Well, it has been a minute since we have traveled anywhere interesting. Something about a baby. Since it was Father’s Day—we decided to start the annual tradition of traveling with Ripley somewhere international. I am unsure if Ripley is fully aware that he has committed to this forever and ever, but as I write this and memorialize it officially in this blog—it is happening!
Exploring the Golden Triangle of India – Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur
There is a map of the world that floats around in our house (currently in my office) that has pushpins of the places that I have been. One day, I hope to have a pushpin in each of the countries listed. To get one step closer to that goal—I found an area of the map that was barren…South Asia…and decided I wanted to go there. Simple as that. On a whim, I found a flight leaving Los Angeles that took me to Delhi, India and I booked it. These are my favorite trips because I have no idea what I am getting myself into until I am there. Life is far more interesting and enjoyable when you do things outside of your comfort zone.
Getting the Bad Out of the Way for Only Good in Colombia
This trip started with a bang. A literal one, unfortunately. We were leaving the house for LAX when a driver (either on his phone or not paying attention; or both) rear-ended us in the Mini Cooper Countryman. Not an ideal way to start a trip, but we got the bad out of the way early. The car is still drive-able, we filed a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance and should get the repairs sorted out this week.
Rusty Canadian Business Referrals
Rust is an iron oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water. It also is formed when you haven’t traveled in a bit and are a bit slow on the pick-up.
Celebrating US Presidents with the Royals in Copenhagen and Malmö
Pop Quiz. Do you know where Copenhagen is? No prize, but pride awarded to those that do!
Truthfully, I had to look at a map to figure out where this place was located. I had a vague idea that it was somewhere in Europe, but got it confused with Belgium. For those that don’t know— you’re not alone clearly— it’s located right south of Sweden and north of Germany.
Storytelling is Just A History Lesson in Ireland
Ireland is a place where everyone seems to have the gift of gab. Some of the most distinguished and influential writers graced the streets of Dublin, but not every story deserves to be told. An innocuous event such as a man getting up out of bed and putting on his shoes can be turned into the most long-winded story or worse yet a song. Everywhere and everyone was a story for someone in Ireland. And in my short time there… I heard a lot of stories. It is only fair I share my story.
Exploring Our Northern Brother Before Starting a New Job
Oh, Canada! I know you are mocked all the time with South Park. I know your Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau. I love Canadian Bacon. You are big on maple syrup. You seem cold. And…that’s about it. I am sure if I really put my head to it that I can think of more trivial facts about Canada, but that's about all I knew. That is saying something considering both Grant and I have traveled to Vancouver, British Colombia. From that trip, I remember a draw bridge in the forest that freaked Emily out, driving like crazy to get to the Butchart Gardens, and nearly running over a homeless drug addict on a road that seemed longer than Downtown LA’s Skid Row. Needless to say— we needed to explore more of our Northern Neighbor.
Even in Spanish Love Means Love…Wait Does It?
As I reflect on our epic excursion for Wendy and Dylan’s wedding in Cuernavaca, Mexico — I thought wow… “love” is universal in both languages. Then it dawned on me. No, in Spanish the word for love is not love, but amor. What? The ability to speak a different language is something that has alluded me, but fascinates me as well. As I did not know a lot of Spanish; I knew even less about a traditional Mexican wedding. What I learned… I need a lot more practice to hang!
Out Of Practice in Guatemala
“Señor Luke Martin…Señor Luke Martin…will you please come to the terminal gate. Señor Luke Martin please come to Gate 4.” When you hear this— you are in trouble!
Both Grant and I took Friday off. Friday was going to be a travel day and Saturday, Sunday, and 1/2 Day of Monday were going to be fun in Antigua, Guatemala. We had hotel, transportation, tours, reservations— you name it we had it ready to go for this trip. Besides Mexico, this would have been our first trip out of the US in nearly two years. I was more pumped about this trip than any other we have had in a while. Something different!
Planning for the “Unplan-able” in Mexico
As a planner, you do things in advance. You attempt to anticipate any problem and attempt to solve the problem before it originates. In heading to Mexico, we booked our flight, hotel, car rental, etc. — easy for us with as much as we travel. I did my homework and found what forms were necessary to avoid delays and we were off to Mexico without any issue.
Hot...Oh So Hot...Cool Down or They Won’t Let Us In
There is a difference between “dry heat” and “humid heat.” Grant cannot do humid heat. In Puerto Vallarta, it’s hot and humid. So it was funny to see the role reversal play out with Grant walking outside and instantly become drenched in sweat. He didn’t know how good he had it in San Diego even during a heatwave.
A few months back we purchased a flight from Tijuana to Puerto Vallarta non-stop for $69 round trip each. We were pleased with our purchase and even more excited to get out of the US for a bit. All the COVID happenings, political turmoil, drama at work, and San Diego’s non-stop summer seem to make this trip a welcome distraction.
We paid a small fee to park at the border walked through the Cross Border Express bridge that takes you directly into the Tijuana airport terminal. Shortly after we hopped on the plane and got to PV in no time at all. As soon as we got off the plane it hit us— the heat. We were glistening so bad I was afraid the light bouncing off our foreheads would be distracting to the planes coming in. Having been to Mexico quite a few times we knew the airport was going to be a zoo. To circumvent it from being too bad I researched getting a private car to pick us up from the airport. However, I quickly found this was the worst thing you could do. It was a $129 round trip to go less than 15 miles down the road if you took this route. The travel blogs tell you to cross the connecting bridge (less than a 5-minute walk) and there you can connect with Uber for $4 total after tip. The problem was that we went in the wrong direction. After our own five minute walk we made our way to a random airport hotel then connected with a taxi for $10.
Most locals are used to the heat so this wasn’t anything new to them. To us we were dying sitting in the back of a car, windows down panting like dogs. When we got to our hotel the security guards had a few questions before they let us in. After those customary questions were out of the way they took our temperature. They read the driver fine. They took Grant’s temperature...to hot...moved to a different part of the arm— fine. Then they got to me. Head, arm, another part of my arm...I was just too hot. The guards were checking the temperatures of themselves and fine. They eventually just asked if I was having any negative symptoms and let me in. After getting inside in the AC—I was rechecked and didn’t have a problem afterward at each checkpoint.
We stayed at the Now Amber, which is Secrets but kids are allowed. Grant secured us a hotel room with a pool swim-up so we could just open our door and hop in. It was 2:45 and check-in was 3 pm. Our room was mysteriously not ready, but the VIP service attendant was right there to sell us tours and anything else we could need. After being given coupons, letting her know we had booked tours, and our VIP attendant out of up-sell opportunities—our room became ready.
Grant and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel buffet. He wanted to go swimming and I wanted to go walking around. So we split up and I went towards downtown. Grant was happy as can be just lounging in the cool pool. Like a little kid in a kiddy pool. I was happy as I could be wandering around aimlessly looking at the building, shops, and trying not to get lost. Eventually, I walked back after buying a souvenir mask and I joined Grant for pool time.
It wasn’t long before walking on the beach was proposed and we both agreed. The beaches in Puerto Vallarta are a little lackluster. Imagine smooth sand being replaced with rocks. If you have a zero-scaped yard with rocks and ever wandered on it without shoes— it was like that even in water shoes. The pain in our feet quickly became quieter when our stomachs started growling for attention. We grabbed some Mexican food before turning in for the evening.
Anyone that has ever stayed over or has shared a room with us knows Grant and I have the most over the top requests when it comes to sleeping arrangements. The room was supposed to have two beds, but it ended up being one king and a rollaway. This is because I am a constant tosser and turner —flipping from one side to the other and Grant is the lightest sleeper known to man but also hogs the covers (and the bed..). So I volunteered to take the rollaway the first night. Not a big deal. Except when Grant has the warm comforter in the king bed...I am left with a sheet for the rollaway and he drops the AC down to 19 degrees Celsius. That equates to 66 Fahrenheit. I don’t think he was trying to freeze me to death maybe just trying to make sure we stayed cool for our morning adventure.
The next morning we woke up early and hopped in an Uber to meet at the port, where we got on a speed boat for Vallarta Outdoor Adventures. After landing at the dock, we were met by military-like transport vehicles that took us to a ranch where we rode mules up a hillside to the actual destination. These seemed like racehorse-like mules as they were extremely competitive. Whenever one of the mules tried to pass the other it would suddenly go from sleepy to thoroughbred and hightail it to keep the lead.
The tour guides hooked us up in our zip lining gear and we were off. No cameras were allowed, but a photographer did follow us around documenting our every step. This adventure park was spectacular as it was a combination of zip lines, waterfall repelling, free-fall repelling, water slides, and even a zip line rollercoaster. There were 10 people with us and we quickly bonded with the JC of Latter-Day Saints family as the English speaking cohort. We laughed as everyone traversed what seemed like a surprise after surprise adventure. The last ride should have been terrifying but we all kind of just went with it. They got out helmets and elbow pads for us to go down a water ride that seems to have been repurposed from the water park featured on Class Action Park. It was rocky, but no one died so I guess not as bad.
After everything was all said and done we ended up at the gift shop. The photographer pulled up all of our photos and we went through each one on our own computer. Grant didn’t like any of the photos, but there was one of me that I did a zip line upside down that I thought was funny. I snapped a shot with my phone, got fussed at, but saved us $100 as that’s how much they wanted for the photos. Sorry, but I don’t need to spend that much on one silly photo. Such the rule breaker I am.
We packed it up, reversed course, and headed back to the hotel. I did get to see my blue-foot boobies on the way back so I was thrilled! Grant jokes they’re the only boobies I’m interested in. At the hotel, we grabbed a quick bite, dipped our toes in the pool, and got refreshed for our next excursion.
The next excursion was Rhythm of the Night a cirque-du-soleil-esq themed show featuring local traditions and talent. The ship was packed (one of six), masks were gone, and social distancing was out the window when the ship left the port. We didn’t buy the alcohol pass but were handed drinks. Most people were double if not triple-fisting booze as the boat cruised along the coast on the way to a private resort/theater. Servers kept refilling our glasses and the ocean breeze finally cooled us down making the ride extremely enjoyable.
Upon landing, we were greeted by tiki torches and tea light candles on an ever-expansive coast. After being herded and smiling at the required photo spots, we made our way into the theater. The show started and it was fun being at a real show in almost 8 months. For those that have been to XCARET in Cancun the show was not nearly as good as that, but still a fun show. Our buffet dinner was served next and our table was right along the water dimly lit by tea light. Fortunately, last one in, first one out rules applied here so we were the first to depart. The way back we got to enjoy a dance and comedy show put on by the cruise ship crew. The bed was calling so we quickly departed and went straight to bed. By this point, we had been up and going for 17 hours (7:30 am to 12:30 am). No wonder our VIP upseller was shocked when we told her we were doing both these events in one day... yeah we felt it by the end of the night but the fun was worth the exhaustion.
Grant took the rollaway, but still somehow managed to get the heavy blanket. The next morning we ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and got to the airport. Our biggest fear was that our body temperatures would be too hot to get on the plane so we made sure to have the windows down all the way and cold water nearby. Our thermometer read didn’t register anything with the guard so we were allowed on the plane without any issue. If nothing else comes out of this trip— hopefully Grant will never try and justify the heat with a comment like “it’s a dry heat” and think that it makes the melting glacier that is my face any cooler.
Luke Still Not Making Friends / Grant Now Not Making Friends
The entire trip to Cancun I was not making friends, however, my bad manners must have rubbed off on Grant for whatever reason he started to really tick people off. I loved it because I finally had company, but this was clearly new territory for him.
Our last day had us going to the park that really made us want to come back to Cancun, which was XAVAGE. The idea behind the park was to do adrenaline-based activities that would never ever ever be legal in the US. Rafting, monster truck driving, speed boating in narrow waters, and the ropes course that even the best of athletes would fail at.
The rafting was our first stop and it was fun. There were several drops and waterfalls, but we had done this type of activity before so ehh… Keeping with the water theme we went onto do the speed boat. This type of activity is all around the US, but not like this. Most speed boats in the US go into open areas and do the sharp turns splashing everyone. Nope. In Mexico, you go down a narrow path and they just spin you around there barely making it past the rocks. It seemed kind of simple until your actually doing it and you realize how close your getting and then you begin to second guess…was this a smart decision today? Haha.
Afterward, we went onto the monster trucks. These things were huge, and you literally go to go sideways, climb overtires, rocks, boulders, narrow turns…I mean crazy stuff. Neither Grant nor I wanted to miss this, so we did it separately. He went first and then I went. When I got back, he told me he got scolded at because he took a corner to sharp and hit a wall. It evidently broke off and a giant rock fell onto the ground; he kind of downplayed it.. I thought this was the greatest moment as it finally put to rest who was the better driver as I did not hit anything. Although I’ve probably ruined the transmission of the rental car because I keep driving with it in 2nd gear instead of D.
Grant needed to kill time because I went second and tried to go into the water section. He attempted to go down a slide but was told it was for kids only. He replied that he was a kid. The second time today he was scolded.
Next up was the ropes course, which hovers over the highway. It looks daunting, but figured the adrenaline would kick in. I can safely say I am not scared of heights as this course was well over 8 stories tall. There were different levels and we choose the 3rd most difficult out of 4. The first one had you step up on a log and then swing to the next log. The logs were not together, and the wind definitely moves them around. After the first one Grant stepped down to level 1, while I tried to keep going. Did I mention Grant doesn’t like heights? Probably wasn’t the best activity for him but he finished so I have to give him credit.
I didn’t get a video, but this video highlight it the best.
This is when things got batshit crazy. There were skateboards swinging in the air, then it was tires that compressed down when stepping on them, tennis balls to swing you from one rope to the other, there was even just two single wires were I had to shuffle my feet and hold on for dear life. I cleared like 8 or 9 different scenarios and was pretty good. That was until I got to the net.
Again, crazy ridiculous feet above the ground there is a net that you have to traverse. So, I literally had to shuffle my feet on the rope net and spider monkey across this net until I made it to the other side. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Again, we are talking about being 8 stories in the air and crawling a net. This drained me. I completed one more course and headed down to a lower level. I completed more than half of the advanced course so I’ll take that as a win.
Not long after that we returned back to our hotel. Not having been to the beach today he really wanted to go. Our hotel is in the jungle, not the beach. But they told us if we wanted to go to a beach, they could help us. The hotel told us to go to El Dorado. When we got to El Dorado they shooed us away. Grant did a deep dive on his phone to find a substitute. Havana Beach Club. We go. They shooed us away again. Go to the Divanta. We go…they shoo us away. Grant’s clearly frustrated so I drive us down to Puerto Morales. Evidentially, this is where retired old people come to be in Cancun because we were the youngest people there. It was great little boat dock city and we were able to walk the crystal-clear water before returning and turning in for the night.
The flight home was fine. Lesson learned— if we ever go back to Cancun we will be staying in a 5 star hotel and chauffeured everywhere we go!
Grant Making New Friends in Cancun / They Hate Luke
Pre-travel blog we visited Cancun and absolutely loved it. Cancun has gorgeous beaches with crystal clear water and really thrilling adventure theme parks. Grant recently quit his job and had about one week before he started his new one. One week is an eternity when it comes to our travel schedule and so we took full advantage of the time off. This will probably his last trip for a while and so he got to choose where we went so Cancun 2.0.
He did score an amazing round trip flight from Tijuana to Cancun for $108 so even if it was a bust it wouldn’t be a costly one. The morning of our flight we packed, said goodbye to the dogs and went to the cross border express; a pedestrian bridge that connects the southern-most tip of San Diego to the Tijuana Airport. We made our way through the random checkpoints. At the last stop I crossed under a rope since there was no one there. The guard gave me a stern lecture about how if his boss was there, I would be sent back. Grant was smiled at and told thank you for following the rules.
The flight was normal until our “seat mate” joined us last minute. Grant sat in the middle next to a very social man that would not shut up. He kept talking and talking. You know it’s bad when Grant is taking out his headphones and the guy is tugging on his shoulder to get his attention. Eventually, we made it to Mexico City for our hour layover. We ran off the plane to avoid the guy only to run into him again in the restroom. Of course, Grant’s friend wanted to continue talking. We got away and since he was heading to Colombia it was a clean break this time.
The next flight was completely empty, so Grant had an exit row to himself and I took one on the other side. Upon landing we were quickly accosted by tour companies, taxi drivers, and rental car agencies. We made it to the gate the same time these chain-smoking foreigners did. They were literally lighting up in the airport, on the route to the car, at the official rental car agency. They even asked for a smoking car. To which the rental car said, “no and they would be charged.” Clearly, not deterred they asked… “Can you hook me up with a good smoking penalty fee?” The thought that it would be much easier and cheaper to get a nicotine patch didn’t seem to cross any of their minds.
Our hotel was in Riviera Maya area where we had stayed last time. At 10pm this area is pretty much dead so the drive there was fine. We were staying at the Hotel Amarte, which is a “4-star” eco resort. Grant thought it was a Motel 6 in the jungle with fewer amenities. Of course, when the lady checking us in offered options Grant took her up on it and we all went together to find the room that was just right. It was literally like Goldielocks and the 3 Bears where we would go into the room, Grant would lay down on the bed and then onto the next room. First room to hard. Second room to hard. Third room to hard. Eventually, it was decided that all of the beds were exactly the same and Grant choose the last room.
Sunday, we woke up and proceeded to XCARET! if you have ever heard or even looked up Cancun this is the first thing that comes up. The park itself was a zoo, with an underground river and a cultural show to tap it up. At different points there were some great photo opportunities, so we tried to take full advantage. Grant climbed a pyramid looking structure and I was able to get some great photos. I tried to do the same thing and out of nowhere a tourist guide started to yell at me for some reason. Other people were doing the same thing, so it was not as if it was inappropriate. When we tried asking her what was wrong, she just walked away.
We finished the park a bit early but wandered around to stay for the show. The show was actually really fun and quite dangerous. Our favorite stunt was the fireball game, which was like hockey but with a flaming fire ball. We left a smidge early to avoid the traffic and ate at a local restaurant on the way back.
The next morning, we got up and headed towards Cancun. Right before we made it in there was a police check point. We get stopped for a random check or so we think. Turns out it’s not a random check, but rather a shakedown. The officer alleges that we were speeding, and I was utilizing my cell phone. Both “very disrespectful actions” according to the officer. This was a red flag because I know I was not speeding, and I made Grant do the navigation so my phone was put away. We politely shared that we disagreed, and that I was not using my cell phone. He said okay okay...not two tickets just the speeding tickets. Red flag #2. He said we would have to go to the police station to clear this up tomorrow. Red flag #3. Clearly this was not a normal stop. He had his phone out like he was recording, but it wasn’t on. Red flag #4. That’s when I said that may be a problem because we leave tomorrow. We are only here in town to check out the beach and then one of the parks. (Lie)
This is when the real “shakedown” started. He lost his leverage because he knew we were leaving soon. He said...all can be forgiven if you pay me. Grant and I had exchanged $40 back in TJ so we dug that out of our wallet and handed it to him. I made sure to make it look like I was really trying as I pulled out even the little change. He took the money and yelled...no ticket to the other officers. He whispered that he is going to erase the evidence, so no one knows. Of course, we said...thank you thank you, while inside we were like “corrupt a**hole.”
Now penny-less we set out to find parking in Cancun. There were spots guarded by people expecting tips, which normally would be fine but not so much now. Laughing I told Grant I made a friend, but he was not amused. We found the JW Marriot and somehow convinced the security guard to let us in to eat food. The facilities were gorgeous, and this allowed Grant to calm down as he was quite angry about the situation. I was able to pull out cash for an absorbent amount of money at a local ATM so we were fine.
After driving to a public beach to wander around we decided to drive to Tulum, which was a little out of the way but close to our evening theme park XPLOR Fuego. On the way I stopped at a gas station to pick up some waters and snacks. Of course, when I paid 200 pesos and my total was 32 pesos they tried to give me 101 pesos as change. I just held my hand out as I am cheap and know my foreign currency. Not batting an eyelash, I just coldly looked at the cashier and said, “mas,” or more. It worked. Thank you all my former Spanish teachers for teaching me one word I remembered and could actually use in Mexico. She pulled the receipt from my hand and reviewed the change. She corrected her mistake.
After about an hour and a half we made it to the Tulum ruins. The park was only open until 5:00 pm and it being 4:00 pm we had a mad dash to see it. At the ticket counter, there was a notice that said “extended hours” from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Breathing a sigh of relief we knew that we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, our interpretation of the sign was not the same as the man who started blowing his whistle informing us, we had to leave. There was not a question of extended hours there was a question of how fast he could herd us to the exit. The good news is that we saw a lot of the park; the bad news is we did miss a few things. I think it’s better to have seen a little than nothing at all.
Hopping back in the car we made our way to EXPLOR Fuego. It’s a theme park that is open at night that is lit up by tiki torches. The park itself consists of 4 main attractions, which are ATVs, zip lines, paddling through a cave on a raft, and then swimming through a dimly lit cave. We had done this before, and it was our favorite part of our previous trip. This time was equally fun and would recommend doing this park.
Christmas Vacation Part 4: Confusing China Confucious Grant and Luke
Patience is a virtue that neither Grant nor I possess, but in Beijing, with the number of people, it’s a must. The flight from Singapore to Beijing was fantastic as there were multiple empty rows as the flight was only half full. Grant got his own row and so did I. During the 6-hour flight I actually moved from my 2-seater row to a four-seater to lay down flat and nap a bit. International flights have the 2/4/2 seat groupings, unlike the 3/3 ones we see on our regular, domestic trips.
We had a general idea as to how to get to our hotel, but Plan A and B fell through so we had to come up with a quick Plan C to get to our hotel. People don’t respect personal space and often cut in front of tourists so even though the temperature was 10 degrees outside I was running hot. The information booths at the airport are useless and no one seemed to be willing to help and no one spoke English. We relied on our iPhones to map out the routes to take on the subway and fortunately for us we had a little practice in Tokyo how to navigate which platform to be on where.
After about an hour and fifteen minutes, we finally exited our stop and walked to our hotel. The cold breeze was amazing as this was about a 75-degree shift from the temperature in Singapore. Grant booked it as he was freezing so I had to try and catch up to him. My rolling carryon bag was exclusively filled with souvenirs so my week's worth of clothes was strapped to my backs. It weighed well over 35 pounds and trekking that around wreaked havoc on my back.
Our room was very nice and better than any of the hotels we have stayed in. We set up our tours with the concierge and then went to the hotel buffet as we were starving (we flew coach this trip so no delicious food like the longer hauls). It was an average buffet, but they did have hot pot which I thought was unique and fun.
Grant went to the room and then later to the sauna (he tried to use the pool but China has their unique customs and they wouldn’t let him in without a swim cap). I went out and explored Wangfujing Street, which is where our hotel was located. It was a beautiful street laced with Chinese lanterns in the trees and random flash mobs happening everywhere. Everyone seemed in good spirits despite the weather. After picking up a souvenir from an overpriced gift shop I went back and crashed.
The next morning we woke up at 6:45 am for our 7:00 am tour. The mad rush to put on anything warm was on and we made our way down to the driver. The tourist attractions are not close and about 1.5 hours away so after picking up a few more people we headed to our first stop— Sacred Way.
Sacred Way was constructed over 600 years ago and served as the walkway to the Ming Dynasty tombs. It was very simply decorated and had statutes that filled the way. The best part was watching Grant walk around in the cold. I am in half as many layers as he is and he was freezing. He hovered around the bathroom hand dryer for warmth. Our tour guide took care of him providing him a hand warmer and a snickers bar.
Most touristy places that are run by the government require tour guides to take people to an overpriced “authentic shop.” This city is no different and before lunch, we stopped at a jade store. The process of turning an average stone into some sort of ornamental tchotchke is impressive. However, definitely not worth the price. The highlight had to be when the sales lady gave Grant two jade balls to twirl in his hand and he dropped it on multiple sets of jade chopsticks. She panicked and checked each one to make sure there was no breakage and thankfully there was none.
We ate a shared lunch with the tour participants at the other end of the shop and bonded with our fellow tour folk— a very nice Italian family of 3 and a University Professor from London. The next stop was only a five-minute drive and that was the Great Wall of China!!!
Before we arrived our tour guide asked how we would like to get up to the Great Wall. Meaning that the tour included a ticket to it, but if you wanted to walk it you would have to pay another $20 or 140 yuan per person to go up a cable car. There were two options to go down— 1) was the same cable car down or option 2) for 60 yuan more (140+60) was a toboggan ride down. So even after they gauged us on the tour they got another $60 out of us. Good on them, but be warned.
The one positive thing was that we choose this part of the wall because of the limited tourists on the wall and there were definitely parts that had zero people on it, which made for some neat photos. The wall is stable but definitely steep and uneven. Unless you are in fairly good shape I would caution on going on the wall as it’s a bit of an uphill climb most of that way. Even the little reprieves of downhill were quickly punished with double uphills. After about an hour of power walking, we finally made it to the toboggan ride.
There are limited instructions and it’s more of a just go and get out of here. I took out my phone and took a video the first leg down. It was a slow start and then it picked up. The video stops right before it goes super fast downwards. My speed tripled and my break didn’t work nearly as well as it should. Grant and I may have taken a stone or two from the Great Wall as souvenirs so my heavy rock-filled bag was blocking my toboggan's break. I made it 90% of the way down when I realized that my phone was missing. As I was rounding a corner it flew out of my pocket. Fortunately, they were able to recover it right away and no damage was done. This is not the first time I have dropped this phone as I did it in Bali last year at the ATVs. Lucky iPhone X for sure!
After the wall, the tour had one final stop at a tea shop. They gave us about 8 different samples of tea and then pressured us into buying the tea. Grant did like one set of tea leaves that were used for an iced coffee and so he got a can of that. We ran back to the van following the tea flight and crawled back to our hotel. We had made friends with everyone on the tour and really got a local perspective on Milan and London’s politics and culture. Everyone was interested in America’s politics with Trump and we had to explain our country’s recent behavior to the bus until we parted ways.
At 7 pm we had a Chinese Acrobat show that Grant wanted to see. Limited information was available on the show, but we thought we would give it a shot. Before we went to the show we went to a mall area that has local food. No one spoke English but we pulled out Google Translate to have a conversation with these individuals.
The restaurant name was called Yellow Feasant or at least we think it was. We went to this restaurant because they had a picture of chicken satay or at least we thought it was. Turns out it was lamb. So when the translate button read chicken he pointed to a different item and we ordered two. Turns out.. the food we ordered was like Asian gumbo. A dark roux-based chicken with potatoes and side of rice. Having nasty meals during the last few days —this food was incredibly delicious. Grant thought it was ehh when he first started and then he began to like it more. We finished and rushed over to the show.
The theater was empty, but the show was absolutely fantastic. Take any normal Vegas show, remove all of the required safety elements, and then up the danger 200%. For example, we have seen motorcycles in a cage multiple times before. The most I have ever seen is 3 at once. At the time that was shocking— this show put 8 in a small cage all going at once. Insane.
The Uber equivalent app called DiDi worked there, but not on the way back. Not sure why it stopped, but it did. Fortunately, there was a trolley stop nearby and we walked to it. We got on two different lines and were back in 25 minutes. This was about the same length the car ride was so car rides weren’t really that helpful in Beijing.
On the way back Grant mentioned he was a bit hungry and did not want any more Asian food. It just so happens we were in front of a Pizza Hut as we were having this discussion. So we stopped in for a quick late-night dinner. It was different. Not bad; not great. But I will agree it was a nice change of pace from all the Asian inspired food. We finished our descent down Wayfujing and were back at our hotel in a jiffy. The next morning I got up in an effort to see the most popular tourist attraction in all of China — Forbidden City. Security is extremely tight in this area and they were stopping people randomly for papers. Fortunately, clearly being American or at the very least a foreigner then left me alone. The area is comparable to the mall in DC with museums and monuments everywhere.
My first stop was Tiananmen Square. It was cool to see where the protests happen and fascinating to learn about its history. Next, we went under the road to see Tiananmen and I took a few photos for this blog. Then I went into the forbidden city. It cost 40 Yuan or about $6 to go in and it was well worth seeing.
The area is large on a map but even bigger in person. As someone who appreciates history, but gets easily board it was perfect that I did a self-guided tour so I could see what I wanted and leave when I was ready. Additionally, since there were multiple tours going on I kind of just found an English speaking tour guide when I wanted more information about the area. You see one impressive building and then go through it to find another and then another. Finally, I made my way to the end and looked for the exit. It was nowhere to be found. I think to go to the sides and nothing. Eventually, I had to google it and found out that this was a common problem for anyone not visiting without a tour guide. You actually must go to the middle of the city to go out at either the East or West gate.
I made it out and back to the hotel without any incident. We ate lunch at the hotel, rode the 3 subway lines to get to the airport, hung out at the awful Air China/American lounge and made our way onto the plane. The plane ride was from Beijing to Dallas randomly and happened in a blink. I downed an Ambien and was out right after dinner was served. I only woke up 45 minutes until we landed because the flight attendant needed the flight provided headphones back.
In Dallas, we went through security and found ourselves with a 4-hour layover. Being familiar with the area we felt comfortable leaving and getting back with plenty of time. Grant mentioned the Gaylord Texas being close and so we made our way over to that area.
Once there we grabbed a bite to eat and purchased tickets to the “Ice” exhibit. The name probably gives it away, but it’s a life-size meat locker filled with larger than human-sized ice sculptures that you walk through. We had done it probably about 12 years ago, but hadn’t had a chance since then. It was fun strolling down memory lane remembering the last time we did it and then looking at the sculptures. Once finished we went back to the airport where the security had a field day with my carry on luggage. Not long after we boarded the plane and made our way to LA. We grabbed our car from the parking lot where it was stored and drove home.
The end of a long trip filled with a lot of great memories and only one hiccup between Grant and me in the city that shall not be named. We both really enjoyed our trip and Grant is mentioning wanting to go to Hong Kong next.
End of Part 4 of 4.
Christmas Vacation Part 3B: Singapore Serenade
Our timing in Singapore was perfect and as our hours remaining dwindle, I lay in bed writing this post to memorialize our second and third night in the Eastern city that never sleeps. Unlike Singapore that doesn’t have much open until 10 am I have somehow morphed into a morning person that is wide awake before the sun gets up. Well actually I don’t know what time the sun rises as our room has amazing blackout curtains, but hopefully, you as the reader understand where I am coming from.
The second night had me wide awake, while Grant snoring away. This has become a pattern in these posts, but instead of listening to Grant’s nose and throat airways vibrating I got up and began wandering around Chinatown again. While the stores were closed there was plenty of light to see some of the street art and gawk at the architecture. My favorite thing I stumbled upon was a vending machine that squeezed fresh oranges and dispensed delicious orange juice.
It wasn’t long after this revelation that Grant woke up and wanted to meet up. We rendezvoused at the Maxwell Hawker Center again and stood in line to eat at the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stand. I thought it was great, but Grant gave it a mixed review. From there we hopped on the Blue line to continue our site-seeing adventure of the city. We went through Orchard Row and learned that there were only 3.3 million people in the city/country and that that the majority lived in subsidized housing provided by the government.
At stop 12, we got out and found ourselves in Little India. Both Grant and I have a fond appreciation for Indian culture and food. The streets were lined with produce and souvenirs shops highlighting the Indian culture. We stumbled upon a quaint little shop in the middle of a busy street that had some items that we hadn’t seem ten times over. Grant quickly bonded with the merchant and went nuts buying souvenirs for us and friends. She provided him with water, business cards, and even a recommendation for Indian cuisine.
Not wasting any time or hearing any of my doubting comments Grant whisked us over to Banana Leaf Apolo where we ate some great food with our hands-on banana leaves. Grant wasn’t into the finger cuisine so he asked for silverware and they quickly obliged. We inhaled the food and were licking our leaf plate clean. Grant stated that this was the best Indian food he has ever had so I guess the recommendation paid off.
From Little Indian, we “Grabbed” back to the bay, but this time we went to the other side where we met my spirit animal the Merlion. A made-up creature with a fish body and lion head this strange statute shot water out of its mouth for no apparent reason. I, of course, wanted a few selfies and made sure to get a statute to memorialize my visit to this weird amalgamation of an animal. After a bit of a discussion, we decided to head to Sentosa Island early to see what this island had to offer.
Sentosa Island was about 8 minutes from our hotel and served as a local and tourist trap alike. The island seemed to have been owned exclusively by Resort World, which is where we stayed at in Manila. When we arrived we realized that we had moved from the Las Vegas of the East to Sentosa Island the Orlando equivalent of the East. The island had multiple theme parks, indoor skydiving, a casino, and any other touristy thing you could imagine all in one spot.
My feet were killing me as I had walked nearly 30k steps in crocks that morning so I needed to find a way of getting off my feet. Thankfully, we stumbled upon the Luge, which takes you up a hillside in a ski lift and then you get in a plastic car sled contraption and race down the hill. It was a blast racing down the hill and passing all the slow cars. I angered an old Asian man as a zipped past him for being to slow. The way you bought a ticket it wasn’t an option to just go down once, but rather each ticket sold let you go twice. So, we climbed back up and did it again.
The beach entrance was at the bottom of the hill so we took a look at what they considered a beach. Living in San Diego we know what a beach is suppose to look like and Singapore could not compete. We took a quick look, snapped a photo, and said pass. This led us to explore Resort World a bit more before heading back to the hotel so I could ice my feet.
The night was still young, but I was ready to call it on account of my feet looking and weighing me down like bricks. However, Grant coaxed me out of bed as he wanted to see the Garden by the Bay in person rather than on top of the MBS. We had met a random girl the night before and she texted that she saw the late show of the lights at the Garden in person and thought it was better. So we trekked down there and got a front-row seat under the largest of the Supertrees. The lights came on and it was spectacular. Well worth it and so I praised Grant for dragging me out. Our hotel was only 10 minutes away and we turned in for the night.
The next morning was reserved for Universal Studios Singapore. Our favorite theme park in the states we wanted to make sure that we saw the only version that we had not been to before. Grant was wide awake by 8 am so we grabbed a pastry from the bakery across the street and chowed down before our Grab arrived. We ordered everything that we generally like, but I ordered a chicken floss with mayo pastry as I had no idea what it was. The chicken had been dehydrated or cooked somehow which made it have the texture of cotton candy.
In the blink of an eye, we were on the island and in line for Universal. The gates opened a smidge before 10 am and we bolted to the Battlestar Galactica ride. This ride is one that is completely new and not found at any of the other parks. It was literally a blast and was probably the smoothest rollercoaster I have been on. Next, we made our way to the Mummy, which is slightly different at each park. This one was decorated the best and utilized their animatronics the best. Not sure if it was our favorite version, but fun seeing the differences.
Jurassic Park was up next and was a ride I was looking forward to as I knew we would get wet. With it being extremely hot, I was excited to have liquid poured on me and not pouring out of me through perspiration. This ride was spectacular. The boats were a bit different, the ride was twice as long, and the drop was terrifying as you were raised by an elevator. This was a complete surprise and a checkmark for the best version in my book Universal Studio's scorecard.
However, as soon as we got off the ride things took a bit of a turn. Everywhere you looked—children. They had somehow infiltrated the gates and began infecting the lines with their presence. The once quick 5 minutes wait ballooned up to 50 and some even to 120 minutes. As spoiled brats who only want “front of the line” privileges, this was unacceptable for us. We completed a circle and went on a few non-thrill rides/shows and called it. Overall, we saw, we rode, and we completed all of the rides that made us want to go to the park in the first place.
Our hotel had a Ramen restaurant that had been awarded a Michelin Star so I had to try that. The non-Ramen stuff was great, but the Ramen itself was a bit too fishy for me. It was very flavorful, but not the flavors I prefer. We headed back to the room to relax for a bit. It wasn’t long before Grant took off to wander around and see the Fullerton Hotel and Riffle Hotels. He mentioned that these were big celebrity hotspots. I wandered over to Chinatown again, unsupervised, and bought more souvenirs then had room for.
Grant suggested that we eat at the Indian place again for dinner, which is not very like Grant when it comes to Indian food so I took him up on the offer. We ate much of the same food but tried a few new things. Our night ended with a ride back to the hotel on a full stomach and me writing this blog up. We are deciding to call it an early night because we have to wake up early for our 9 am flight to Beijing.
Part 3 ending. Part 4 and final part up next.
Christmas Vacation Part 3A: Singapore Sings
Our original flight had us staying in the Philippines, but after trying to figure out logistics we decided to bail on the idea and try for something different. Grant having watched Crazy Rich Asians on HBO for the twelfth time as we are deciding our substitute spot made the decision pretty simple. Everything portrayed in the movie was pretty spot on from a non-crazy rich Asian perspective.
Upon landing in Singapore, we made our way through customs. Having just endured Manila we were not too sure what to expect. However, Singapore has it together. Not only was entering easy, but each border patrol officer’s station had mints for incoming individuals. The notion of this not being torture was just one-way Singapore has made itself into one of the premier destinations for individuals all over the world.
The airport arrival gate contains the largest indoor waterfall in the world, the Jewel, which was conveniently located in Terminal 3 where we landed. A bit of a bummer as the waterfall was not fully operational as it was being cleaned. (Correction: it’s open from 9am to Midnight so we missed it both ways). Even though it was only partially going the surroundings were spectacular. It was the size of an amphitheater designed solely for this waterfall, plants and walking trails. After gawking for a bit we grabbed a “Grab” ride, which is the Southeastern Asian equivalent of UBER. Prices were really reasonable and the whole operation was very well organized and laid out.
Since the flight from the city that shall never be mentioned henceforth got us in at around 1 in the morning we hit the head and fell right to sleep. The next morning I was up way before Grant but kept quiet until I may have inadvertently woke him up from his slumber. I had printed out places to see within walking distance of the hotel and Chinatown was first up. We began walking and quickly ran into the Maxwell Food Center, which locals or travel bloggers call Hawker stations. Essentially it’s a food hall or farmers market for Eastern cuisine with no frills. Not being into Seafood and not wanting our first food experience to be catastrophic for the remainder of the trip—we ate things we knew or could reasonably identify what it was made with/from. All of it was delicious and probably had the best-steamed pork bun ever.
For whatever reason, Tarina, our good friend who we love and adore, began blowing up my phone as she wanted us to pick her up a tea set from a local place in Singapore. I had gotten her list of demands before we left, but she made sure we followed through with her order. So we stopped and picked her up some tea and an amazing tea set with a lion. The attendant was extremely helpful and provided us a tutorial as to how to utilize the set, which just highlighted its uniqueness.
From there we made it to the heart of Chinatown. Unlike other Chinatowns were they are usually dilapidated or had a noxious smell—this one was spectacularly clean, well laid out, and of course, had more shops and restaurants then you could ever want. I, of course, ran from gift shop to gift shop looking for souvenirs and gifts for others. If I have learned anything from traveling its if you see something buy it because you probably will not get a second opportunity. This is probably why we have so many tacky and weird souvenirs in our house.
Our thought for exploring was to take the Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus tour to get a good sampling of the area in a controlled environment. The bus had 4 lines that went to various parts of Singapore and did a sampling of the best places to go. Once aboard we re-visited parts of Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam, and then to the Bay. There are a million things to see at the Bay, but the three things we wanted to see was Marina Bay Sands (MBS is what locals call it), Garden by the Bay, and the Merlion.
Some of the best moments in Crazy Rich Asians happened on the rooftop of the MBS so we knew we had to find a way up. Grant’s mom, Carol, had recently visited Singapore and learned of a trick to “buy a drink” at the rooftop bar as a way of getting up there. The restaurant that we choose was Cei La Ve and was in Tower 3 of MBS. There is an attendant that is at the bottom of the stairs and you buy a $22 food/drink voucher to go up. Even if you don’t use this…by why wouldn’t you…this was still cheaper than the observation deck that cost $26 and as we found up from the top…had a worse view!
Having been able to look out at the surrounding skyscrapers and look out on the Garden by the Bay we knew we wanted to look at the weird living plant-based sculptures next. So we walked from the MBS to the garden and were amazed at the sculptures and the plant life. Best of all it was free minus upcharges for a few of the exhibits. This is clearly the most crowded space in all of Singapore but is large enough to navigate without feeling claustrophobic.
The main downside, if I had to nitpick, would be that Singapore is hot. 85 degrees does not sound too bad but mix that would humidity and beating sun and it’s a sure recipe for needing to change your shorts three times a day. We found out from one of our driver that this weather is actually cool compared to what it normally is like.
After a quick refresher at our hotel, we headed back to the MBS for the night shows of their Supertrees. We wanted to get a bird’s eye view of the show and since we didn’t use the food vouchers they let us back up to the rooftop again for free. There are two light shows in this area, one being the Supertrees at the garden, but the bay itself had a light show that was displayed reminiscent of World of Color at Disneyland.
If our action pack day was not enough we booked an immersive theater show to top us off. It was Vallhalla and the Asgard…it was based on Nordic stories…the story was thin…the audience was abysmal as people either were not paying attention, did not understand, or just plain refused to follow instructions. I ended up being the Champion after wacking a kid in the head three times with a pillow so props for me? I won a shot of honey mead, which I did not want, but drank it just to be done with it. Overall, I had fun, but the theater in the east hasn’t matched that of the West.
Day 1 done. 2 Days to Go.
Christmas Trip Part 2: Get Me Out of Manilla Now...Why Won’t You Let Me Leave...
Manilla is probably the worst place I have ever traveled too. Grant thinks it up there, but not the worst. I literally couldn’t eat meat there because of what I saw and so if you are ever looking to become a vegetarian and need the motivation should visit this place.
Again, waking up at 4 am in SD to LAX, 12-hour flight to Tokyo, 8+ hour layover in Tokyo, 1:30 am flight and 5:30 am arrival to Manilla on minimal sleep is nuts. Grant will be happy to see that I am writing this as he definitely shared his thoughts on this...multiple times...during the stay. I turn into “Travel Luke,” which is essentially a machine that can function on no sleep and food, while Grant functions like normal requiring both. These two people do not get along and butted heads in Manila.
Upon arrival, it is a requirement that you go through customs and border security. Never have we been greeted by such chaos and confusion. If you are a Phillipino and have your appropriate documentation this is a breeze to get through... if you are a foreign traveler...this is your worst nightmare. At 5:30 am, the line was so long that you couldn’t see the end. There was a total of 6 people checking hundreds if not thousands of people in. Each person entering was required to answer questions and take a photo. We found the fastest line and waited well over 2 hours for them to look at us, see how ragged we looked, to quickly stamp our passport and snap a photo of us.
AT&T has a program with most countries where we get the same plan for $10 a month. Shocker...The Philippines is not on this plan and so we had to get a local SIM card. We went with “Globe,” a local cellular provider I had researched and after negotiating the rate she quickly grabbed my phone and did something to it. She was either moving at incredible speed or the sleep deprivation really was getting to us. 15 seconds later she had activated my card, updated my phone to accept the carrier, put in the Sim Card and I was ready to go.
Next up was transportation. If the border crossing was not bad enough we were then greeted by a hoard of people trying to get us to go with their taxi service. This is not uncommon for poverty-stricken countries such as this, but Grant and I were in no mood for such shenanigans. Knowing that there were limited things to do in Manila — Grant booked us a nice hotel near the airport at Resort World. When we had looked it up previously waking was only 15 minutes. We looked it up again and our GPS had changed it to an hour and 20 minutes. So we needed a ride.
Of course, the Taxi wanted close to $40 to go this distance and that was only disclosed to us because we refused to get in the car until he told us upfront. We laughed and said no way. We called the hotel and they had a free shuttle that came every hour. We found it, hopped on, and headed to our hotel for a solid rest.
The hotel room was NY city small, but it had two beds and AC so we were set. I was excited to check out this Resort World area as it was supposed to be nice. It was the strangest thing to me seeing absolutely gorgeous newly built resorts next to shanties that if you sneezed wrong could blowdown. Security was extremely tight and it seemed that every corner had an armed official ready to subdue any malefactor.
I wandered through the resorts, casino, mall area and hit a dead end. Instead of returning the way I came I wanted to see what the area behind the resorts was like. Signs were highlighting how this was a tourist area and it definitely was culturally enriching. With a Chanel and Gucci within sight, the locals in this area were living in rubble and highly unsanitary conditions. The area had local markets and shops designed to allure the clientele from these areas to the area.
It was close to 90 degrees with the sun beating down and meat and fish laid strewn about tables being chopped. If the smell was not putrid enough the number of flys that infested the bloody carcasses definitely would turn your stomach. The stall purveyors would dump the liquified innards and bloody remnants from their overflowing buckets on the street in front where people stood. It was beyond gag-inducing. Animals littered the streets and began to ingest these contents only to turn to the locals for affirmation of their good deeds. That’s a site I will not be able to lose for a while.
The area was littered with Jeepneys (think extended jeeps that act as buses) and trikes that carry locals. The area locals were not pleasant to tourists and I had to be cautious not to be hit by these folks. I wandered around for another 2 hours weaving in and out of the city streets trying to get a feel for how people live.
I made it back to the hotel and came in to find Grant had still been sleeping. He has no interest in Manila and I can’t say I blame him after that depressing outing. There were two places on my list to see and I decided to scratch them both. The sites were equally depressing as one was Intramuros, which was a Spanish fort that served as a prison during some war. It was known for its Spanish architecture and was extremely somber with over 600 bodies of captured soldiers laid in a mass burial spot. The other was the 4th largest mall, but it contained more Western-based stores than Eastern so I passed.
Grant eventually woke up and we rendezvoused to the Marriott restaurant. His thought process was that they would have quality food as a global brand and were less likely to get sick. I ordered the adobo, which was just a chicken-based dish but couldn’t stomach it. I took a few bites and ate the rice only. You know it’s bad if this carnivore who prides himself on getting meat sweats from his consumption is turned off. We left to go to the airport early to avoid having to deal with any unforeseen surprises. Manila was not our scene and if you the blogs were clearly correct...get out as soon as you can. The rest of the islands that made the Philippines are to be something special, but the population and infrastructure need major improvements.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport had been voted constantly the worst airport in the world for years. They recently got off that list, but I am not sure why. There are no kiosks to check-in so everyone must do it at the counter. We got to the airport 3 hours early and it took well over 1.5 hours to just get our boarding pass. Having not spent any money we planned on blowing all of it on random items at the souvenir shop. I found a nice wood carved mask and Grant found cookies, but that was pretty much it. We didn’t have that much time to look around and left with about half the money we brought in.
The next stop of our journey is where I am now writing this blog...Singapore. To be continued.
Christmas Trip Part 1: Subway Surfing in Tokyo
I just realized how bad of a speller I am. Thank god for the person whoever created spell check because my blogs would be non-comprehensible without it. Tokyo is not hard to spell and I somehow keep spelling it Tokoyo. It is now 7 am in Singapore on Saturday the 28th and have a splitting caffeine-related headache. My body is craving caffeine so I took medication that had some to knock it out. Grant is next to me snoring his heart out so going back to sleep is a bit of a challenge. He’s finally catching up on sleep, which is good because we have been running ragged on this crazy whirlwind Asia trip.
We woke up at 4:15 am in San Diego on Christmas morning. Tip: if you want to avoid any traffic in LA leave on Christmas Day as it was wonderful. We checked in, got situated in the American Airlines Lounge and eat breakfast at their buffet. It wouldn’t be LA if you didn’t spot a celebrity so on this trip we ran into Aunt Jackie or Laurie Metcalf from Roseanne/Conners fame. Both of them were getting food from the lounge buffet when I spotted her. I yelled “Grant” pretty loud and both of them looked at me like I was crazy. But, I got his attention and he saw her too. We then played a silly game of guess the celebrity with the rest of the Botoxed LA people in the lounge.
Our first leg of the flight was LA to Tokyo with a long layover. We purchased business class back in May so we could sleep and that’s what we did for the majority of the flight. We landed in Haneda Airport, which was much closer to the city than the larger/more common airport Narita. This helped us get out of the airport faster and let us see more.
All of Tokyo is connected with super intricate subway lines that run throughout the city. Grant and I are used to subways in New York and San Francisco, but this was something else. Fortunately and unfortunately they have an app JapanTravel, which is somewhat useful, but still didn’t tell you which line to try and where it was at.
We had three spots in mind, but after realizing how complicated the subway was we narrowed it down to two. I wanted to see Asakusa, which housed Sensoji, the famous Buddhist Temple and Nakamise shopping center, a street lined with shops, cafes and other random oddities. After running around the sites and hitting up a few stalls we made our way to an owl cafe.
Animal cafes are all the rage and there was a variety of different options. We saw teacup puppies, bunnies and even a cafe dedicated to owls. Even though Grant and I have no particular fascination with owls we were drawn to it because of the crowd that had formed outside its door. We were initially hesitant to waste our money but were drawn in when an American suggest we try it. He told us that these cafes are a bit odd, that they legally can’t charge you for seeing the animals, but can charge you a high price for a “drink,” which is essentially your admission ticket. We paid our admission ticket and walked into what can best be described as a tropical apartment with over 30 owls just hanging out all around you. Definitely, something to see, but next time we should probably do something cutter like puppies rather than owls. Lol.
The next stop was Shibuya, which is home to the famous Shibuya crossing. To both Grant and I this is Tokyo’s version of Times Square with lights, crowds, shops, and restaurants. I do need to point out unlike Times Square, which can be filled with “city farts” and other unpleasantries— Tokyo is clean and very pleasant considering its vast size and crowdedness.
What makes this area special is the crossing. At various points on the same street, the roadway is cut off for cars and passengers go crazy crossing in all directions. It’s a free for all with people zig-zagging for about a minute between each other trying to make it to the corner of their choosing. It also is challenging as many people have just gotten off the subway, are a bit disoriented and are quickly trying to figure out where to go amongst hundreds of locals and tourists. Pure chaos!
Surprising, Grant was the one that was inquisitive about the food. We didn’t have time for a full meal, but we did make a stop at a few stalls. When we were walking down a street we smelled something delicious, which could only be compared to the states when someone is making waffle cones. We walked down to Shibuya Square and saw the lights and bells of good fortune. On the way back we found the smell, which was a melon pan. It is a form of bread that is a combination of dough and cookie dough. So we, of course, had to try sweet strawberry bread and a savory cheese and mayo bread. Both were inhaled in a matter of seconds.
Nervous about the commute and missing our flight we went back to hang out at the Japan Airlines lounge. On our way back we realized that the Shibuya station was home to the famous Akita statue memorializing Hachiko the loyal dog so that was a fun surprise to see. This station is absolutely massive and this time we were a bit stumped as to how to return to the airport. Unfortunately, tourist information closes at 8 pm so we were on our own looking for a way back. I eventually spotted a stop that we used previously and thought it would be wise to at least make it somewhere we had been previously to get to go where we needed too. It worked out and we made our way to the lounge.
Before each trip, I try and pull out local currency so that way we don’t have to worry about exchanging anything in the country. Japan is very expensive, but I pulled out enough to make it work and had some cash leftover. The airport had a few random souvenirs, but anything we wanted including a rice bowl was out of our price range. I settled for a 3D Pikachu puzzle, which seemed appropriate considering Japan's fascination with anime. The other option was flavored KitKat bars, but the price for 8 miniature pack...like the size that is handed out without pause in Halloween (2 sticks) was 8 dollars and I refused. Back at the lounge, they had canisters full of regular bars so I routinely would go up and take a handful of these free ones so I have something to bring back to coworkers.
The flight departed at 1:30 am and mind you...we had not slept anywhere but on the plane out to Tokyo so we were ready for this flight just to sleep. We got on the plane and after take-off immediately went to bed. If we had known what we know now about our next destination, Manilla, I think Grant and I would have chosen to miss the flight and got a good night's rest. To be continued...
Ps. The Toilets in Japan are AMAZING!
Crossing Borders into Mexico and Costa Rica
We haven’t traveled internationally in a little while so we decided in June to look for something exciting. Being so close to the border affords us the opportunity to look at airports in Tijuana as well as San Diego. There just so happened to have been a trip from Tijuana to San Jose, Costa Rica in October for $155 roundtrip. It was a short Thursday through Sunday trip, but heck for that price why not.
The Cross Border Express is a secured border crossing that allows people to skip the traditional border crossing and go straight from San Diego to the Tijuana Airport or vice versa. There is an additional cost of $15 per way, but from a time standpoint it cannot be beaten. We went through the entire process in less than 15 minutes and most of that was just walking across the border in the air-conditioned bridge.
Tijuana airport is surprisingly nice. With the border not being the nicest of places our expectations were low, but as soon as we walked in we were shocked that it actually was nicer than Terminal 1 in San Diego. We ate a torta, which was delicious and we were on our way to Mexico City. The flight landed early and so we began our 17-hour layover by checking into our hotel. The good news was that Uber is in Mexico City so we called an Uber and were to our hotel in a jiffy.
Most 5-Star hotels should have an individual that speaks more than Spanish at their front desk, but not at this place. We struggled through language barriers but eventually got our room. We were escorted up to our hotel by this random English speaking woman. Both Grant and I thought she was an employee staff, but come to find out she was a resident of the hotel. There are two towers – one that is for guests and the other is for owners. It was all very strange and it definitely got weird when Grant tried to tip her for the service. We politely ushered her out of our room as she clearly wanted to stay in chat.
Our first stop was to the Zocalo in Mexico City. This was their city center and outdoor mall. It was hustling and bustling and something that we had not seen on our previous trip. We walked around and saw some really interesting characters. We stayed and wandered around for a little bit before we hopped in an Uber to La Proveleta.
The last time we were there it ranked on my top 5 steaks I have ever had. This time around it was bad. Like the top 5 worst steaks I have ever had. There was clearly a change that went on so this restaurant shall never be mentioned again. After that disappoint outing, we went to go get a churro from the same place we went last time. Unfortunately, it was closed. So the whole evening left a bad taste in our mouth figuratively and literally.
The next morning we got up and headed to the Mexico City airport. I am sorry, but one men’s bathroom with 4 urinals and 4 stalls for 10 gates is not enough. We boarded the plane and got the aisle and middle seat. The problem was that there was a large Mexican man who was put in the window. This individual did not fit into one seat. The armrest could not be put down and so he extended into Grant’s seat. These seats are not very large to begin with and as the plane was going off he encroached more and more. Eventually, the man was laying on top of Grant and he was wearing him like a blanket. I offered to change seats and so I got to endure that the last hour. The 4-hour flight felt like an eternity, but we had officially arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica.
All the sites that are out there say—use Uber. It’s cheaper and easy to use. What they do not tell you is that Uber is ILLEGAL in Costa Rica! So when we made our way outside we were accosted by taxi driver after taxi driver. Pushing through the hoard we were advised by the app to meet at the bus station. Huh? That’s strange…so we asked where the bus station was. The driver was there in no time and he politely asked one of us to sit in the front. Odd, so we asked why? He said it is because Uber is illegal in Costa Rica, and we must act like we know each other to avoid penalties. Cool!
We arrived in now time to our resort, Xandari Resort and Spa, and were greeted with coconuts. It was off-season in Costa Rica so we knew it would be a little empty, but we were not expecting to have the whole resort to ourselves! Our room was great, nice view, beds were fine…there were a salt-water pool and Jacuzzi right outside our door. The coolest feature of the property was that there were 5 waterfalls on-site that we could trek to.
After changing from our airplane clothes, we were off with a bamboo walking stick in hand to the rainforest. We made it to the first waterfall and then the rain hit. We were ill-prepared as the rain caught us off guard. Instead of turning back we trekked deeper into the rainforest to see the additional rainfalls. Soaking wet we made our way back to the pool where instead of hosing off—we cleaned ourselves in the community pool we commandeered for ourselves.
That evening we headed back to the main lobby where the restaurant was attached. After having lackluster food in Mexico we were crossing our fingers that the food here would be good. Thankfully it delivered. Again, there was more wait staff than guests as Grant and I had the entire place to ourselves. Upon returning home, Grant was the first to try the bathroom toilet. When you flush the toilet – it talks back. I really thought that the food was not settling well with Grant. It wasn’t until I tried it that I realized what was happening.
The main reason why I booked this trip was my desire to go white river rafting. We had done this in Tahoe recently, but it was a little to calm for us. We had a private driver who drove us the two hours to the tour. We were the only two people at the rafting company. So instead of getting in a large raft – Grant and I both went in small kayaks with a personal tour guide. They were a lot of fun and all of us fell out a few times. My tour guide actually fell out the most, which is probably scary for most people. They let us cliff dive in some of the deeper parts and we concluded the tour with big smiles on our faces.
We ate lunch at a local eatery and again were the only people there. The whole city was a ghost town. After eating, we went on a chocolate tour, which was really cool. We went through each and every step of making chocolate. But what made it really cool was that we actually did each step that we could. Granted it was like a cooking show on TV where we “grounded the cacao beans” and then came out the fine grain result, but it was still cool. We got to try the cacao drink of the gods and then we added the sugar and ate the paste, then through the magic of Costa Rican chefs we got to eat the bars. It was chocolate overload, but a really fun experience.
The driver picked us up from the tour and we went back to the hotel. After parting ways with him, we hung out in the pool and jacuzzi just soaking in all of Costa Rica. There is something so peaceful about hanging out in a pool in the rain. The next morning, I woke up super early and cleaned the entire hotel room. Grant woke up to all his clothes folded and myself packed and ready to go. We cleaned the bill up with the hotel and Uber was there in a jiffy to take us to the airport.
Just a side note—Costa Rice is very expensive. For a third world country, the rates that they charge foreigners are ridiculous. There is a large western influence in certain areas (predominately tourist areas). Maybe I am just a little bitter that we spent $35 at the airport on a 6-inch Quiznos sandwich and a ¼ pound Smashburger and fries.
Day 3, 4 and 5 in Bali
Day 3
Water the Elephants
After a disappointing end to Day 2, we wanted to make sure our next day was better. The good news was Day 3 was the day I was looking forward to the most. Our day was, to begin with, white river rafting, followed by riding elephants at a sanctuary, and ending with a two-hour spa service.
To everyone’s dismay we had to wake up a bit early (8 am), but we had prearranged with the hotel to have our breakfast made early so it wasn’t all that rough. Our driver/tour guide Alid was on time and ready to drive us to the river rafting. What we did not know was that the river rafting and elephant experience were at the same place.
After a minimal wait, we were off and trekking down a path in a jungle to our river. What we learned quite quickly in Bali was that there really was no safety instructions and we kind of could do whatever we wanted as long as we tipped. To this end, we hopped in the river blindly and were met almost instantly with repeated drops. We quickly became soaked and remained that way throughout as there were waterfalls and rapids that came crashing into our poor raft.
Our tour guide was a bit quirky. He tried to make jokes, but they were strange and only half funny. His movements in the boat were also counter-intuitive. Why we would turn 270 degrees instead of a quick 90 sharp turn bewildered me, but we got through it. At one point he found it funny to ask us to paddle back into a drop and our boat became flooded. Instead of being concerned he laughed and started splashing us with the water in the boat. We stopped at a few places and cliff dived. Eventually, we got back in the raft and completed the experience.
After a quick shower, we walked to the other end of the park and started our elephant experience. The elephants came quickly and we hopped on them. The only thing holding us in was a single elastic strap that was knotted. After no instructions or warning, we were off riding an elephant. Unsurprising, it was not a smooth experience and going downhill on an elephant is quite challenging.
We made our way around the park and to a watering/bathing hole for the elephant. Up until this point, we were sitting on a bench on the elephants back. This is when the guide who was leading asked if we wanted to change spots. Meaning I would be driving the elephant and sitting right behinds its head. With its big ears flapping and hitting my knees, we submerged ourselves in the water and went back to where we started. Holding on for dear life the elephant sat down to pose for pictures and I was forced to clutch the elephant as to not fall off. All the while the guide laughing and coaxing me on. The elephant had repeated this path numerous times I am sure, got up, and made its way back to the launch pad.
After getting back Grant and Erica were given the same choice and Grant, of course, wanted to try this for himself. It was obvious that this unique opportunity was not without calculation as it was clear that the guide wanted remuneration. We obliged as this is likely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
We met our driver and we started the journey to the spa. It was frustrating for us as the tour company did not plan our tours correctly. Instead of going to a local spa we had to go to where we were in Day 2. A person can only be so agitated and any tension quickly melted away when the spa service began. After an hour Balinese massage, we completed a body scrub and a tub soak. Our relaxed bodies sauntered back to the car to be driven to dinner.
We ate dinner on the sand watching the sunset. It was nice, but not that memorable.
On the way back we asked our driver to stop at a store where we could pick up a few souvenirs. Bali is all about negotiation and being a tourist means everything is 5x as expensive as it needs to be. Our driver scored major brownie points with me as he took us to an actual store that had all of the souvenirs that flooded the market at rock bottom prices. We didn’t have to negotiate at all and were able to get anything we wanted. I stocked up and spent 1.5 million IDR...or $100 USD.
Day 4
Relaxing at the Cave; Sipping Holy Water
At dinner the day before we reviewed our itinerary and realized our tours had us zig-zagging throughout all of Indonesia. We decided to forgo going to the volcano we had planned and see the waterfall, elephant cave, and the holy spring temple. Traffic had played a large role in our choices as Bali has more traffic then one would imagine. The main road is the equivalent of one lane in the US divided into two with cars and scooters going in both directions.
As I tried to wake Grant up in the morning he politely asked to stay at the hotel and skip the day's activities. Erica and I then headed out as a duo to the waterfall. When we arrived we were shocked by the number of people. This was clearly a tourist hotspot as there were more people here than any of the previous locations we visited.
We got out and made our way down the never-ending staircase. Along the way, they had really great spots to take pictures. It was clear they were pandering to those that wanted selfies or Instagram moments, but we were rather receptive to this stopping at each spot. The waterfall itself was nice and we got some great photos. The way back up was torture and an elevator was not an option. Knowing we wanted to make this a quick tour we pressed on and were back on the road to the elephant cave temple.
Another tourist destination, the Elephant Cave Temple got its name for a cave that was used to pray to the elephant god, Ganesha. What was really cool was that there were statues that acted as water fountains you could drink from to purify yourself. Both Erica and I took part in this ritual drinking what and cleaning ourselves in this holy water. After wandering around a bit more we made our way to a few souvenirs shops. In an attempt to get the best deal we decided to speak in a different language. I showed my skill at Spanglish and Erica German. It sorta worked and we picked up a few of the souvenirs we missed the day before.
Our last stop was the holy spring temple where you actually bathe in the holy water. As customary, men and women are required to were sarongs into the temple. I grabbed mine, but Erica did not grab one as she had been cleared at the other temples with her long dress. When the time came to hop into the water I began waffling. Should I or shouldn’t I. I was a bit ill, the water was cold, I had open sores on my feet, but I said fine why not. Right, when I was about to get in an attendant stopped Erica and asked her to put on a sarong. You could only get this at the front as we didn’t have one and I took this as divine intervention to skip this one. We left after navigating through a maze of gift shops where they literally were grabbing you and forcing you into their stores.
Back at the hotel, we ate at the hotel restaurant, got another massage and swam at our pool.
Day 5
Scooter Crashing Requires Another Massage Before Performance
Our last day in paradise and are truly only free day of the trip. We got up slowly and went to pick up the scooters we rented from the hotel. After learning how to turn them on we made our way down to the rice fields. We stopped for a little while and walked around looking at the fields. Everything is so green and lush in a Bali because of the extensive canals they created that feed water everywhere.
We hopped back on our bikes and drove to a restaurant that was recommended. It was okay, but Grant was thrilled because they had chicken parmigiana. Having eaten nothing but rice and chicken for the last few days I could understand why he made the choice. After settling the bill, we decided to stop attempting to drive in this crazy city as we were going to get run over.
As we left Grant did not turn the bike hard and fast enough so he fell over instead of crashing into the ditch. With a little bit of a bruised ego, there was no convincing him of staying out any later. We rode back to the hotel where we decided to get more spa services. If this seems excessive to anyone—1. It definitely was, but 2. The services were so cheap that it seemed dumb not too. After a 2 hour massage and facial we cleaned up for the hotels pre-New Years party.
The hotel turned the top layer of a rice terrace into a stage where we were greeted with a show full of local villagers performing their various talents and an all you could eat buffet. The food was good and the talent was interesting. Having seen nearly every show in Vegas our standards are pretty high for variety shows. After watching the first act we definitely lowered those quite a bit. However, it was fascinating watching their talents and learning what Indonesia considered art. The show ended at the same time we needed to head to the airport so we slipped out a few minutes early.
We drove to the airport and started our 22-hour flight back home. The trip was great and our first of many trips to Asia. The lifestyle and living conditions are extremely different and really just shows how truly diverse the world really is.