Author: Robert

On our journey from Malawi to Zambia our guide explained the accommodations for our next stop. Because of the large hippo and crocodile population where we would be camping, we were instructed to flash our flashlights to alert the park rangers when we wanted to leave the tent when it was dark. Apparently the hippos and crocs wander around the area where the campground is. The next question our guide asked was, “Does anyone want to upgrade to a private bungalow?” — um, yes we do.

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South Luangwa National Park is a world-class safari destination. We explored the park on two separate game drives – one morning and one afternoon into night. The animal life in Zambia is supposed to be fantastic and we were excited to get on our way.

Our game drives did not disappoint. Our morning drive was only delayed by a little “traffic” jam. We had to stop more than once for the elephants to cross our path. Not a bad way to start our day.

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Our time at South Luangwa came to an end and we had to make the long drive to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to end our tour. During the 3 days of driving we viewed quaint villages dotting the sides of the road. We were able to stop in a few to take in their markets and people.

Unfortunately, like all good things, our time in Africa had to end – as does our world tour. The Allen World Tour has come to an end as we fly back to the USA. The tour is over but our love and passion for travel continues. We will follow up from back in the USA and keep everyone informed about our next adventure – Getting a JOB!!!!!

Our next stop was a bucket list item for both of us – Serengeti National Park.  The park is internationally renowned for its game viewing and of course the wildebeest migration.  The drive from Arusha was long (6 hours) but as soon as we crossed into the Serengeti we were rewarded with fantastic game sightings.  Most exciting to us (and to most people on a safari) were the big cats.

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Within about 5 miles of the park entrance we stopped for a family of cheetah that were right on the side of the road. Shortly after this stop we found a pride of lions with their meal – poor zebra.  

Camping in the park is an experience in itself.  The campsite has no walls or fences to keep the campers in or more importantly the big animals out. So needless to say, when we got up to go to the restroom at 2:00 AM and shined the light around, we were greeted with the glowing eyes of a hyena. We realized we really didn’t need to walk to the restroom after all. Okay, I know what you’re thinking – are you just not drinking any water? Yes we are.  But, life is about choices – restroom 50 meters, tree 2 meters – our decision was not that hard. 

On the first morning we arose to 30+ elephants roaming though the campsite. It was truly a lifetime meaningful moment.  Our second and third  days of  game drives brought more fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities including the elusive leopard and many more lions, gazelles, hyenas, impalas, thousands of migrating wildebeest and much more. The Serengeti is truly an amazing place.       

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After the Serengeti we spent a cold night on top (approximately at 7900 feet above sea level) of the Ngorongoro Crater in preparation for our crater game drive the next day. The crater was formed when a large volcano exploded and then collapsed on itself 2 to 3 million years ago.  The crater is 610 meters deep and it’s floor covers 260 square kilometers (about 100square miles).  The natural enclosure of the crater walls allow for fantastic game viewing all year round, and our day was no exception.

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Although these two fantastic game parks were our main reason for picking this itinerary for this overland tour, we still have some great stops left. Next we are “On the road to Zanzibar”.

Our cruise continued from Pitcairn Island bound for French Polynesia.  Our cruise had four sea days and the weather finally turned nice.

During these days the housekeeping staff created the Maasdam Zoo, where there were literally hundreds of towel animals all over the deck. It was so fun!

FAKARAVA – FRENCH POLYNESIA

Our first stop in French Polynesia was the island of Fakarava.  This small atoll was the perfect place to start or trip through paradise.  The ship’s tours were expensive and not exactly what we wanted so we set off on foot with Gillian and John to do our first “Baguette and Beer” excursion.  The excursion name should be trademarked. We stopped by the local market bought a six pack of beer and a baguette and set off to find a perfect place to relax and enjoy the day.

Sunglasses – Check            Beer – Check            Shark – What the heck??????

RANGIORA – FRENCH POLYNESIA

Our second stop, was just as breathtaking – we opted for the same tour as the first and the Beer and Baguette Excursion was underway.

BORA BORA- FRENCH POLYNESIA

Our third stop was on the Island of Bora Bora.  Missy and I,  emboldened by our shore shark encounters, ventured into shark territory to see what we could see.

MOOREA- FRENCH POLYNESIA

Moorea is only 11 miles from our final destination of Tahiti.  Missy and I planned on going back to Moorea after the cruise for a few days so we really wanted to take an excursion.  We found another shark excursion and were ready to dive back in.

TAHITI- FRENCH POLYNESIA (the departure point)

Papeete, Tahiti was our final stop on our 34 day cruise.  We were sad to see our days on the Maasdam come to an end.  We did, however,  have 2 more weeks to look forward to in French Polynesia.

 

 

 

Easter Island has long been the subject of myth, debate for historians and even a few alien conspiracies.  It has filled dreams of adventure of remote tropical places, full of unknowns which adds to its allure.  It is a bucket list for many (including both of us).  And – it lived up to the hype.

It took 5 days at sea to reach our destination of Rapa Nui  which the native name for Easter Island.  To say that it is remote is a gross understatement.  The nearest inhabited island is 1,289 miles away, the nearest town with a population over 500 is 1,619 miles away and the nearest point on any continent is South America at a whopping 2,182 miles. Yes, we were in the middle of nowhere.

The first inhabitants of Easter Island arrived from western Polynesia around 1200 A.D.  These first residents created huge stone statues, or moai, that are the source of debate even to this day.  The moai were carved to show the living faces of their ancestors.

The debate on the moai stems from the fact that most are from the Rano Raraku quarry and then transported to other places around the island.  This sounds simple enough but the moai are incredibly large and heavy.  The tallest erected moai was almost 33 feet high and weighed over 80 tons.  There also is distance, some of the moai had to be moved up to 11 miles – quite a feat for a culture that did not have cranes, trucks, or anything mechanical to move these giants.

We were fortunate to be able to tender in from the ship for both days of our stay, many cruise ships are unable to send any tenders at all due to rough seas – imagine coming all this way and not being able to land even for one day (one couple we met stated that this was their 3rd attempt at landing).  We took a two-day tour that covered the entire island.  As luck would have it our friends Gillian and John were on our same tour.

Our first stop was, in my opinion, the most breathtaking.  The Rano Raraku quarry is were 94% of all of the moai were carved.  When the local people stopped creating moai they just stopped – statues in mid construction, statues laying about, and statues in mid transfer – just stopped.  It was fascinating to see all of these huge moai in various stages of construction.  But why did they stop so suddenly?  The legend goes that in a tribal war, the ruling class lost and the lower class (quarry workers) won.  It is also believed that after the war all of the construction ceased immediately and even the erect moai were toppled over.  Several of the sites have been restored, starting in 1955, while many still lay in ruins.

Our next stops were just as amazing as we went to many of the sites were the moai are standing on their ahu, or platforms.

In touring the island and lectures on the ship we learned about another fascinating part of Rapa Nui – the Bird Man competition.  This “race” was to determine the dominant tribe of the island for the next year.  Each chief had a member of his tribe run the race. The chief of winner was to rule island for the following year. The race consisted of running down a hill, scaling down a 300 meter cliff, swimming 1 km through currents and sharks to a small island, finding an egg from a sooty tern bird and returning to the top of the cliff with the egg intact.  It sounds much easier than it looks as we peered over the cliff at the island below.

The mystery of the island, the awesome feats of engineering and artistry, as well as the incredible history and culture of the island has made our time on Rapa Nui one of my personal favorites of our entire time so far.  But, then again, the trip is not over yet…

 

 

There are a few reasons for us to excited to be in Bali.

1- This was our first time back since we were married on this island 6 years ago.

2- Beds are a good thing

3- A little down time is a great thing

4- Okay, it’s Bali – I don’t think I need any more reasons.

We chose to stay in a more remote area as the area by the airport is mostly a party zone with nightclubs and bars, not the true Bali experience.  After our 2 AM arrival and an hour long wait to go through passport control, we had someone waiting for us to take us to an airport hotel to sleep.  Our short stay in Denpassar was our first bed in 21 nights so to be fair it was magnificent.

We planned on going to the far western area of the island but the reports of Mount Agung being active had us worried.  Our driver put these fears to rest when he told us “it’s okay, mountain is sleeping”.  To put this in to perspective Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii in 79 AD, Mount St Helens erupted in 1980, Mount Agung last spewed enough ash to shut down all air traffic, on Tuesday – – – –  Okay, it’s sleeping—let’s go.

We were glad we did.  As Mt Agung, as promised, was sleeping the entire time we were at the shores in the town of Amed.  Amed is a small fishing town that has a few guest houses that cater to mostly divers.  We stayed at the BBQ Guest House in our own private bungalow, complete with a day bed on the front porch. Our time in Amed was spent relaxing on the beach, snorkeling, kayaking, watching the locals make salt, and going out on a traditional fishing boat to catch Mackerel.

Snorkeling in Amed was some of the best we have ever had with tons of fish and the clarity was incredible. I felt like Jacques Cousteau witnessing the abundant sea life.

We left for fishing under the cover of darkness in our 3 person boat with outriggers for stabilization.  As we reached the open ocean the outriggers worked – kind of.  The fishermen do not use a rod or reel, just a roll of fishing line and a baited hook.  The fishing was poor, but the views were outstanding.

We were fortunate enough to be able to go to an Indonesian  coffee tasting.  This tasting had many different kinds of coffees and teas, but most famously the Kopi Luwak coffee.  Yes, the same Kopi Luwak that was discussed in the movie Bucket List.  For those who may have missed this movie, 1 – watch it – it’s a great movie, and 2 – Kopi Luwak is made from coffee cherries which have been eaten and passed through the digestive track of the Asian Palm Civet.  So in a word – we drank Civet poo, and liked it – the coffee was wonderful.

Our time in Amed ended as we reluctantly left the island of Bali. We boarded a small boat to bound for the tiny island of Gili Tranawan off the coast of Lombok.

That’s 3775.6 miles for those not quick with the conversion.  That is slightly further than Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington (on 2 lane roads, no Interstates).  That is how far we drove our trusty van in Australia.  I know we still have another post for Australia (some awesome places in the final days) but we have had a fair amount of questions about the drive, the van and camping.

Our van, a Toyota Hitop, was our transportation, our kitchen, bedroom, and when raining our living room.

The drive was, in a word, long.  The quality of roads is not to U.S. standards and if you didn’t figure out from the title – Australia is big.  The Toyota was a 5 speed stick, so Missy was not able to drive.  We could drive approximately 400 Kilometers on 3/4 tank of gas.  We spent $729.08 in gas over the entire trip (I know, I may be a little anal on keeping logs).

As Missy said earlier we used an app called Wiki Camps to find different sites on our route.  We could camp for 48 hours with no power plug-in.  This used a battery for the fridge and lights and our van carried 35 liters of water.  We preferred trying to only use unpowered sites ever other day for fear of the 48 hours being a maximum.  The unpowered sites ranged from a park with public toilets and that is the only amenities offered to sites with access to hot showers, gas grills, and full camp kitchen.  The powered sites typically had access to hot showers (one made us pay 1 dollar for a 5 minute shower), camp kitchens and clean toilets.  On a few

occasions we had a powered site that had a private bathroom and shower for each site — I know, pretty fancy right?  In the south most camp sites were ghost towns as it was very cold, but as we traveled north the campsites were more and more crowded – until at the end we actually had a difficult time finding a site with vacancy.

During our time we were able to enjoy a few camp fires – (five fires, six matches – my dad should be proud), cook fantastic food (in the van, in the camp kitchens, and on the fire), memorize every song on our road trip play list, see some amazing scenery, see some unique animals, meet some great people, spend time in our 54th country/7th continent of this wonderful journey, and in all of that we never once got lost (This one I have to take Missy’s word on – I would  drive and she would always say she knows exactly where we are – – – I wonder…..)

Our 21 days of camping in Australia was wonderful, we saw so much more and experienced so much more than if we just chose to fly to a few spots.  Next time I think we will drive the other way around the country through Western Australia and the Northern Territories, this will be a little more challenging as we need a 4×4 and take a little more time.  Always leave something to come back for.

 

 

 

Our road trip continued to the beautiful country of Austria.  Our travels, in the past, have taken us to Vienna but not to the mountains.  Boy were we missing out.  The Alps in spring look like Julie Andrews should appear any moment spinning around and singing about a female deer.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  We stayed in a small village about 25 miles outside Innsbruck. Alpbach, is the quintessential alpine village – full of charm, character and even had people wearing lederhosen.  We enjoyed hiking and staying in the mountains.  We even hugged an Austrian tree (Why, I do not know). When we arrived our host asked if we wanted free tickets to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain –  UMMM Yes.  The views from the top were fantastic – the weather could not have been better.

In the city of Innsbruck we enjoyed going to a local street festival and seeing the sights.  The historic downtown is ripe with history and architecture. We were in Innsbruck on Whit Monday so everything was closed but the restaurants and gelato stands so we had to make due.  We were able to see the three most famous landmarks downtown ; 15th Century City Tower (Left), Helbinghaus Building (bottom left) and The Golden Roof (bottom right). On our last night we went to a Tryolean Evening which is a show full of yodeling and traditional dancing. It was wonderful!

Leaving Innsbruck we drove to Salzburg.  Along the way we stopped at the ruin Ehrenburg castle in Reutte,  Austria.  Susan and Ken opted not to join us on the 25 minute hike to the top of the hill from the parking lot.  I’m not sure, but I think it was not the hike but the Highline 179 Pedestrian Suspension Bridge at the end of the hike that made them not go.  The bridge was awesome and we were rewarded with an amazing view at the end of the trek – well worth it.

Salzburg’s historic center (Altstadt) is internationally renowned for its baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The City oozes charms and we enjoyed our time there immensely.  We went to the Salzburg Cathedral and enjoyed the ornate art and architecture, we loved the Salzburg Castle, we went to visit Mozart’s home (now a fantastic museum), we soaked in the overall charm of the city, and according to Missy we ate the worlds best sausages (street food that even Missy ate twice).

In an effort to get this well overdue post posted we are not adding any photos of Salzburg, not because it is not a beautiful city – it very much is.  But because,  we just can not get internet strong enough to download anything.  We will add to the website when we have an opportunity.

Our time in Europe continued . . . . .

 

 

 

Wow, we have been in a whirlwind of travel the last few two weeks since our last post.  We continued on our cruise stopping at the beautiful Greek Island of Crete, spent my birthday having wonderful tapas in Barcelona, visited with our friends the Zartmanns in Malaga, Spain, and finally we are currently in central Europe with Missy’s mother and stepfather.  With all of this going on we have fallen behind on blogging and we have received a few questions like “where the heck are you two now” and “Hello…”.  We are alive and traveling – sorry for the delay.  Here are some of the highlights from the past two weeks.

The Island of Crete was the perfect place to land for our return to Europe.  The warm people and breezes; the cool Mediterranean waters and cold beer all welcomed us back to the continent.  We walked the streets looking at the fantastic shops (maybe even bought a souvenir or two) then made our way to a quiet beach on the outskirts of town had a much anticipated Greek salad.  It was in a word – – Perfect.  The breeze, the views, the beer, the salad – it was good to be back in Europe.

Unfortunately our cruise had to end, but on the brightside it ended in one of our favorite countries . . . Spain.  We absolutely love Spain: The food, the people, the architecture, the culture, the food (did I already say that?)  We docked and went directly to our hostel right on Las Ramblas.  We, of course, could not check in at 9:00 AM so we set off on a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter.  After a short nap in the afternoon we met with our friend Clo to celebrate my birthday enjoying tapas in the city.

Our next stop in Spain was to the city of Malaga to see our friends the Zartmanns.  Last year they lived in a very small town and we were excited to see them in their new city.   After so much time in Asia we were especially excited for our welcome dinner -TACO NIGHT!!!

On one of the following nights Missy used some of her Italian cooking school knowledge to make some pasta with Zalie (7) and Hazel (4).  The pasta was delicious, even if we had to vacuum the floor a little.  We had a wonderful time spending time with the family seeing the sites of Malaga.  This city has so much to offer and is absolutely beautiful.  We managed to have our final evening on a date night with Dave and Naceem where we enjoyed a little relaxation and maybe a drink or two.

The time flew by in Spain and we took a flight to Frankfurt, Germany to meet up with Susan and Ken Brackenhoff (Missy’s mother and her husband).  Now, speaking of Ken and Susan, I realize that they are downstairs waiting for us to eat breakfast.  So we will continue with the Rhine river soon.

Varanasi is a holy city for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is also one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world with records dating back to the 11th century BC. Historically the city was known by two other names; Banaras used by the British and Kashi is the ancient name.

For Buddhist, the city is holy because of the once forested area outside the city where Buddha gave his very first sermon. Buddhist make pilgrimages from all over the world to see the sacred site. The place is now called Sarnath. Buddha gave his sermon under a tree in around the year 600 BC. Two hundred years later a king came to that same spot and saw people walking all over it. He was a devoted follower of the Buddhist faith. He believed the site to be sacred and ordered a stupa (solid temple) to be built

on the exact spot so that no one could disrespect that site any longer. The original stupa still stands. Since the stupa was raised many monasteries and religious sites were built around it. Most of the building are in ruins from the Muslim kings who sent in their armies to destroy all things Buddhist. That is why less than 5% of Indians today are Buddhist. Most people fled to China and Southeast Asia.

Hindus believe the city was the home of Shiva one of the three principal deities of Hinduism. The River Ganges which flows along the edge of the city is an important part of their faith. Many rituals are performed by the local Hindus in honor of the deities. We had an opportunity to witness several of them.

The most famous is the Aarti that is performed every night in unison by 7 Bramas (holy men). The Aarti is a ceremony to honor Goddess Ganga (Ganges River Goddess) and thank her for her blessings. It is also a ritual of putting her to sleep at night. During the ceremony, the priests use incense, fire, flowers, smoke, peacock fans and yak hair while chanting mantras to Goddess Ganga. Thousands of Indian pilgrims come to Varanasi every day to be a part of the rituals. Today there are a small amount of western tourists that come to witness it as well. 

Our walk back from the Aarti ceremony was crazy. There are thousands of people, cars honking, rickshaws, motorbikes, salesman, beggars, cows in the road and very heavy traffic. We made it but it was intense!

 

Early in the morning, along the bank of the Ganges there is a smaller ceremony performed to wake up Goddess Ganga. We were there at sunrise around 5:30am to be a part of this ritual. The same items are used during the chanting of the mantras. During this time of the morning Hindus come to the riverbank to bathe in the holy water of the Ganges. They believe that their sins are washed away and their soul becomes as pure as a new-born baby.

Just after sunrise we took a boat trip along the river to get a view of the activities from the water.

The local people use the river for many other daily tasks as well. Some of the hotels wash their linen and towels in the river. There are fisherman bringing the catches to market. People are doing their dishes and personal laundry in the river water. We even saw people drinking the water directly from the river.

One of the most interesting sites along the riverbank are the crematoriums. Hindus believe that when they die, they should be cremated and so their soul goes back into the elements of life (earth, sky, air, water and fire). It must be done in open air so their being is free to move on. If done inside, it may become trapped. Further, if they are cremated in the holy city of Varanasi and their ashes put into the holy River Ganges, then they will be able to skip their reincarnations are go straight to heaven. Along the River Ganges in Varanasi the fires burn 24 hours a day every day of the year. It is common to see a  body wrapped in white linen being prepared for cremation. There are many other parts to this very important ritual to ensure happiness for the deceased in the afterlife.

Since temperatures reach well over 100 degrees during the day, we set out on a heritage walk through the alleys of old town. For two hours we followed our guide through the twists and turns of the narrow streets exerting much effort to avoid the motorbikes, cows, dogs, monkeys, goats, trash and poop and cover the streets. While fascinating, it is also extremely dirty which makes the smell hard to handle.

All through out old town people are selling flowers that are used as gifts to the gods and goddess in the temples, decoration for weddings and during the daily ceremonies along the river.

Our time in India was filled with history and culture. After 10 days we had to say goodbye and continue our trip with a stop in Dubai.

Our Central Vietnam journey continues…

At Phong Nha Cave we explored this World Heritage Site.  We entered the cave by boat and journeyed inside about one and a half kilometers, seeing the beautiful rock formations. We were able to get off the boat a walk the last 1/2 Kilometer inside the cave to exit on foot.  During rainy season the entrance to the cave is completely submerged.

We went to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, The My Son Sanctuary.  The ancient Hindu complex was built between the 4th and 14th centuries then the site was abandoned late in the 1500s.  The area, as with other sites in the jungle, became grown over and “lost”.  In 1898 it was rediscovered by French Explorers.  Unfortunately, during the Vietnam-US war the Viet Cong used My Song as a hiding place thinking that they would be safe in a holy site – the US bombed the area destroying many of the temples.

Our final stop in Central Vietnam was the town of Hoi An.  This charming village was a trading port from the 15th to the 19th century.  The charm is shown best in the UNESCO recognized historic old town area where every evening motorized traffic is prohibited which allows the town to be the quaint lantern lit town that it has been in the past.

We spent our time in the town walking from our hotel to the old quarter (about 1 mile) and looking in the shops, historical buildings, and eating in their wonderful restaurants.  We barely had time in our day to sit by the pool and drink our fresh banana daiquiris.

 

 

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) is the largest city in Vietnam with a population of approximately 17 million and approximately 12 million motor bikes.  Just crossing the street you take your life into your hands.

We were able to see the French colonial buildings as well as some of the former political buildings (the capital moved to Hanoi after the war).

The final stop in this beautiful country was the Mekong Delta where we were able to board a boat and experience the waterways first hand.  The highlight was visiting the floating market and seeing all of the local fruits as well as other items for sale, we even bought some iced coffee off the boat.

Our time in Vietnam has been fantastic.  We saw some of the most beautiful scenery and met some wonderful people.  We hated to leave but we are off to the exotic country of Nepal.