After days of island hopping, we finally made our way to Nairobi to start our long-awaited safari! We arrived at 1:20 AM but we needed to wait for our friends (Sokunna and Brian whom we went to South Africa safari together and Brian’s son TJ) to arrive at 5 AM. We waited at the luggage… Read More Kenya Day 1 – Bumpy Ride to Maasai Mara
Our next island hopping in Seychelles – Platte Island where the new Waldorf Astoria private island resort opened just a few months ago. I redeemed 3 nights with my 2 free night certificates and 130K Hilton points. Even though the stay was “free”, getting there alone cost €700 per person roundtrip on a chartered flight… Read More Seychelles – Waldorf Astoria Platte Island: 3 nights in paradise
After a short stay in Mauritius, we island-hopped to Seychelles. There’s a nonstop flight from Mauritius to Seychelles on certain days of the week with Air Seychelles and it took only 2.5 hours. The short flight was expensive in terms of flight time at $260 per person; everything in Seychelles is a lot more expensive!… Read More Seychelles and its most beautiful beach – Anse Source d’Argent
Since our South Africa safari trip in 2017, I have wanted to go back to Africa to see the Great Migration in Kenya/Tanzania. Once Kenya and Tanzania dropped their covid testing requirement, I asked Sokunna and Brian if they were up for a safari trip to see the Great Migration. Without hesitation, they said yes… Read More The Underwater Waterfall of Mauritius
I was on a business trip to India and had a weekend free so I decided to visit Jaipur with my co-worker, Brian to check off another country. Why I choose Jaipur instead of Taj Mahal? Jaipur, based on what I read online, seemed more like a travel destination where there are plenty to see… Read More Weekend Trip to Jaipur, India
The next morning, we got up and ready to head out at 7 AM to San Marco’s Square again. People in costumes and photographers were up early to get their one-of-a-kind photographs! It was noticeably a lot more quiet in the early morning with very few tourists. Photographers had their lighting set up while people… Read More More Incredible Costumes and Masks at the Venice Carnival
Venice is one of the most unique places that I have ever been to (even after traveling 50+ countries), it stood against time with its Renaissance and Gothic palaces, countless bridges and canals, and car-free. If there’s one place that makes you feel travel back in time, Venice is the first one in my mind!… Read More Venice Carnival – An Incredible Festival of Costumes and Masks
Our last stop on this trip was Tokyo, where we spent two quick nights before flying home. This was our 2nd time in Tokyo so we didn’t do any sightseeing and just concentrated on eating and shopping! We flew from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda (the airport much closer to Tokyo center) and took an Uber/taxi… Read More Tokyo – All You Can Eat Waygu Beef, Tsukiji Outer Market, and Capsule Toys
From Bali, we stopped in Japan before heading home thanks to Alaska Airlines’ generous free stopover even on a one-way award flight. Most of us had previously been to Tokyo and Osaka, so we decided to go to Hokkaido. It wasn’t easy to get to Hokkaido, it involved 3 flight changes: Bali to Jakarta, Jakarta… Read More Sapporo, Hokkaido – First Oversea Getting Medical Help Experience
We got up just before sunrise to prepare for our 6 AM head start to the infamous Lempuyang Temple, aka “Gates of Heaven”. Even at 6 AM arriving at 7 AM, Putu said the wait would be at least 3 hours; he had clients get up at 3 AM and wait in line for the… Read More Bali Day 5 – Lempuyang “Gates of Heaven” and Tirta Gangga Water Palace
