Since the age of explorers Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook, legendary Tahiti has tickled imaginations worldwide. More recently, Tahiti became the most famous Polynesian island of all when Clark Gable (1935), Marlon Brando (1962), and Mel Gibson (1984) played the role of Fletcher Christian in three blockbuster Mutiny on the Bounty films. Even the horrendous French nuclear testing program from 1966-1996 did little to dampen this image. For the … [Read more...]
The Fire Temples of Darius
Just down the street from where the Ayatollah Khomeini's simple house stands in a leafy northern suburb of Tehran, someone had scrawled the following on a wall: 'America: there is not a damn thing you can do!' It was spray painted in English. Elsewhere, I spotted large murals depicting skulls on the American flag with the words "Down with the USA!" across it. Also in English. None of this came as a shock to me; in fact I expected to see such … [Read more...]
Trip to Cameron Highlands
We had an 'early' year end team building function this year as Nikki our supervisor was going to leave Agilent in the beginning of August. Due to budgetary constraints we only had one weekend to spend so we chose Cameron Highlands as our destination. Nikki assigned Yee Kee and Sherry to organize that trip and they were doing a pretty good job of getting everything prepared before we boarded the bus heading for Malaysia's premier highlands … [Read more...]
Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane Australia – September 2007
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the world's first and largest Koala sanctuary (founded 1927). Located only 20 minutes from Brisbane, it is a short drive, or you can easily take one of the buses which stops right in front. There are many other animals here but the focus is on the Koalas. You can even have your picture taken with one of the cuddly animals. Note some of the celebrity photos on display with the animals. Another highlight is the … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza has a population of about 1 million people. The city is located in a large desert valley next to the great Andes mountains, whose peaks dominate the skyline from the outside of the city. The valley here is truly desert, once you are outside of Mendoza one quickly sees the native vegetation is similar to desert scenery. However, there is plenty of water in the region as the great Andes are Mendoza's neighbor. A large drinking water … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina – Hotels
Lodging in Mendoza ranges from very basic to high end hotels such as the Grand Hyatt and the Sheraton. Pricing is typically more expensive closer to the center of town and near the Plaza del Armas. Lodging is really quite spread out throughout the city and there no specific 'hotel' district. Aires de Montana is a destination spa located in the Andes about an hour from Mendoza. Lodging is also available on site - elevation is 1800 … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina – Transportation
Bus - The bus station is located about 15 to 20 minutes from the Plaza del Armas (the center of town). As with most bus stations, train terminals or airports be careful of your bags and belongings. These are typically high crime areas. We met a fellow traveler who was hanging around at the bus station when she was approached by a local - he pretended to ask her directions and she put her bag down to help him and when she looked back down, he and … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina – More Info
Banks Banks in Mendoza tend to honor siesta time and typically will close between 1-2pm for the rest of the day. ATM's and banks are scattered throughout the main part of Mendoza - ATM's are available 24/7. ATM's can be found at the airport and at the bus station. Typically we use Pay Pal and HSBC for our ATM withdrawals. The reason being are the lower transaction fees through Paypal to withdraw money from most Argentina Banks - and HSBC … [Read more...]
Greetings from Peru!!
Arrived in Lima and rested all day which was good. Saw the catacombs underground in the 16th century St Francis of Assisi Monastery. Many skulls staring upwards with individual bones all separated and arranged nicely in neat orderly piles. Took bus overnight to C. Huayash - the pass was about 14,000 feet which we hit at 1am. I was in bad shape by then - arrived at 6am into town and immediately found hostel and crashed. For 2 days was … [Read more...]
Learning Spanish in Xela, Guatemala
A large chunk of Guatemala's tourism revenue comes from teaching Spanish to travellers. It's not like it's the only Spanish-speaking country on the continent, but a number of factors make it a number one choice. To start with, the Gutemaltekas speak slowly and clearly. Anyone who has been to Cuba will appreciate the importance of this - you aren't going to learn Spanish if you don't understand a single word muttered through lazy lips at … [Read more...]
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