beloved  Thorbecke Hotel  closed. So we will stay a few nights at what the building was turned into- the Bolster Hotel. The price will be higher but the location can't be beat... the Bush Doctor and Coco's across the street, Smokey around the corner. This will definitely be a trip where we revisit our old haunts over these past 30 years: the Bulldog, the Carlton Hotel above the flower market so we can get a balcony, the Vondelpark, Chao Praya Thai restaurant, the Hard Rock Cafe and all our little supplies stores. We will stay in the Citizen M again and also visit The Hague on the North Sea again. We like that Carlton Hotel (no relation to the Carlton in AMS) well.
It's anybody's guess whether I will have success with this blog while we are in India Nepal and Bali. Pretty sure things will go well in Singapore because it's so modern.
India has had some civil unrest because the government decided to stop assistance for The Untouchables. Bali has a volcano that will erupt any minute and so caution was advised. They are also having some experience with terrorists. We purchased travel insurance with a million dollars evacuation included. And Nepal has had some terrible earthquakes that has put their tourist industry in jeopardy. The ATM machines may not work, power may go out intermittently. Well that's what it says online we will have our own experience. Our friends who travel internationally were not too thrilled that we were going to Pattaya, Thailand and described it as Las Vegas on Waikiki Beach and they also said Singapore can be dangerously strict with its laws - some boy was caned for chewing gum apparently.

Singapore Marina Bay (Sands Casino on left)

Singapore has many religions living and working together in harmony I am also looking forward to the beautiful modern architecture.
In Pattaya we are staying at the Hard Rock Hotel ...the picture shows a nice beach across the street. Again we will have our own experience and I'm sure it will be very positive.
So this was basically an introductory pre- blast-off test post. So now I will attempt to upload and possibly try to insert some pictures. Once again my technology has been upgraded ...no longer using a tablet or visiting internet cafes. My Samsung 6 has Google Maps, our hotel booking information, and a translation app. And I have unlimited texting. I don't expect to make any phone calls. It's my understanding I would need to get T-Mobile and a new SIM card so not even going to try. Unsecured networks in hotels is my biggest fear. Haven't had very good luck with uploading pictures in the past - the internet would time out on such large files...

1 comment:

  1. I welcome comments questions and advice. Gail I understand you're checking out the blog. Welcome!

    ReplyDelete