Capture the Moment
Cambodia is very interesting. Very mild manner people and always happy to help/assist. The temples are amazing and have such history! The people transport everything on Tuk Tuk’s and mopeds. This evening I saw two cows and a x-ray machine transferred by a small truck. The water taxis to the floating villages are amazing – still trying to make a conclusion of the water taxis. Tomorrow I’m off to Vietnam!
Amazing city! Every turn around a street corner seems to be a new adventure! The jazz clubs, fun pubs, great people, hot weather, instant thunderstorms…. It’s also a Fine City!! There are fines for everything including fishing in the rivers has a $3000 instant fine! The health system is also very good which I’m very grateful. I ended up having cellulitus on my toe and started to creep up my foot to my ankle. I had to spend the night in the hospital with IV antibiotics and observation. Fortunately all is going well now and my toe is healing up with doctors approving that I can continue to travel. I restructured my flights due to the delay in the hospital and soon will be on my way to Cambodia and Vietnam! Loving the lights here in Singapore in the mean time! Cheers!
New Zealand South Island is filled with beauty – mountains, rain forests, fjords, glaciers, plains, rolling hills… just about every type of terrain on the slender island. Went out on Doubtful Sound (south of Milford Sound) yesterday which was pristine and gorgeous. Upon entering the Tasmine Sea, the tour boat hit a submerged rock which left a shimmy in the boat for the remainder of the trip. Definitely not the Skippers fault, but it startled all of us on board! After arriving back on harbor, I drove the rental car towards Invercargill – a very southern city on the South Island. On the way, Cyclone Gita made landfall over the South Island near Nelson where we visited just a week ago. The radio news reported many road closures and Christchurch initiated a ‘state of emergency’ for the city. My mom and I are very fortunate to be south of the major storm and plan to stay in Invercargill as it passes over the island.
Interesting note – Many places in New Zealand collect rain water for the house water system. To safely drink, one needs to either deionize or boil the water.
New Zealand has been wonderful and the scenery is incredible! It’s been weird getting used to driving on the other side of the road and the round-a-bouts entering on the left side…. Next week I’ll be in the south island and looking forward to seeing the Southern Alps!
What a great time in the Cooks! The islands is not just a 'travel destination' but a full culture immersion. The food, island dance, and just way of life is amazing. No fast food, casinos, or huge resorts are on the island. You can pick all the fresh fruits that you can imagine right from the trees/plants including papaya, mango, bananas, avocado, pineapple, star fruit, and many others that I haven't even heard of before! The people are so friendly and always smiling. One person offered cruise ship travelers their own scooter to explore Aitutaki saying 'No worries - everyone knows everybody here and what they drive so feel free to use my scooter" ! I look forward to visiting these special set of islands!