Bali Safety Bali is one of the safest places we have ever traveled to. A single woman would have little trouble there. The Balinese are very respectful probably due to the fact that with over 3 million people living on an island this small, courtesy is extremely important. Sorry about the tardy response. I lost your e-mail in all of the moves.
Blog Photos The pictures are in JPEG format which are viewable with pretty much any Operating System. If you are having trouble seeing them try right clicking on them and then go to 'open with' and pick whichever program you are accustomed to using to view pictures. If you are using a Mac, you should immediately buy a REAL computer thereby improving your life immeasureably and also stimulating the world economy.
Photos I just discovered your excellent blog and am quite interested in your entries as we are planning a trip to SE Asia later this year. I was able to view your videos but not your photos, which I am sure would also be great. What program do I need?
Thanks.
Leaving Laos Thanks for the complement. At my age I cannot get enough. I should have mentioned that when you leave Laos you have to pay an exit fee of 20 Baht or 2,500 Kip. Obviously Kip is the cheaper way to go. You cannot exchange Kip outside of Lao so use it up if you can. I discovered that most of the Tuk drivers in Nong Kai are Laotian so if you have leftover Kip you can tip them with that. Only tips though. They will want the fare amount in Baht.
Snake Wine Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is snake wine central. Snake wine is available in practically every souvenir store in town. A myriad of choices between bottle sizes, shapes and contents including critters that I could not ID. It is also extremely popular in the Mekong Delta. The city of Can Tho is loaded with the stuff. In restaurants there I saw huge glass containers loaded with critters for the consumption of restaurant goers. The Vietnamese drink this stuff on a regular basis.
Outlets WI-FI Lots of WI-FI places available on the main strip in UBUD. They Use a two round prong outlet system. Electricity is subject to surges so bring an adapter with a filter built in. You can plug alot of the US stuff directly into the wall but without a filter you could get burned. We lost a portable DVD that way.
I stayed at Pramesti Bungalows which was a very nice economical Guesthouse and piggybacked off of the WI-FI at the resort next door.
Hope this helps.
thanks for practical tips I am planning a trip to Ubud and this is precisely the info I was looking for. Also do a lot of places have Wifi? I will be there for 2 months and I have to have access. What type of electrical outlets do they use?
Thank you,
Shay
snake ?
Hello, looking on Google for Snake wine information I found your website, do you have anything more posted here related to Snake wine liquor ?
Snake wine is shown there:
http://www.asiansnakewine.com/
I previously bought a snake wine I am now looking for any other creature wine as mice or tokay, any idea where to find ?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Floridian traveling alone Hi Mike, Loved your blog. I'm single, recently widowed, fit female about to set off alone. Consider myself fairly well traveled but so far missed Bali. Wondering if it's a secure place for me to be wandering alone and did you set off and cover the entire island?
Nice piece! Hi, I came across your blog (and at times loathing, hahaha!) as I was looking up for things to do in Lombok. I was undecisive about Santai Beach Inn at Mangsit in the beginning, but reading one of your earlier peices helped me make up my mind! Gili Air sounds like my kinda place, but my bf loathes the idea of lugging our luggage + dive gear around for short stays, so we are basing ourselves in Mangsit. Will keep coming back to hear more from you guys! - Ene, Malaysia
Excellent !!! Mikey,
I'm so proud of you. I just knew you'd grow up to be something great. Who'd a thunk it?My lil buddy...a blogger !
Seriously Mike,this is first class.Very interesting and well done.
I look forward to the next installment in the continuing adventures of Team Richards.Keep up the good work and God speed. Love You Guys,
Pick
great stuff wow guys, great informative blog.
We are always looking for knowledgable contributors.
www.aussietravellersforum.com.au
Not just for Aussies, share your view of the world :)
Thanks for addressing us for your blog. We look forward to going to the computer to check on your latest. This issue had Ila laughing so hard she cried.
Looks beautiful No blondes washing that man outta their hair? This ain't the Bali I know of. Looks like you guys are having a great time. Leaves are vibrant gold and red here. Will think of you at the first frost.
i'll be the first Wow- this is great- much better than the weekly emails we usually get. Having traveled with you guys before I can easily picture you at the various destinations. It's a bright spot in an unemployed person's day to read about all the exotic locales. Although I recognized the pointed jab at Seattle. BTW- where's Noah? Why isn't he commenting?
Home Front It looks beautiful. It sounds like you've been finding compfortable places to rest when you need it most. It also sounds like it would cost me as much to get to a resturant as it does for you to eat at one. I got Mom to the airport last Friday morning, and she's safely back home.
I'm looking forward to your updates, and will shar them with Ellen and the kids.
Love Tom
We are Mike and Karen. We were fortunate enough to retire while we still had our wits and our legs. We are striving to fill our days with long journeys and lazy days. Over the past few years we have taken a yen to SE Asia. Our past trips have included South and North America, Europe and East Africa. Life is good and getting better all the time.... full info
Mike and Karen
Mike Richards
Bali Safety
Bali is one of the safest places we have ever traveled to. A single woman would have little trouble there. The Balinese are very respectful probably due to the fact that with over 3 million people living on an island this small, courtesy is extremely important. Sorry about the tardy response. I lost your e-mail in all of the moves.