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  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
    Day 59

    Sweet Home - Honolulu

    July 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Twelve countries, 18 flights, 16 UNESCO World Heritage sites, countless stunning views and priceless cultural interactions all within 59 days. It’s hard to believe we’re home!

    I’m certain we’ll be unpacking the experiences and learning more from them for years to come. For now, we are unpacking the suitcases, doing the laundry, and trying to adjust to the time change😴.

    Kai is reminding me to please note that we flew home 🏠 on the world’s largest passenger plane - the A380 - flying honu.

    We look forward to seeing you all soon! 💗    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 56

    Transition in Kota Kinabalu

    July 27, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 81 °F

    Our last days in Malaysia have been spent catching up on sleep and work emails. We have also started the mental task of reorienting ourselves to life back in Hawaii. It will be an adjustment to return to our school and work routines after being on the go for 8 weeks.

    Our hearts and minds are filled with an astonishing array of sights, scents, sounds, tastes and love for all of the people, animals, and places we visited. We are so grateful for the experiences we’ve had and the insights we’ve gained. We are inspired to do more for our planet and to advance health and equity for the many poor and oppressed around the world. The interconnectedness of people and place, as well as the environmental fragility of the planet, were distressingly evident as we circumnavigated the globe.

    Yesterday, there was a tremendous storm in the afternoon with lightening and thunder. It was the most rain we’ve seen ever. The deluge lasted about an hour and then passed. The grounds were a foot deep in water as we walked back
    to our room. This morning not a puddle remained. The trees and plants had soaked it all up. 🌴🌺🎋🌳🌸

    These are photos from around the hotel and a video of the rain. ⛈💕    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 53

    More Orangutans 🦧!

    July 24, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    It’s our last day at Sakau Rainforest Lodge. It’s been like living at the zoo. The Orangutan in today’s video and photos was just hanging around with a group of long tailed Macaques near the lodge. We watched him climb through the forest eating berries for 20- 30 minutes.

    Our afternoon was spent spotting hornbills, monkeys, crocodiles and a small python.

    The sunset was followed by a lightning ⚡️ show but no rain yet.

    Tomorrow is a travel day- 2.5 hours by boat back to Sandakan and then our flight to Kota Kinabalu. We are working our way home. We can’t wait to see everyone and sleep in our own beds 🛌.    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
    1
    Day 52

    Sukau Rain Forest

    July 23, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Malaysian Borneo! We spent the morning with Orang Utans (yes, it is two words in Malay). Some of these lovely animals are wild but swing into the Sepilok Reserve
    at feeding time for a free snack. Others are long term residents of the rehabilitation program. We also visited the sun bears before heading 2.5 hours up the Kinabatangan River to Sakau Rainforest Lodge. We saw crocodiles, Macaques (long and short tailed), Proboscis Monkeys, Sivered Langur Monkeys and several eagles and hornbills.

    Tomorrow we hope to see the Borneo Pygmy Elephant. 💗    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 49

    Angkor Wat & Angkor Thom

    July 20, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world, including Vatican City. It was built in the 12th century or about 3,000 years after the Temple of Karnak and the even older Great Pyramids of Giza 😮! Angkor Wat was dedicated to the God Vishnu and includes both Buddist and Hindu elements. While it is younger than the temples of Egypt, It is equally impressive and includes more stone than used in the pyramids combined.

    Angkor Thom translated in Khmer means “Great Kingdom” - it was the designed and built under King Jayavarman VII. The kingdom was powerful from the 9-15th centuries. He was a very popular leader and built 102 hospitals during his reign.

    Ta Prohm Temple is famous from the movie Tomb Raider. We liked it because of the beautiful trees and setting. It was lovely, late afternoon when we visited and there were very few visitors.

    As in the Valley of the Kings where we visited 3 of 52 tombs, here in Cambodia we visited only 3 of many many beautiful temples. Kai wants the whole family to come back 💞!    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
    1
    Day 47

    Elephants

    July 18, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Today we visited a legitimate, locally run elephant sanctuary. It was an uncomfortable 1.5 hour drive in the back of a tuk-tuk to get there but well worth the effort. The elephants were healthy and the setting was verdant and green. Volunteers (the tourists) help feed, wash and give the elephants 🐘 a post river wash - mud bath. Only one visitor left the river with a leach. Thankfully, it wasn’t Kai or me 🍀.

    The visits help support the care of the elephants and provides alternate source of income to the villagers.

    The elephants had different preferences and personalities. We were feeding them bananas and watermelon. The baby had a clear preference for watermelon. One of his Aunties would politely take the watermelon from your had and then hurl it in disgust to the ground. Bananas only for her🍌. The only time the elephants were behind the fence was during the feeding. Otherwise we were all together on the grass, in the river, and in the mud!

    The fancy tops are loans from the sanctuary. ❤️    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 46

    Chill’n in Chiang Mai

    July 17, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Chiang Mai is a beautiful, quiet, and spiritual city of 128,000 in Northern Thailand. There are many ornate, old, new, large, small…temples in the city and monks of all ages are easy to recognize in their orange robes. Many of the temples are from the Lan Na Kingdom that reigned for 500 years (13th-18th centuries). Chiang Mai was the capital of the kingdom and thus the center of wealth and religion. Today, Chiang Mai is Thailand’s 3rd largest city and a tourist destination for domestic and International travelers.

    We’ve only heard one gentle toot of a horn since arrival. This a tremendous contrast to India and Egypt where horn honking is ubiquitous and relentless, and maybe essential to navigating the roads.

    Kai likes Chiang Mai so much he’s lamenting that we can’t stay longer and he’s plotting a return trip in December 😳!

    Photos are of the temples around or neighborhood (hotel) which is within the old city walls.

    Tomorrow we’re off to an elephant sanctuary.. We elected not to ride elephants in India for animal welfare reasons. We are excited for our chance to interact with them tomorrow. We will also learn about their care & about efforts to reduce their misuse around the world.    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 43

    Jaipur Highlights

    July 14, 2022 in India ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, was fabulous. Highlights from the Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal & Jantar Mantar are below.🐘🐪🪷

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
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    Day 42

    Taj Mahal & Agra Fort

    July 13, 2022 in India ⋅ ⛅ 95 °F

    Hello to Agra, cute monkeys, and high temperatures with high humidity!

    The Taj Mahal was built over 22 years to honor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. It was completed in 1658. This Islamic, white marble mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “new” 7 Wonders of the World.

    The Agra fort 1565-73 was built for Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is sometimes called the Red Fort but as there is also a Red Fort in Delhi, our guide feels strongly that it should only ever be referred to as the Agra Fort 🙃. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.    Read more

  • TravelerAway & Around 2022
    Day 40

    Delhi bound but in Dubai

    July 11, 2022 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 100 °F

    Kai and I had hoped to be in Delhi early Sunday morning but visa issues and flight challenges resulted in a longer stay in Egypt and a 28 hr. layover in Dubai🥺.

    The Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building) is impressive and the Dubai Mall is bustling with residents and people from all over the world. Shopping is not my thing but I did enjoy people watching, the aquarium and the Dubai Fountain show.Read more

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