Celebrity Status in Indonesia

**Tap on the shoulder** "Photo?"

It would seem that people in Malaysia and Indonesia love to get their picture taken with me and Della. Not necessarily people who we've shared an interaction with or even made eye contact with. Sometimes it's parents herding their shy child to pose with the bule-bule or hip twenty-somethings wanting something for their Instagrams, but other times it is a group of giddy hijab-wearing ladies or families taking a stoic portrait-for-the-mantel. We try to match the tone and appear as fun as possible. Because it is fun! People wanting their photo with us for no reason? We feel like celebrities. The photo session is always followed up with handshakes all around and lots of shared smiles.

The phenomenon seems to happen more where there are less foreign tourists, places we might just be holing up for a day or two to wait for a ferry or catch up on some internetting. In Semarang, Indonesia, a lovely lady at a mall food court* asked for her photo with us because we were her first foreign customers! Naturally, I asked for our photo with her too! At Prambanan, Borobodur's lesser known yet still spectacular cousin, it was such a flurry of one after the next that I had to duck away lest I melt in the blazing sun.

Rarely do we capture the moment, because we're both busy being in the photos. But occasionally, after I've slunk away, I get a chance to snap Della who is always game to keep posing and smiling.

But now that we've hit Bali, it seems like a our fame has run its course. Among the sea of tourists, we're no longer a novelty. And I'm okay with that. The interactions, while sometimes tedious, always seemed to have a genuineness of real excitement and, afterwards, real gratitude. These traits encapsulate our impression of the people here—so nice, so helpful, and so proud of their country*. So until my fame hits back stateside, I at least got a taste of what being a celebrity is all about
Saturday January 4 2020File under: travel, indonesia

comment?

Malaysia Is Inexpensive...And We Love It

Today, with all our expenses combined—food, transport, entertainment, and hotel—Della and I together spent less than $30. And it isn't because we scrimped and saved, cutting corners and pinching every penny*. We have a hotel room with air condition and our own private bathroom. We eat out 3 meals a day (sometimes more), getting a beverage and dessert with almost every meal. And we do stuff! No, we only spent $30 today because Malaysia is inexpensive...and we love it!!

When travelling in a place where things cost approximately 1/4 of what they do in the States, it is easy to live like a king without breaking the bank. In fact, it was one of the reasons that led us to choose our destination this time around. And 2+ weeks in, it has totally worked out. We love it. We love being able to order at a restaurant and not worry about the price, because we know it will be reasonable. We love being able to take a cab when it's pouring rain because it will be less than a Starbucks coffee back home. We just love it.

But don't take my word for it. Here are a few examples of our expenditures over the last couple days to give you an idea:
5-hour bus ride from Lumut to Kuala Lumpur (on buses more comfortable than I've ever ridden in before: seats arranged 2 on one side of the aisle and 1 on the other, leg supporters, gorgeous interiors (curtains, etc.))$6.75
Today's lunch: plate of fried noodles with grilled chicken, plate of fried rice with grilled chicken (both delicious) and 3 cups of ice tea (one with sweetened condensed milk that was heavenly)$3.75
Splurge date night to the cinema* complete with caramel corn, drinks, and candy$11.50*
OYO Dragon Inn hotel room which is clean, where the staff is super nice, and is in a super convenient location$14.50
40-minute ride on commuter railway to popular tourist destination$0.50

Of course one could spend lots of money here. We opted not to go to the top of a tall building which would have cost almost 4X our hotel room. And the "hop on hop off" tourist bus is way more than public transportation and walking*.

To prove we're having an awesome time here despite spending less than one hour of Seattle's minimum wage each per day, here are some photos.

Thursday December 19 2019File under: travel, malaysia

comment?

Have Another Drink

A lot is said about food with regards to travel. And I'm sure I'll add my 2 cents before this trip is done. But one my favorite parts of Malaysia and Singapore so far are the drinks! Delicious, interesting, new, and cheap—couple that with a climate that makes you want to drink something cold and icy all the time and you've got a recipe for fun!

To start with, there is, of course, tea. We got to tour a tea plantation and factory (being sure to take the requisite 1 million selfies). And although the traditional pot of tea is nice, my favorite way to take tea is with ice, milk, sugar, and BOBA! I finally get the bubble tea craze, though I will have a hard time paying $5 back in the states when it comes to about $1.25 here.

Other favorites so far have been fresh mango smoothies (made with real mango), coconut milkshakes (made with real coconut), strawberry juice (made with real, grown right out behind the restaurant strawberries), and corn juice (made with real corn)*. Who knows what Indonesia will have in way of can't-be-missed drinks. But I can only imagine they will be cold, they will be cheap, and we will drink a lot of them!
Thursday December 19 2019File under: travel, malaysia

comment?

Supertrees of Singapore

The same way Paris has its Arc de Triomphe, Dubai its Burj al Arab, and Mostar its Old Bridge, perhaps the most associated image of Singapore is that of its Supertrees. In a slightly jet-lagged state and with first-day-of-vacation walking optimism, Della and I set out to find said icons to see what it was all about. We succeeded [and got the requisite photos to prove it], but we found Singapore's Gardens By the Bay to be so much more than Supertrees!

I actively avoid getting too much information about a place before I visit lest I'm unable to keep an open mind upon arrival. Singapore, and Gardens By the Bay, was no exception. So aside from the trees, we didn't know what to expect. As it turned out, around every turn there was something new and wonderful to see: large scale installation art, topiary gardens, water features, an amazing food court*, and a holiday light installation to that puts Vegas to shame. We wandered through mostly deserted paths and were positively giddy*.

All in all, Gardens By the Bay set a wonderful tone for the upcoming 2 months of adventure: hidden wonders, delicious food, and being together. This is going to be fun!
Sunday December 8 2019File under: travel, singapore

Toggle Comments (2)comment?

Losing a Phone In Puerto Vallarta

You know that sinking feeling when you reach for your phone in your pocket and it's not there? Imagine that feeling, but while being in a foreign country where you rely on said phone for not getting lost, figuring out what it is you're eating, and getting access to your plane tickets. Not to be overdramatic, but it can be a bit of a heart stopper. It was exactly this feeling I had yesterday as Della and I hustled off the crowded public bus in Puerto Vallarta on our way to see a two-bit (but still very enjoyable) Mexican circus*.

"Maybe I left it in the room..." [Nervous two hours of trying to ignore possibility of phone loss, search room top to bottom, ask hotel staff where bus lost and found is, enjoy staff's laughter at this concept, lose hope]

"Didn't I hear a podcast about an online way that can help you track where your phone is?" [Google "find my phone", log in, see blinking red dot a map nearby(!), hustle out on the street, get lost finding intersection, find intersection, don't find phone, return to hotel]

"Oh hey, the blinking dot moved!" [Internet sleuth everything possible about new blinking dot location, grow disheartened by very rural location, enlist friends' help to call phone, remotely lock down phone and prepare my goodbyes, search for phone replacement costs]

"The dot moved again!!" [Put on Sherlock hat, start spreadsheet of GPS coords with time of observation, frantically refresh website until bedtime, sleep fitfully]

"I think the phone is still on the bus!!" [Continue to track route, convert spreadsheet of GPS coords into map, develop a plan to find this bus out of the 100s of public Puerto Vallarta buses.]

"The buses seem to be laying over in this abandoned field. We should go there and search every bus we find!" [Jump through hoops to get internet on Della's phone, hop a bus that looks like it's going that direction, hop off bus once it diverts, see intermittently updated blinking dot pass us, furiously speculate, hop on new bus, bounce our way to the "station"]

"Yesterday he/she/it lose thing phone in bus please us look for"* [Start searching buses, try to connect via Della's phone to make it ring, no ringing, see dancing Della with phone in her hand, jump for joy, many self congratuations]

With a successful completion of the mission, we felt like badasses. From the get go, we felt like our chances were slim. But for a few pesos for bus fare and international data charges and a bit of ingenuity and persistance, we triumphed. In fact, it was a better adventure than the overpriced omni-present snorkeling excursions the resort keeps trying to pitch us. Adventure, badassery, frugality: that's the way we roll!
Thursday March 7 2019File under: travel, mexico

Toggle Comments (3)comment?

An Age Milestone

Today, I am exactly half as old as my dad. Or, in other words, I am the age now that my dad was when I was born. This fun milestone was discovered as I was visiting him in Zipolite, Mexico. What an interesting perspective it can give about where I am in my life. But mostly, it was just a fun tidbit to toast over chiliquilis and fresh squeezed orange juice on the beach!

Della and I are on a bit of a Mexico adventure and Zipolite proved the perfect places to start it out: a mile long picturesque beach on which we found a circus hotel for next to nothing price-wise. We played in the surf, we juggled for locals while dad played accordion, and we ate really well for very cheap. As far as a place to relax a bit after a winter of back-to-back-to-back* housesitting and an intense run of Valentine's day circus shows, it can't be beat.

My dad and I have good travel history together. This trip is the third Mexico adventure together (San Cristobal 9 years ago, and San Miguelle de Allende 15 years ago (pre-BdW(!))). While "adventure" might apply less on this trip than it did to the others, easy time over crosswords and good food is an experience I can get behind just as much. I can only hope that when I'm his age, I'll be living as great a life!
Wednesday February 27 2019File under: travel, mexico

Toggle Comments (1)comment?

Jamaica Public Transport Experience

Whenever I travel, I'm drawn to skip the air-conditioned plush tourist buses in favor of whatever transportation the locals use. I tell myself it is to get to know the place better, to mingle with the locals, but I imagine cost plays no small role. But whatever my motivations, it is a travel habit I'm glad to have as it leads to some wonderful experiences. On our recent trip to Jamaica, these local transport adventures proved to be among the most memorable from the whole trip!

The two dominant non-tourist transport options were route taxi and mini-bus, both variations on the same concept: pack a regular old vehicle as full as possible with people going from here to there. When I say full, I mean FULL. Think of a regular sized car, like a Toyota Camary. Put 4 full-sized adults across the backseat and 3 adults plus the driver across the front (with additional cushion for the middle person to span the e-brake). Now drive that vehicle at a million miles an hour around curvy mountain roads and you've got an idea.

We chose Christmas day to venture from the north of Jamaica down to the south, a 77-mile journey through the less inhabited center of the island. While there was some fear about transpo not running, we found that with the exception of 1 leg of the 6 leg journey, we were in luck. Each leg took us from one small town to the next, about 45 minutes to an hour, costing about $1 or $2 per person. After each leg, you'd hobble out, try to get feeling back in your butt and legs, and then cram into the next rig.

By the end of our time in Jamaica, I truly felt like I had grown accustomed to the experience of getting nice and friendly with your neighbors and riding in companionable silence (albeit with the Reggae blasting). I won't say I loved it, but it wasn't the hardship it was on that first mini-bus.

In chatting about the mini-buses to a local friend, he casually mentioned "Yep, like two white girls on a mini-bus". In quizzing him, he told us of a once popular song that recounted the public transit experience from the perspective of a non-local. Della and I looked it up and found it couldn't be more accurate. So I'll leave you with this, Two White Girls on a Mini-Bus.


Saturday January 13 2018File under: Jamaica, travel

Toggle Comments (1)comment?

To Do the Tour or Not Do the Tour

One of Della's and my favorite things to do while traveling is to find a deal, to save money. It's what's led us on the cruises we taken, to the countries we been, and it guides our every day choices. And we get great joy out of it.*

But this deal/savings seeking leads us to a frequent dillemma: do we take the tour or not? Tours are usually lots of fun and frequently are the only way to see something, but they almost always cost a lot of money so we often end up skipping out, instead opting for the free activities like exploring, hanging out on the beach, and juggling.

In the interest of expanding our horizons, after much hemming and hawing, yesterday we took a tour. The tour promised three-fold adventure: dolphins (35% chance), the Black river and crocodiles, and a stop at the Pelican Bar, a bar on stilts in the middle of the bay.

In short, it was totally awesome! We saw both dolphins and crocodiles, the Black River was amazing with its mangroves, nesting snowy egrets, and truly jungle-like vibe, and we can now say we've been to the world famous(?) Pelican Bar. Beyond the three-fold promise, there were lots of other great perks: meeting other travelers, a neat swimming hole/rope swing/jumping tree into the river*, an adventurous boat ride, and lots of great information that we might never have gotten otherwise.

Our super successful tour will no doubt help encourage us to penny-pinch less when the next opportunity arises. And I look forward to it! But in the meantime, we'll be keeping an eye out for deal. Old habits do die hard.
Thursday December 28 2017File under: travel, Jamaica

Toggle Comments (1)comment?

Financial Recap of Costa Rica-Nicaragua Trip


Money is one of the reasons often cited by people who want to travel more but don't. While I understand this, I also like to offer up some of the details of my trips to let them know that travel can be done on the cheap and still be very rewarding. Della and I just had an awesome trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua—23 days of beaches, exotic animals, good food, new culture, and lots of time together—for just under $2000, flights and all!*

As part of our daily journaling (to keep track of what we did, where we stayed, etc.), we also captured what we spent and on what. Just as a fun exercise*, I threw all that data into a spreadsheet to see what came out. And as always, data proves to be fun!

So, excluding flights, but including everything else, we spent $1,521. That breaks down to about $66/day. I split expenses into lodging, food, internal transportation, ice cream, and other (a category that included national park entrance fees, visa fees, souvenirs, zip lining, etc.).

TotalPer DayPercentage
Lodging*$584$25.39
38%
Food$451$19.61
30%
Internal Transportation$178$7.74
12%
Ice Cream*$36$1.57
2%
Other$272$11.83
18%
Numbers are for 2 people. Divide in half for per person numbers

While it wouldn't be fair to say that we traveled like kings, we also didn't only go for the cheapest options. We almost always got a private room (vs. dorms), had occasion to take a taxi a time or two, ate out almost exclusively, and didn't forgo much in the way of activities. Basically, we traveled much like we live here at home—on the cheap, but not stupid cheap.

As for flights, I benefited from a friend working in the industry and got my flight for just the cost of taxes and fees ($68 total) (THANKS MINDY!!). For Della, we found two cheap one way flights in and out of Liberia, a small city in the north of Costa Rica (cheaper than flying in and out of San Jose). Her flights came to $400.

So yeah, $2000 total for the both of us for a wonderful adventure to a foreign land seems pretty dang reasonable. In fact, comparing it back to some of the previous "Financial Breakdown" posts I've done (here, here, and here), it ranks as just about the cheapest trip I've ever taken! Whatever the details, I hope this helps to show that travel doesn't have to be super expensive. All you need is a spirit for adventure, a little patience and know-how, and the world can be your oyster!
Tuesday January 3 2017File under: travel

Toggle Comments (2)comment?

Easy Days on the Boardwalk


(Drinking a homemade batido while evening happens around us on the boardwarlk

At the beginning of a trip, I always want to do stuff—explore, zip-line, be proactive to feast on the culture and place I am in. At the end of a trip, however, I find myself more looking to chill out. With the end of this trip drawing near, chilling out is exactly what Della and I have on our agenda. We're in San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, the perfect town for just hanging out. Our days involve walking the beach, searching the streets for loose change*, eating, and chilling on the boardwalk while the sun goes down (as seen in super high speed above).

Occasionally, we'll take a break from chilling to visit a monument, get a geocache, or something else proactive. But mostly, it's time to bathe in the good life before returning to the real world back home (not that the real world ain't pretty damn good in its own right).

So, without further ado, back to chilling. Someone pass me that batido!
Tuesday December 20 2016File under: travel, Nicaragua

Toggle Comments (2)comment?

   < Previous Page  Next Page >
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Recent Comments:
*Mom on Mother Wrenger in the Nutcracker
*Horge on Malta Bene!
*Millionaire Quiz Game on I Wanted To Be a Millionaire
*Deanna on Malta Bene!
*Mom on 2023 Performance Review

Recent Content:
*Mother Wrenger in the Nutcracker
*Malta Bene!
*2023 Performance Review
*Twas the Night 2023
*Recycled Plastic Christmas Ornaments
*Halloween Act 2023 - Dueling Banjos
*Walk Like MADD 2023
*New Stilting Costume
*Sleeping Around 2022-2023
*Project Hotdog Halfway Complete
*Giant Juggling Club

Websites du Friends:
* Wren the Juggler
My I-guess-I'm-a-Professional-Juggler juggling website
* Wren and Della
Della and my juggling website
* The Real Food Show
A circus-inspired elementary assembly show to teach kids about healthy eating
* Della Moustachella
Della's performance website
* The Fun Bags
Della and Sadye's Performance Troupe


Tags
Anacortes (39)
Cambodia (5)
China (14)
Korea (1)
Macau (1)
Mexico (13)
New Zealand (1)
Seattle (2)
Thailand (18)
USA (11)
Vietnam (5)
beard (5)
blog (8)
books (1)
coding (15)
comic (45)
contest (4)
environment (9)
events (12)
food (22)
games (15)
geocaching (4)
holidays (13)
juggling (8)
links (9)
meet-ups (1)
mexico (1)
misc (54)
movies (5)
open letter (2)
participation (1)
pics (39)
poetry (6)
poll (1)
quote (6)
road trip (25)
stats (1)
transportation (14)
travel (136)
video (6)
work (8)