Galungan-Kuningan: A feast for the eyes in Bali

Penjors line the street in Bali Indonesia
Penjors line the street in Bali Indonesia during the Galungan-Kuningan holiday

BALI, INDONESIA – Galungan gets underway this week here in Bali.

A major holiday celebrated by Balinese Hindu people, Galungan marks the victory of dharma (righteousness) over adharma (unrighteousness). It’s a time when the spirits of the ancestors return to the Earth and are present among the living.

The ancestral spirits will return to the afterlife on Kuningan day, at the end of the 10-day holiday period.

Continue reading “Galungan-Kuningan: A feast for the eyes in Bali”

Happy Meal: Why is my morning toast smiling at me?

smiley face on toasted bread
My morning toast is smiling at me – AI art generated by MidJourney

BALI, INDONESIA – We recently moved into an unfurnished villa after several years of traveling around the world and staying in fully furnished apartments, condos, hostels, hotels and Air BnBs.

Every one of those places was outfitted with all the standard trappings. Not necessarily lavish, but we rarely lacked any of the necessities for daily living.

The villa where we stayed for the past year was totally furnished – OVER-FURNISHED, to be honest.

Continue reading “Happy Meal: Why is my morning toast smiling at me?”

Looking for Langurs on Son Tra Peninsula

An adult male red-shanked douc Langur sits in the leafy jungle canopy on Vietnam's Son Tra Peninsula
An adult male red-shanked douc Langur peers out from the wild jungle canopy on Vietnam’s Son Tra Peninsula

DANANG, VIETNAM – We’ve crawled out of bed before dawn plenty of times to catch an international flight. But getting up at 5 a.m. to drive less than 10 kilometers up the road? That seemed a bit much.

With most international borders still closed, our near-term travel plans now feature so-called ‘staycations’ and short trips to places closer to home. Last week we joined a few expat friends to do just that.

Continue reading “Looking for Langurs on Son Tra Peninsula”

Three Years On The Road Now – And Counting…

Melanie gets ready to hit the highway in a vintage motorcycle sidecar
Melanie’s ready to hit the highway in a vintage motorcycle sidecar in Phong Nha, Vietnam

DANANG, VIETNAM – This month marks a milestone for us on our world travels. Three years ago, on June 15, 2017, we bid farewell to our home of 25 years in Western Washington state and set off with one-way tickets to Edinburgh, Scotland intending to travel around the UK for a couple months.

Ten weeks later we hopped back across the water to the U.S. to visit friends and family on the East Coast and the Midwest. Then, after two months in the Seattle area wrapping up some final loose ends, we flew off to Asia.

Continue reading “Three Years On The Road Now – And Counting…”

A short trip to Nha Trang, Vietnam – Photo Gallery

Happy Weekend at the beach in Nha Trang, Vietnam
Workers position a sign declaring a ‘Happy Weekend’ at the beach in Nha Trang

DA NANG – After what seems like ages of lockdown, we’ve been itching to get out on the road again.

Hey… that’s our name, right?

Local travel is starting to open up again in Vietnam and airlines are offering some great deals on flights. So we decided to take a short trip.

Not quite ready (or able) to venture too far afield, we decided to spend a week in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Da Nang, and sharing the same coast, Nha Trang is one of those places we’d heard about but hadn’t got around to visiting yet.

With daytime temperatures hovering near 100 degrees F (37 C) during our stay, we didn’t do a lot of outdoor activities. But we did venture outside our beach-view apartment several times to check out some of the local sights.

Here are a few photos from our trip (click on the thumbnails for a larger view):

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Looking for a place to stay in Southeast Asia?

travel, holidays, accomodation, Agoda