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RTW 2022
  • Christie Mitchell

RTW 2022

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (Winnie-the-Pooh) Read more
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  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Promenade by the South China Sea
    Interesting way they form the treesLots of outdoor exercise equipment and all being usedHUGE lobster2Weirdest sea creature ever for sale to eat - living in a plastic bottle???Got to love boba tea!Beautiful sky and clouds tonight2Amusement park across the way on a different island

    Last day in Nha Trang

    October 3, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    We had a nice relaxing day in Nha Trang today. Hanging out at the hotel and then took a long walk in the early evening on the promenade. There were so many people out enjoying the cooler temps. We walked for at least 90 minutes and it seemed like everyone was Vietnamese. We saw only one Caucasian couple. It’s neat seeing how the people actually live in these different countries and not just a bunch of other tourists.

    Jordan and I love milk boba tea, and having it here is even better than home. Very yummy, and as usual, so cheap - 2 large glasses for $2.65 total. It’s going to be hard to go home and live with the US cost of living.

    3.8 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Countryside going past from the train
    Jordan sat like this for 8 hours! Keeping her feet up away from the bugs.5My makeshift barrier to keep whatever bug that was in its hole!2Halfway thru the trip someone hit the window with something and shattered it from the outside.The shattered window directly in front of us. 😧1Found a beautiful restsurant in HCMC after a hard trip2This part of HCMC is very modern and niceMotorcycles and scooters everywhere still.

    Not all days are diamonds

    October 4, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

    We moved on, to the far south of Vietnam, to Ho Chi Minh City (abbreviated HCMC) today. It used to be called Saigon, but was renamed in 1975 when Northern Vietnam won the war. It is named after Ho Chi Minh, the North’s prime minister at the time.

    We had a tough day - we took a train from Nha Trang to HCMC. I expected the train to be like the last one which wasn’t half bad, but was terribly shocked when we got on board. It was terrible!! The seats were uncomfortable, it smelled, it was filthy dirty, food on the floor from past passengers, barely any air conditioning (so warm) and there were bugs! Crawling little bugs! We had terrible seats - in back of people reclining way too far. When I got on I couldn’t believe we had to be on it for 8 hours! At one point I got bit twice by one of the bugs that was living in a crack in the wall where I was sitting. There were no extra seats so we couldn’t move away! It was not nice. Eventually I got my sweatshirt out and covered the crack in the hope it would keep the bugger in there - it appeared to work.

    We eventually made it and found our hotel. The receptionist then warned us before we went out to grab dinner to be very careful as the “streets are un-safe”. Took us a bit to get her to iron down the meaning of that statement exactly, but apparently it’s not unsafe as in violent crime - just unsafe in regards to pickpockets, petty theft, etc. She warned us to not take our cell phones out at all, like for GPS and walk with them. Apparently it’s common for thieves to drive by and snatch them from your hands here. 😳 We were warned about this in Costa Rica as well. So I guess we won’t be taking a lot of pictures walking around???

    1.1 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Traffic is still bad here
    Park that was close to our hotelWar museumEffects of imprisonmentReunification palaceNotre Dame CathedralCentral post officeCity hallHo Chi Minh SquareView from top of Bitexco towerSquare at night

    Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon

    October 5, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    We spent the day exploring Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) today. I’m not a huge fan of big cities, but this one isn’t half bad. I kind of like it. It definitely has a different feel from Hanoi. To me, Hanoi feels more ancient - HCMC feels more modern.

    We went to the War Remnants Museum. It is a Museum of artifacts and things from the Vietnam war. It was fascinating, upsetting, heart breaking, educational … so many emotions felt being there and seeing the ramifications the war had on the people of Vietnam. Then, because of the war crimes that the US soldiers committed and generations later because of the lasting horrors of Agent Orange that had been dumped on the civilians here. We left very sad and ashamed.

    From there we made our way through the town - we stopped at the “reunification palace”, the Notre dame cathedral (which was under massive construction), the Central post office (which was 150 years old), Ho Chi Minh square, walked the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, and ended on the 46th floor of the Bitexco tower to see the city from above.

    Overall it was a good day, and we got a good feel for the city. It also felt good walking around a city again.

    5.3 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Cong vien tao dan park
    6Chicken walking around in the cityThe mallBen Thahn Market3The traffic here fascinates me - normal street, normal time, MASSIVE amount of motorcyclesSeafood streetLoving her sushi!

    Ho Chi Minh City

    October 6, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    Jordan and I split up for a portion of the day - she took it easy in the hotel while I went in search of some new clothes. I walked through a really beautiful park, and went to the Ben Thahn market on the way to the mall. Later in the evening we went to “Vinh Khan Street food” street - it’s a street of mostly seafood.

    Jordan is obsessed with Sushi but on this trip it’s been out of our budget in most cities. But here, we found good sushi at a great price. Then we stopped for crab legs, too. We really enjoy eating at these street food places.

    6.9 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Mekong Delta
    Row boat ride10kg Python!2Honey bee hiveBeautiful islands1Making Coconut candyPreparing coconut candyCutting candyWraping candy in edible rice paper and then a covering2Snake wine!32Rainbow fish for lunch - actually yummyCoconut water on the boatLaughing buddah2Reclining Buddah2Preparing our BBQ grill in the roadHomemade ice chunks - avoiding these. Not filtered water.Great BBQ! And fun to do

    Last day in Vietnam

    October 7, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    We spent our last day in Vietnam on a tour of the Mekong Delta. It was a two hour bus ride away from Saigon. We took a motor boat out into the delta - which took us to three different islands. The brown water — no, not pollution. It’s been turned this color since 2020 when China damned one of the incoming rivers to the delta. It effected them very badly here. 😢

    We stopped first on Unicorn island - which to them means “Happy island”. We took a 4 person canoe ride down a mangrove which was beautiful, got off and held a 10kg Python! They also raise bees on this island so we’re given a chance to hold part of the active hive - but with my allergy decided to stay my distance. Our guide told a story of him getting stung 51 times!! He said he killed one, and the rest attacked him. He was VERY leery to be close at all. I wondered what would have happened to us all had someone dropped the honeycomb. 😬 They gave us a honey tea and a special banana snack - both delicious.

    Then we went to “Coconut Island”. Little trivia - there was a cult formed here in the 1960’s called … the coconut religion. Yes .. they worshipped the coconut. (It’s disbanded now) Now, honestly I actually get it, kind of. 😂 The coconut is AMAZING. They do SO much with it here. Water, Milk, oil, shred it, bake it, lotion, husk for fuel, bowls from the shells and more .. and we discovered on this island an amazing treat - coconut candy. Made right there in front of us. Dear lord is it good! It’s the texture of bit-o-honey but so much better. We bought way too much of it to be proud of, but dang, so good. We also had a shot of “Snake swine” - fermented cobra and lizards. 😧 I found it really nasty. Really burned going down. Can’t believe I tried it, but when in Rome …

    Then we headed to our last island. Didn’t get the name. We had a fantastic Vietnamese lunch - check out the fish that was brought to the table! A cook came over and made us spring rolls out of it right at our table. Then we lounged in hammocks for about an hour under a fan while others rode bikes around the island. Tremendous. ❤️

    On our way back to Saigon, they stopped at the Vinh Trang Buddha and pagoda. Jordan calls it a “Bug-oda”. It was nice to see a laughing Buddha as well as a reclining one.

    Finished our day out back at seafood street. We bbq’d meat and shrimp right at our table - was fantastic. So much flavor. They also had what was called “Lime Ice” - basically a limeade, but again, better than I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely miss Vietnamese food! One of my favorite countries to eat in.

    3.5 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    A lone mountain top popping thru the clouds
    Bali airport is a thing of beautyWe're staying in Ubud - kind of in the middle

    Long, long travel day

    October 8, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    We left Vietnam this morning and flew to Bali, Indonesia!! It was only a five hour flight, but it was a really long day. Up at 7:00 and didn’t make it to our hotel in Bali until almost 9:00pm. We’re the furthest from home at this point - almost exactly on the opposite side of the world from South Carolina.

    We felt like we were in the Bali airport for hours - their process of getting thru passport control and immigration was a long one. Just took forever to get cash, find a SIM card … all that’s necessary to live in a different country for a few weeks.

    Then we had almost a two hour car ride to the town we’ll be staying in - Ubud - for most of our time here. Bali is a HUGE island. Who knew?

    We got here in the pitch black so honestly don’t even know anything about where we are. Will be interesting to get out there and see where we are in the morning.

    2.7 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Beautiful family!
    The street we walked down to get to the forest - monkeys everywhereThe monkeys hands were SO soft - and no claws, but fingernailsJordan LOVED this - but couldnt really look cause the no eye contact thingNo he's not taking a selfie. 😂 He's reaching out for some corn from the handler/photographerLoved his beautiful eyes.They could be aggressive towards someFell in love with this momma and babyThey clearly have the run of this place!! 😂Corn in both feet and one hand! My kind of eater.So many babies in the forestVeey peaceful locationBeing careful to not make eye contact because she was so closeHe found a plastic empty hand sanitzer bottle - it was quite a treasureVery resourceful. He's soaking chunks of coconut in this water for himself!A lady who broke all the rules. Selfie, camera sitting alone, screaming & trying to get camera back

    Monkeys!!!

    October 9, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    Oh my gosh, exploring the little city of Ubud was amazing today! It’s considered the “cultural heart” of Bali. There is the beach area to the far south, the mountainous area up north, and then Ubud in the middle. This seems much like a hippie nature loving village. Lots of shops with everything under the sun for sale and wonderful food. And … monkeys!!! They’re everywhere!!

    As we approached the forest, we started seeing tons of monkeys crawling on the roofs, power lines, parked motorcycles. They were everywhere. Reminded us both of the scene in Jumanji where the monkeys are running around the city.

    The really special thing about Monkey Forest is it’s not a zoo. It’s literally just a Forest - the monkeys are wild, no cages, no fences. Of course they are encouraged to be there, in that there is food put out for them multiple times a day. And there are handlers you can pay a small amount to and they will call the monkeys to you, hand feed them on your lap or on your shoulder. But again, it’s nice that it’s more on the monkeys terms. The Forest is rated very high by ethical standards, which made it even more special for us.

    When we entered we were told a number of rules. 1) never pet them 2) never run from them 3) never scream 4) protect all your valuables - they are master thieves 5) DON’T Look them in the eye. Basically take a very submissive posture with them. We saw multiple times that they were definitely wild creatures, unpredictable and aggressive. They would jump on people, paw thru their bags. Didn’t happen to us but to lots of people around us. They did lunge at you VERY aggressively with bared teeth if you broke any of the above rules.

    It was a great experience tho for us wandering this Forest for almost 3-4 hours! Couldn’t stop taking pictures of them because it was so entertaining.

    4.34 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Hotel complex were staying in
    Pool is awesome to come back to everyday after being in the hear and humidityBIG gecko! Completely harmless but still really weirdUbud art market1Small Hindu temple right in UbudBiggest water lillies I've ever seenGetting ready for the massages2Great restaurants hereLittle grandmas restaurant across the street - love eating here2

    Ubud, Bali - last two days

    October 11, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Bali is amazing. It’s very laid back, quiet, not a lot of action. Peaceful. Very needed after the action of southern Vietnam. We are staying in a complex of houses, owned by an extended family. Our place is run by “grandpa”. ❤️ There are a bunch of Gecko’s here - they just come out at night and the locals love them as they keep the bug population down. They haven’t been in our room yet, just outside, but dang they are huge.

    We explored the city the last two days - found the Ubud art market and bought a few things, saw the local palace and then saw our first Hindu temple. There’s also a huge celebration going on - it was the end of the monsoon season!

    So I’ve never had a massage. So today Jordan and I went and did!! I had a back, shoulder, neck and head massage and Jordan got a facial. I have to say it was a wonderful experience. And here, it only cost $6 for an hour, which made it even more wonderful! Crazy. I’ve had a terrible knot between my shoulder blades for a couple weeks - she may have gotten rid of it. Will definitely be having another massage or two before I leave here.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    On our way to the first waterfall
    Planting rice2Swings everywhere here - and some to lie in while eatingTimbumana waterfal1Small fall we found on the way to the second big one1Tukad Cepung waterfall4Lunch overlooking rice fieldsJordans fish mealMine - dish of Indonesia, Nasi GorengJordans dessert - black rice pudding in coconut milkMy dessert - fried coconut in chocolate covered crepe2Tegenugen WaterfallKopi Luwak coffee description3Wild cat - just lying around. Not caged or leashedPreparing the coffee beans1Our coffee/tea sampler

    Waterfalls!!!

    October 12, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Today we went to see some waterfalls!! I booked a tour, which normally in other countries would be a group on a bus, but in Bali it is just a guy in a car who shows up and drives you privately! Kind of neat. Like having a chauffeur for the day who knows everything about the area and suggests great things!

    We went to three waterfalls fairly near Ubud. The furthest one was about a 90 min drive away. They were absolutely stunning, as well as the walks/hundreds of stairs thru the forests to get to them - and of course, they were fairly warm compared to Oregon’s falls. And even when not warm water, the air was so warm when you got out it felt great.

    He also took us to a great restaurant overlooking some rice paddies. We had traditional Bali food, drinks and desserts. Pretty wonderful food!

    Our driver also made a stop at the Kopi Luwak coffee plantation!! If you’ve ever watched the movie “The Bucketlist” you would know about it - or if you make a habit of drinking the most expensive coffee in the world! We saw how it is “made” and then sampled it and 14 other different coffee and teas.

    If you’ve never heard of Kopi Luwak, well, Jack Nicholson describes it perfectly in the movie. If you want a quick laugh, watch the scene of a Morgan Freeman explaining it to Jack Nicholson, who loves the coffee but has no idea how it’s made.

    It basically is “poop coffee”. These wild tree cats eat these beans, digest them, poop them out - the stool is processed and the beans are separated out, cleaned and then roasted! Apparently the digestive process adds to the flavor and aroma!! The price per pound can run $100-600 and a cup (outside of Bali) apparently $35! Here, it costs about $12 a cup. So … since it was very cheap on the tour, we tried it and it actually was very smooth and that was coming from someone who doesn’t drink coffee.

    At this plantation the cats are not kept in captivity. They stay in the jungle and they collect the poop from below their trees. They did have one in the plantation to show us, but they said it returns to the jungle in the evening to join the rest. Very interesting.

    3.6 miles, 44 flights    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    2Scooter time!
    Beautiful rice terracesJordan swinging - not her dress. They supply it.4One would ask what idiot put their baby on this table to make this sign necessary???Huge coconutsSooooo sweaty

    More fun in Ubud

    October 13, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Bali is a very big island, with one village after another connected by small roads, no freeways or even highways. It can take quite awhile to get from one place to another.

    They drive on the left side of the road like in London, and there are thousands of scooters and motorcycles here, just like Vietnam. There aren’t near as many people/motorcycles here, but still somewhat ruleless. People pass when ever convenient.

    So we took a huge leap today and rented scooters for the next few days. Neither of us have ever rode one before so there was a bit of a learning curve. And … it would have been nice to practice riding in a big parking lot or such, but that doesn’t exist here. So we just jumped right out there. We both had a few close calls, but drove for a few hours, in lots of traffic and survived. Hoping for the best the next couple days.

    We drove into the mountains a couple hours and went to the Tegalalang Rice Terraces. They were beautiful! So deep green. They grow rice in fields, but also on these terraces which help drain the water appropriately.

    There are GIANT swings around every corner here. Jordan finally got on - they provided the red dress. It was really neat.

    2.0 miles, 18 flights    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Chocolate factory
    Cocoa beanREALLY thick and rich hot chocolate1Chocolate tasterRestaurant i found for lunch!The item on the right is a DRINK. not a fruit cup, but a drink. 🤷‍♀️ATV'ing thru the jungleSo much waterNo one told me my helmet was on cockeyed. 😧22

    Chocolate and ATV’s

    October 14, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Driving on our scooters is going really well. No problems or issues. (knock on wood) It feels like we’re going really fast, top speed so far 42kph - which as it turns out is only about 27th. Sure feels faster. It is on narrow roads with lots around us, so the crowding makes it feel faster as well.

    We drove out to Ubud Chocolate factory, which turned out to not really to be a factory, just a store that makes the chocolate right there. It was true chocolate - only ingredients were cocoa and coconut (as the sweetener). It was bitter, but still pretty good.

    After that we found a beautiful place for lunch - outdoors with huts over koi ponds. It’s been fun ordering things when we have no idea what they are.

    Then we went for an ATV ride thru the jungle. This was pretty extreme. More so than what we did in Jordan. At times felt like we were boating more than we were riding. I put the GoPro on time lapse on accident so I included a video of us doing a portion of the course.

    Overall a really fun day.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Teo macaws
    2Beautiful flamingosFeeding the Lorys - they were free flight3We got to the pelican area early for the feeding - they wanted food NOWFeeding the Pelicans fishPink cockatoo and African GreyBlue macaw parrots in flight!!VultureFalcon1Jordan volunteering - falcons eating off the tray on her headEagle swooping down catching prey in the pondGetting to hold an owl at the end of the showKomodo dragon feeding time

    Another day in paradise

    October 15, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    We drove about 30 min south today to the Bali Bird Park. We didn’t have too high of expectations and we’re pleasantly surprised!

    They had over 250 species of exotic birds, many of them free flight and free roaming. We were able to attend multiple feedings of various birds, and actually feed many of them. I used to work with exotic birds back when I was young, so felt very special to handle them again. And Jordan had never been around parrots and such, so enjoyed it much more than she expected to. There were also multiple shows we saw, demonstrating their abilities in the wild. Jordan was picked as a volunteer to have a falcon swoop down and grab a piece of meat off the tray she was holding on her head!

    They also had a few Komodo dragons. Amazing reptiles. We watched a video of one eating a full grown deer, whole. Gives you quite the respect for them.

    2.4 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Monkeys on the side of the road where we pulled over
    Ulun Danu templeGitgit waterfalls3View from our room for the night31View from dinner

    Road trip

    October 16, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    We took a road trip today - took the scooters and went to the north end of the island about 3 hours. There was a beautiful Hindu temple and another pretty waterfall.

    Unfortunately got scammed - it’s so hard to know here who is official and who is a scammer. You go to a place and you think you’re at the entrance, but you’re not - just other people who charge you to see it or something like it. It should have cost us about $5 total and ended up paying $20. Woops. Who knew? It’s sad because you begin to become very leery of anyone. 😢

    We decided to stay at a homestay overnight so we didn’t have the long drive back to our place in Ubud. It’s basically someone’s very large home that they’ve converted to a small hotel. It’s absolutely beautiful - small pool overlooking rice paddy’s and a great Mountain View, and the owner cooked us a great dinner for $5 each!

    2.6 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Sekumpul waterfall
    22Getting our rain ponchos on2Intense storms today2Headed out in it to grab dinner

    Raining, A LOT

    October 17, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    We drove back to Ubud from Northern Bali, stopping at one more waterfall on the way. Rain came in on us hard when driving back, and has been raining ever since. Intense rain. May not do much the next couple days as it’s calling for almost constant thunderstorms for the next two days, and I feel like I’ve come down with something, maybe the flu - so will be taking it easy for a couple days.

    2.15 miles, 21 flights    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Entrance gates to forest
    Crazy statueLove this monkey looking at herShe sat down and he just came and sat with her. ❤️11These little guys are only two weeks old!We decided to just throw a whole bag since giving out one at a time was too stressful.Theres the slingshot in his left handStopping to get a pic of the fieldsRice field, ready for harvestWet ride home

    Monkeys again!

    October 19, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    So we found out that yesterday (while we were hidden out in our room) there was so much rain, the city had lots of flash flooding going on. Multiple motorbikes and scooters were swept off roads as they drove. Pretty crazy. Glad we stayed in all day only venturing out to walk to get dinner close by.

    The rain let up a bit for awhile today tho, so we headed out. It’s our last day on the scooters so wanted to drive a bit. We went to a second monkey Forest about 30 min away. This one was much quieter with lots less people. They also allowed us to buy food for the monkeys before we went in. We thought that was pretty cool, but learned later, not so much.

    When we first entered the forest there were guides everywhere offering their services. Now, in Bali there are guides EVERYWHERE. They’d guide you to the bathroom if you let them (and of course ask to be paid for their services). So, we’ve hired a few guides the last two weeks that turned out to be somewhat useless - so decided we had already been thru one monkey Forest, how hard could it be, and why would we need a guide?? The one guide said we would need him for “protection”, but we laughed it off. Should have taken him more seriously. 🐒

    So when we entered, the monkeys were well mannered, calm, sweet even. Different than the last place, no one is coercing these monkeys onto us. They just jump on! we left that area and ventured down a path by ourselves deeper into the woods. Felt like the wizard of oz … “lions, tigers and bears, oh my.” We were carrying little bags of peanuts in our bags, with some stuffed in our pockets. We’d get one out to feed one, and they ALL came running! Like 20-30 at once. It was very intimidating. Then they would begin fighting with each other, with us in the middle. Began grabbing our bags and getting darn right scary and aggressive. About then, we realized the error of our ways, and really wished we would have hired the guide. We threw some peanuts and then took off quickly to get out of there! Eventually we got to another area where another guide was there and we quickly asked for his help. Amazing how the monkeys behave completely differently with them around. Little ladies & gentlemen. The guides are armed with small slingshots that shoot tiny little pebbles, and honestly all they have to do is bring it out and hold it in their hand and the monkeys straighten right up. Even with the excitement, still a fun time.

    Then we rode home. Rain came back and we drove in a deluge! Luckily made it back safe and sound, but got pretty wet in the process. All part of the experience!

    1.7 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Grtting prepared to go
    Long walk to the riverVery fun!Half way breakBeautiful falls on the way down the river1Muddy water from the hard rains the last couple days2"Water slide" at the end

    Fun day

    October 20, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    I have always wanted to go white water rafting but have been too intimidated by it. My body/weight issues kept me away from trying all my adult life. (Too big, not healthy enough, have to fit into a wet suit, etc. ) I’ve inner-tubed down rivers in Oregon and Idaho - simple floats with friends, but never white water rafted.

    So why not try it in Bali?!?! 😄 Today we went! The rapids were fairly simple, just class 1&2, but good enough for me for a first try. The water was refreshing, and not too cold. No wet suits needed here! And … we got to sit in the front!! Couldn’t have gotten much better. It was a kick in the pants. We met some very nice people - a man from Ireland and two ladies from Amsterdam and our Balinese guide was fantastic as usual.

    Bucket list:
    ✅ White water rafting    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Caught in another rain storm
    Map of the islands - Green arrow pointing at Gili Meno4Off the big boat and onto the platform boat3Such clear water!Divine Divers Dive CenterDive poolHome for the next four nightsWhat we thought was the best part of the sunset - and then just got better1Beautiful but so much more color to comeVolcano hidden in the clouds2No filter or editing here - this is ALL natural1Just keeps getting more intense4

    Time to move on

    October 22, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    Yesterday was our last day on Bali. We took care of errands and such -“enjoyed” one last day in the pouring rain. Boy can it rain here. Puts both Oregon and South Carolina to shame. After two solid weeks hanging in Bali, it’s time to move on.

    This morning we got up early and took an hour long “taxi” to the coast to catch a “fast boat” to the Gili Islands. (Taxi is just a guy on the street who offers to drive people places). We made it to Gili Meno - the tiniest island of the three Gili Islands (Gili Trawanga and Gili air).

    There was no dock that was big enough to handle the boat we arrived on, so a small boat came out to get us and our bags. It really wasn’t even a boat - just a platform with some benches and an engine attached. Really interesting.

    There are no motorized vehicles allowed on Gili Meno. Only horse drawn carriages pulled by small horses used as taxis. We decided to forgo using the poorly treated horses and made the 25 min walk from one corner of the island to the other to our hotel. The intense heat and humidity made it harder than it should have been. 😰

    This is a beautiful island, peaceful and serene like nothing we’ve seen before on this trip. We’re staying 4 days, with the sole purpose of scuba diving! I haven’t been since I completed my training in Egypt so very excited to get back in the water.

    There was the most spectacular sunset tonight. The islands are VERY close to each other so the sunset over Gili T with the mountains of Bali in the background. Unbelievable!

    2.5 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    1Volcano on Bali
    Dive pool - training new diversHanging with the dive center kittyOne of the dive boatsGetting ready to head out divingI'm figuring this thing out!Jordan having fun1A giant sea turtle swam right past us!!Just hanging out on the bottom - they can hold their breath 45 minutes!Beautiful schools of fishNight dive turtleTurtle during night dive

    Island life

    October 24, 2022 ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    We’ve spent the last two days scuba diving and hanging out on Gili Meno Island. It’s been so nice, relaxing.

    I’ve decided to expand my scuba training and am getting certified in Advanced Open Water while here. Basically it allows me to do more advanced dives and allows me to go much deeper - 30 to 40 meters. I need to do five speciality dives and have completed four as of tonight: we’ve done a Boat dive, wreck dive, deep dive, and night dive! Just one more to go tomorrow - Navigation dive and I’ll be certified. They’ve all been really awesome. The water is so clear, visibility is amazing and there is so much aquatic life, especially massive, giant sea turtles! The night dive tonight was intense. We were in the pitch black in the open ocean, next to a 30-40 meter coral wall. Pretty amazing.Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Using the compass

    Last day on Gili Meno

    October 25, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    I had my last dive today, a Navigation dive, where I had to use a compass underwater. So now I have my Advanced Open Water certification meaning I can dive deeper, to 30 meters and I can do specialty dives like wrecks and night dives. Nice to accomplish it.

    After the dive I went for a walk around the island, literally. It took about 90 minutes to go around the whole thing. Beautiful, serene, peaceful.

    4.4 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    The platform boat used to take us and our stuff to the big boat
    Our little islandVery windy, and very bright up top

    Travel day

    October 26, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    We left our little island today and headed back on a “fast boat” for Bali. It was the first time I wasn’t ready to leave a place. This island was an amazing experience and just so disconnecting from everything. I may have to return here someday.

    As we got to Bali it was shocking to be around so many people again, and all the noise. - we had grown accustomed to almost perfect silence on the island. But we’re here for one night. Tomorrow we leave Indonesia and head on for more adventures! This has been an unexpected, tremendous three weeks here.

    3.2 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Singapore from the air
    Those are all ads on the airplane interiorChinatownMaxwell food centerThe "stall" we ate at tonightOutside of the food center

    Another travel day

    October 27, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    We flew to Singapore this afternoon! It took us forever at the airport to get thru passport control and get all set, so we haven’t seen much today.

    We made it to our hostel (private room still $100 night - very expensive here) and then headed out to dinner. We’re very close to Chinatown.

    Singapore has LOTS of laws. Littering has a hefty fine as well as jail time, and community service - so the city is sparkling clean. Very noticeable difference here from say, Vietnam. Also, gum is outlawed! Again, $1000 fine if found with any. Can’t wait to see more of the city tomorrow.

    We ate at a Hawker center - a bunch of street vendors basically placed in a nicer facility all together. It’s like Vietnam but they’ve taken the vendors off the street somewhat. Still great food at cheap prices.

    4.1 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Merlion Park
    Marina Bay sands hotelSingapore FlyerHelix BridgeArt & science museumWe sat down and colored fish ....... and then they put them into this giant virtual fishtankCrystal gardenLargest indoor waterfall in the world - cloud forestFlower DomeGardens by the BayInteractive playground at the mall2Whirlpool at the mall .. on the outside that fell inside to a waterfallThe whirlpool falling inside2Every mall should have a river in it with boats to ride!!Beautiful outsideLight and water show

    Glorious Singapore

    October 28, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 86 °F

    Singapore is magnificent! What a city!!! It’s beautiful, quiet, so clean, well run, great mass transit, neat buildings, unique architecture, wonderful food .. I could go on and on. It is interesting tho that it’s so “perfect” at times I felt like I was walking around in Disneyland . You know the feeling? Perfectly manicured, controlled environment. Regardless, really nice here.

    We went to a Hawker center again for breakfast. The rest of the world doesn’t really have breakfast food like the US. They just eat regular food you’d eat for any other meal, but earlier in the day. I’ve adjusted. Then we wandered the Marina and saw ALL the sites: saw the Merlion statue, Singapore flyer (think London eye), walked the Helix bridge, went to the ArtScience museum, saw the cloud forest and flower dome, walked thru the Gardens at the bay during the day (night visit for later), hit the amazing Marina mall, and ended the night at the Light and Water show on the waterfront! Whew. We were TIRED after a seeing all that! But it was worth it and awesome.

    8.0 Miles!!    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Dragonfly bridge
    Marina Bay sands hotelFlower dome and cloud forest at night

    Singapore

    October 29, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Leisurely day today - we slept in, and went to a Hawker Center to grab some local food for lunch. Eventually we made our way back to the “Gardens by the Bay” for the night show. There are these 50 meter tall fake trees that are covered in plant life. At night they light up and they do a show set to music.

    It’s free. You wander around, find a place to sit on the concrete, lay down and watch the show. With hundreds of other people. The streets are SO clean you don’t even think twice to lay there. Crazy. It was very relaxing and beautiful, in a “Disney” kind of way.

    4.6 miles    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    2Alexandra Arch2People exercise everywhere hereLoved the dog with sun glassesHenderson Waves22Mount Faber Viewpoint

    Another part of Singapore

    October 30, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    We took off this afternoon for a long hike out in the forests of Singapore. They have elevated walkways everywhere about 35 min from the Marina area. So we took the MRT (their metro) and decided to see what we could see.

    It was very lush, green and gorgeous. It was also really nice walking on elevated platforms almost the entire time. There was a bridge halfway thru called the Henderson Waves - and there was a man there who owned numerous parrots. He was allowing them to free fly all thru the forest, just time out of the house and they were coming back to him! Kind of like a dog at a dog park I guess. Fun to watch. We went thru four different parks/hikes and eventually found ourselves down at another MRT station.

    Hot, VERY humid, we sweat like pigs but it was nice to get out and push ourselves a bit. Haven’t done that for a few countries now.

    7.1 miles 21 flights    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    The Jewel at the airport
    1THIS is inside the airport - 5 story water fall, that drops three more storiesAlready decorating for ChristmasThe fall from the bottomKinetic rainBeautiful flowers everywhereThe top of the Skypark2Picture looking from the bowSoccer field in the bay22Gardens by the bay from above

    Last day in Singapore

    October 31, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Our last day in Singapore - we’re really going to miss the food here. Really tasty.

    So the airport in Singapore is world famous. It’s quite the site with tons of things to see and do. We missed it coming in because of timing, and don’t have time when we leave to see it either - so we made a trip out to the airport today to see what all the fuss was about.

    The airport IS quite a site to see. We’ve been to quite a few now and never seen anything like this. Like everything else in Singapore, they combine nature everywhere they can.

    The only criticism I have of Singapore in general is their signage. It is REALLY hard to find things and they just don’t label things well. So it takes some searching to find anything you’re interested in. The airport is the same. So many things we simply couldn’t find. But what we did, was pretty amazing.

    We also went to the top of the Skypark tonight to see the city from above. That’s the building that looks like a boat sitting on three hotel columns. Beautiful view.

    4.5 miles    Read more

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