http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/DonKey44/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from DonKey44 en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:53:05 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:53:05 +0000 S ingapore H arbor O ldest P ort The flight lasted about 2.5 hours and we stopped to change money in the airport. Two competing changers right next to each other waved me over. The first quoted 298.10 SGD for my 220. I thanked her and walked 10 feet to the other. The little wench said 300 SGD. I said Bingo you win. Then she said No 298.10. I grabbed my money and headed back to the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Bugis-Village/blog-459095.html Hotel Old Terrible At the Denpasar Airport we paid 10 each for a visaonarrival changed 100 plus 150 MR into 1300000 IDRIndonesian Rupiah prepaid 1095000 IDR for a taxi and careened through the heavy night traffic to Sanur and the Bumas prepaid hotel. It should have been named the Motel 3 as the condition and comfort was about half an old Motel 6. My attempt at a shower in the curtain http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Sanur/blog-458805.html Towers Are Lasting Legacy At the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia airport we deplaned onto the tarmac and walked at least a quarter mile before getting a thermal image scan which is non invasive painless and preferable to getting a light bulb stuck up the wazoo looking for sinister shadows. Before clearing passport control we changed 100 into 333MRMalaysian Ringit. At customs we declared our dangerous http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/Bukit-Bintang/blog-457978.html Our driver did a picture stop at one temple and we walked through the temple where the giant tree roots have overgrown the stones in the Ta Prohm Temple. This Indiana Jones setting made for great pictures. Up until now except for Miss Persistence I don't know what NO means we had avoided the advances of the short super sellers. But at the last complex I folded. The girl showed me a T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-457487.html Cambodia Is Pristine Royal Outgoing Day 3 November 5 The first big test for our 26night Kazna Hotel came at the exit. Would the complimentary airport transport be there Twenty drivers holding signs with names lined the sidewalk. Number 17 had ours and escorted us to a remorkHonda motorcycle pulling a 2 wheeled cart. He paid the exit fee and we whizzed toward Siem Reap at 25 mph with the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-457251.html Southeast AsiaNovember 317 2009Flights Are RestlessDays 123 November 35 United flight 895 scheduled to depart at 1223 pm sat like a huge 747 albatross waiting for us to board at gate 6. Our son drove us to South Beloit at 7 am and we paid our 50 for the hour and a half Van Galder Bus ride to O'Hare. We arrived around 9 used the automated check in and sat by ourselves in a corner of th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-455304.html Day 19 September 19 At 5 am we got ready rode the lift to the front desk checked out and sat in the now quiet courtyard. Two German ladies with luggage showed up followed by two more couples. We had booked the 6 am shuttle and could not afford to take the one an hour later. As we sat there two ladies of the evening staggered toward the van laughing and talking loudly until one bent over t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-446917.html Day 18 September 18 At 340 we checked out grabbed some free Scandic Marski pens and waited for our 25 euro35 relatively cheap cab. Arriving a few minutes late while the high priced cabs sat out front I double checked the price with the recent eastern immigrant and we left listening to twangy irritating Indian music. I sat in the first row while Lee sat behind in the next. With absolutel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-446456.html Day 17 September 17 We woke up to clear skies and cool weather. At breakfast I tried smoked herring which tasted pretty good not good enough for a second helping but not too bad. We loaded up on meat bread jam eggs tomato yogurt fruit cereal and orange juice. No later fish burps made me regret my herring helping. We hopped on the 3 tram and arrived 25 minutes ahead of the scheduled http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-446427.html Day 15 September 15 After eating another colon clogging colossal breakfast and thanks to scouting yesterday we left at 8 am confident in reaching Arlanda Airport way ahead of time before our Stockholm Card expired. At the airport self check in we got our boarding passes for the changed flight at almost 2 pm. At the gate we saw stairs going up to the second floor where we parked all by ourselves http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-443294.html We don't trust any one or anything especially on trips where evil locals give false or misleading information to helpless tourists. After another huge delicious breakfast I departed exactly at 8 am to check how long the airport trip took. The directions from the information booth yesterday seemed extremely simple. Use the Stockholm Card take public transportation to Marsta and bus 583 to the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-443292.html Day 13 September 13 Another 3.86 pound breakfast of meat eggs pancakes yogurt fruit and juice packed a gazillion calories into the hatch for a long haul sightseeing day. On a Sunday the busses run infrequently. Waiting at first one bus stop another and another we just kept walking until we hit the Royal Palace which had not opened yet. Right behind the Palace is RiddarholmskyrkanRiddarh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-443287.html Day 12 Saturday September 12 We have had many included breakfasts at hotels around the world usually hockey puck rolls cereal and juice tea or coffee. The Royal Viking had the BEST breakfast we have ever had. With more choices than a big balled black bull in a herd of horny Hereford heifers they even had a Japanese buffet besides the 100 foot regular buffet. We treated this as breakfast http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-443234.html Day 11 September 11 Besides being my Mother's 91st birthday we all remember the insane Muslim diseased creeps who flew into the World Trade Center in 2001. Imagine their surprise when instead of beautiful virgins they were greeted by the red stoker in hell not much different than their countries. We walked to the train station and got two tickets on the slow train for 204 NOK34. On th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-443222.html Day 10 September 10 Our last sightseeing day in Oslo started with the Munch Museum via two busses. At the stop the only sign was a road sign up the street. We started walking and brushed past a group of preschoolers dawdling on the sidewalk. A block up it became evident the preschoolers knew where they wanted to go and we did not . A university student directed us back in the direction we ha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/Oslo/Asker/blog-442978.html Day 9 September 9 After a half banana 2 cookie breakfast we left at 830 and picked bus 54 north to the cemetery. Most graves had red flowers and while neatly arranged lacked variety of tombstones. Busses 34 and 30 took us and 12 preschoolers to the Norsk Folkemuseum which had buildings from all over Norway including Gol stave Church from the 11th century old farm buildings animals towns http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/Oslo/Asker/blog-442961.html At 830 we walked to the tourist information center and got two 72 hour Oslo Passes for 820 NOK137. Bus 30 dropped us right at the door of the VikingskipshusetViking Ship Museum. Three burial ships about 1100 years old thrilled us along with the associated artifacts. They had platforms to look down on the ships and with no tour busses dropping off hundreds until we had finished we walked th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/Oslo/Asker/blog-442941.html Day 16 September 16 We woke up to rain. The breakfast buffet tasted good but took second place to the Radisson in Stockholm. Umbrella in hand we marched out to the tram stop in front of the hotel and rode the circuit past residential areas parks the Olympic Stadium down town buildings and back to the train station where we departed to collect some information. The tourist information agen http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-443307.html Day 7 September 7 We beat the sun up walked to the central train station stood in line to buy a 42 DKK8 supplemental ticket and got on the train to the airport. At the xray security two guys got in a verbal screaming match when one attempted to butt in the line. As we sat in the parked Norwegian Air plane they announced As we are presently refueling the plane please remain in your seat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/Oslo/Asker/blog-442937.html The usual tea granola bar banana breakfast got us out the door by 830. Bus 5A picked us up outside the CabInn and the driver told us he would show us where to get off for Assistens Cemetery present home of Hans Christian Andersen. Kind of a scruffy recent immigrant end of town the cemetery looked like a well kept park. Really interesting stones usually in family groups open spaces trees http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Denmark/Region-Hovedstaden/Copenhagen/blog-442666.html