Snorkeling

 FEB 8, 2020

Jody and I went to Amed to have a chance for some snorkelling. We stayed at a lovely little resort with our own private villa. We had an outdoor toilet and shower which was fun and very typical of Bali. Due to the warm sunny weather they often have no roof on the bathroom. I think it is suppose to give you a chance to feel in touch with nature. I love it. To me it makes it feel tropical and adventurous. However, when you are exposed to the elements then that means you can have surprises in your bathroom. Geckos, mosquitos, spiders, cockroaches, ants, and who knows what else could end up in there. We were lucky and we didn’t have any surprise guests.

Our hotel had a beautiful garden and our villa had a cute little veranda so we could sit outside and drink coffee in the morning. It was certainly a peaceful way to start the day. Our day was spent in the ocean. We had a 10 minute walk to the beach. It is a black sand beach with black lava rocks. We would snorkel for the day and take a short lunch break by finding a local restaurant to eat at. There were some local people walking the beach trying to sell trinkets. One lady had bracelets made out of sea shells. Another man had carvings of fishing boats. There were also lots of kids that were selling bracelets.

The snorkelling was amazing. We saw such a wide variety of fish. The coral was also stunning. We saw red and orange fan coral, huge brain coral, these other corals that looked like heads of cabbage. It was overwhelming how much life was under the sea.

Sorry for the lack of photos but we don't have strong wifi and it is difficult and time consuming to upload images.......

Sanur, Bali

 FEB 8, 2020

We started our vacation in Bali in the beach town of Sanur. It is a quiet location but close to the airport which made it a natural choice. We stayed at a guest house just a short walk to the beach. I had not been in Sanur since 2016 and I was shocked to see all the development. The beach front is changing into big resorts. There are less roads to the beach and less beach access than before. There are way more stores and restaurants in town. It is becoming very busy and very commercial.

However, it is still sleepy. It was quiet and we not see many people on the beach. The locals all tried to get us to shop in their stores. I could see that it would be difficult for the local shops to make money. The small mom n pop restaurants were gone and replaced with fancy and expensive restaurants.

We only had 3 days in Sanur but we enjoyed ourselves. We snorkelled in the sea grass and lounged on the beach. We both got sun burns. I ate some delicious grilled fish. Three days were over in a flash. Suddenly, it was time to re-pack our bags and head out to our next location. Our driver Budha picked us up at 9am.

Bali

 JAN 30, 2020

We arrived in Bali and headed to the beach! We spent 3 days in Sanur. We were blessed with hot sunny days with temperatures of +30C. It is the rainy season now in Bali so I wasn’t sure what kind of weather we would have. We found a great restaurant for breakfast looking out at the sea. Our days were spent in the water snorkelling and sun bathing. The evening was our time to sit outside and watch the sunset. We were facing East so we had a limited opportunity to see the famous Balinese sunsets but we still enjoyed watching the orange glow of twilight.

A Cousin Reunion

 JAN 30, 2020

I arrived in Kula Lumpur (KL), Malaysia to meet my cousin Jody. She was flying in from Edmonton. I had convinced her to escape winter and join in me for a holiday in Asia.

5 Days is Not Enough...

 JAN 30, 2020

I had a wonderful time in Singapore. I walked through downtown and I went up to the top of the Marina Sands Hotel to check out the view. I ate delicious food and spent time to catch up with several friends. It was 5 days of total relaxation. I even worked on my resume and applied for a few jobs. I was ready to pack my bags again and head off to Malaysia.

Asian Water Monitor

 JAN 30, 2020

While walking in the harbour I spotted a monitor lizard. I am guessing he was swimming in the harbour and he came up to sun himself on the steps. I snapped a few pictures but I could not get close to him as he was shy.

Singapore

 JAN 30, 2020

Jan 14, 2020 I was back on a plane and leaving the Middle East. This seemed like good timing as the tension was growing due to unrest in Iran. There were several events in January 2020 that created increased tensions in the area. There were several travel warnings issued during this time. Here is a short list of some of the events: On Jan 3, 2020 a U.S. air strike near the Baghdad International Airport kills General Qassem Soleimani. Then on Jan 8 Iran launches several ballistic missiles on two bases in Iraq that have US troops. Jan 9 a plane crash in Tehran looks like it was shot down. Jan 10th it is now confirmed that Iran shot down the passenger plane and killed 176 innocent people.

I did not have any problems or worries. I flew out of Abu Dhabi and landed in Singapore. I was happy to be back in Asia even if this means I can’t increase my country count since I am repeating counties. I was headed to my friend’s house. I was looking forward to spending some in Singapore.

Country Counting UAE is #57

 JAN 30, 2020

I love to travel and explore. It is exciting to go somewhere new and see animals, sights, people or places that are different. It is such an adventure to experience new things to be open to new possibilities. So I have to admit that as I travel I always keep a count of how many places I have been and with my trip to the UAE I was able to celebrate #57.

Abu Dhabi Louvre

 JAN 30, 2020

Another highlight in Abu Dhabi is a visit to the Louvre. I spent 5 hours at the museum looking at artifacts and art work. It was wonderful. I really enjoyed my time and visit. The building is also an amazing design. It is built in the water which creates stunning views out to sea and also to the harbour of Abu Dhabi.

The Grand Mosque

 JAN 25, 2020

I made a trip to the Grand Mosque which took over 20 years to build. I spent several hours walking through the huge grounds. The Mosque took inspiration from the Taj Mahal and it has the same white colour.

I was able to join a tour of the Mosque which allowed us access to some of the main rooms inside. It felt overwhelming to stand inside the great prayer room. The size of the building is impossible to describe. I stayed until it got dark and the Mosque was lit up with beautiful lights. It was truly a magical visit.

Here is a link if you want to learn more about the Mosque:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Zayed_Mosque

Abu Dhabi

 JAN 25, 2020

After 2 weeks in Dubai I was on the move again. This time I headed to Abu Dhabi to visit my friend Raegan. I am lucky to have all these great friends living in exotic locations. Of course I quickly found a local coffee shop where I could spend some time reading my book and relaxing.

Camping in the Desert

 JAN 25, 2019

We slept in small tents and it was very comfortable laying on the sand. However, it did get cold around 2 in the morning. I had to put on my puffy jacket as I woke up shivering. I don’t know what temperature the desert dropped to in the evening but it was a big shift from the +27C temp in the day time.

Desert Sunsets

 JAN 25, 2019

It is very magical to watch the sunset in the desert. We sat on the sand dunes and enjoyed the sunset. The sky turned orange, pink and purple. It was also amazing how fast the temperature dropped once the sun disappeared. Suddenly, I needed a warm jacket as I felt cold in a t-shirt.

Local Style

 JAN 25, 2020

The resort had a collection of local outfits that we were able to try on so we could take some photos of us in local dress. We had fun dressing up and my friends thought I looked like I belonged in the desert.

Sand

 JAN 25, 2020

Here is a look at the desert. There are miles of sand dunes but I was also surprised to see small areas of greenery. Small shrubs or grasses and milkweed!

Camels

 JAN 25, 2020

Of course in the desert we saw lots of camels. At the resort we had an opportunity to go for a short camel ride. The camels are so tall. It is scary siting on them when they stand up as you feel like you are suddenly far from the ground. The resort only had 2 camels which means 4 people could go for a ride. These are the girls that we were traveling with. I have some photos of me on the camel but the photos are on my camera and not my phone so I can’t share them at the moment.

I noticed that the camels had many sores on them and they were covered in flies so I really wondered if this resort takes care of their animals. I wondered if the camels are biting each other. It made me feel sorry for the camels and when the resort guides tried to get us to purchase a longer camel ride out into the desert I said no. I didn’t want to support their business as they did not seem to care much for their animals.

Desert Adventure

 JAN 1, 2020

We made a trip out of Dubahi and into the desert. I found some milkweed plants and butterflies.

Pool Time

 JAN 1, 2020

It is wonderful to have Christmas in Dubai since the weather is perfect for sitting in the sun and swimming in the pool.

The temp ranges from 18c in the evening to 29c during the day. The sun is out everyday, with blue sky. However, the air quality is not always the best. The past few days the air quality has been rated at moderate. The ratings are at PM2.5 with US AQI rating of 67.

Dubai City Tour

 JAN 1, 2019

To see the sights in Dubai I went on a city tour. I had a chance to wonder through the souks and walk along the water. Dubai has a population of 3 million and the traffic here is insane. There are 6 lanes on the highway and people drive at top speeds.

I got a chance to see “Ski Dubai”, a large indoor ski resort. They have a chair lift and a t-bar. I also saw the world’s tallest building - the Berj Khalifa. It has 163 floors and the building stands at 828 m / 2,717 feet.

Arabian Desert

 JAN 1, 2020

We made a trip out to the desert and joined an adventure tour. We got a chance to go dune bashing - which was a crazy, high speed, ride in a SUV through the sand.

We got a chance to ride a camel, but it was a short ride. We also watched the sun go down over the dunes. The desert went black and the stars came out. However, we were too close to the city of Dubai to see many stars. There was too much light pollution from the city.

Dubai

 JAN 1, 2020

I arrived in Dubai and was welcomed by my friends. They have an amazing view from their apartment. We watched the sun go down and listened to the call to prayer.

Ms. Chef

 JAN 1, 2020

I grabbed a gingerbread latte at the airport and they called me Ms. Chef! Interesting name choice. Maybe it is like “boss”. The chief of travel, I think.

Headed to the next adventure...

 JAN 1, 2020

It was time to say goodbye to Hong Kong and head to my next location in the Middle East.

I arrived to the Hong Kong airport and realized that everyone was traveling for the holidays so it was busier than normal at the airport. I got settled in to my seat and ready for a 8 hour plane ride to Dubai.

Night Hike

 DEC 19, 2019

One of my favourite things to do in Hong Kong is to go on a night hike. So I convinced a friend to join me on a small trek on the “Dragon Back” trail on Hong Kong island.

We started the hike at 7:30pm and we finished at 10:00pm. We only saw one other person on the trail near the end of the hike. I was hoping to see a porcupine but no luck. We did see a ton of different critters. Some of them were a bit creepy....