Blogs from Batu Ferringhi, Penang, Malaysia, Asia

A good article on the "The Travel" lists several places I have visited. And I would agree that they can be visited cheaply, or at least less expensive than typical Paris, London, Rome, Rio, Tokyo, Sydney, Munich visits. Morocco Interesting place to visit, but not sure how safe it is these days. Food and lodging are quite reasonable, but the pressure to buy from street vendors and store merchants is hardly worth a day on the Medina. Perhaps once you head out to the country or to Marrakech, the retail blitz would lighten to a reasonable level. Hint: forget the snake charmers and camel rides! The Travel says: Morocco is just a rock’s throw from Europe and cheap to travel. Morocco can be quite averagely priced if going on organized tours, but expenses drop significantly when ... read more

When I am on the road, fellow travelers often ask what my best trips or experiences might be. Here is an old list. I will make an updated list as well. Here is my top ten or more, in no particular order, but with a few added comments: Visiting Barry the V in Cape Town and going on four safaris*Super Bowl 47 in Nawlins with Dirty PatA top secret visit to the CIA in VirginiaPeak bloom day for cherry blossoms in the Tidal Basin, Washington, DCAttending the great motorcycle rally at Sturgis, SDA wedding at the Pink Palace in Honolulu of a dear friendVisit the formerly drug infested Medellin, ColombiaAttend the Rose Parade and festivities as guests of Donate LifeNCAA Final Four in Dallas with Springsteen concertTake the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to MoscowSip champagne in ... read more

Our AirAsia flight supposedly landed 30 minutes early. Yay, said the flight attendant, surprisingly called Beyoncé! That cannot be true, the whole flight was only 20 minutes so unless we went supersonic it was never going to take that long! I got onto the free WiFi so I could order a Grab as soon as we landed. It connected upstairs but as soon as we’d got our bags it dropped and didn’t come up again. I was very reluctant to get an overpriced voucher from the taxi desk. The information counter was really unhelpful, just said it didn’t work downstairs, even though I was pointing at the free WiFi sign. Maybe it’s deliberate to make people use the airport taxis. i was not to be beaten so bought an overpriced bottle of coke from a cafe ... read more

I travel by myself often enough, domestically, and overseas. But having Mr. Mike and his son, Matt on this trip has been special. You already know, from our many previous trips, that Mike is the great explorer. But his son, Matt really knows food and drink of all types. And fashion! My Asian friends here were so impressed with his vast knowledge of food, spices, and culture. So was I. So, wherever we went, he added a huge element of background and insight into our food. They could not believe that he knew so much about SE Asian food. And they would not let me pay for anything!!! But now I am back in Bangkok, checked into my hotel (Wednesday). I did not realize the old airport, Don Muang is an hour away from the newer ... read more

Our day started early with our alarm set for 5:35am to have quick showers and check-out for our drive to JB Senai International Airport for our Air Asia flight to Penang. We made good time on the drive there and had organised to meet the Europcar representative there at 7:00am. Finally after a few laps of the airport we found him, handed over the keys and he did his standard check. There were no dints or scratches at all caused by us which was pretty impressive all things considered. We checked the mileage before getting out and noted we'd driven a total of 564kms. We had already checked-in online, just had to print our boarding passes and bag tags and drop our bags off which was all a very smooth and easy process. Then we went ... read more