FUN-photos: A&K Private Jet Wild Life Safari – Borneo & India

December 29, 2022 by · Comments Off on FUN-photos: A&K Private Jet Wild Life Safari – Borneo & India 

Cebu to Borneo – 1.5 hr flight – cancelled due to wing flap sensor malfunction – part coming from Iceland!

Day 3 – oh well SS (shit show) happens! Luckily, I booked the last available massage at 1. Then lobster lunch at 2:30 was so filling that we had to pass on the last-minute special dinner planned by our team at 6pm.

Plane part supposed to arrive 5 pm tomorrow, so a Cebu city tour is planned. Unfortunately, Chris did that and not the whale sharks because he thought he’d have to get in the water to see them.

Day 4 – 5:30 pm – YEAH! part arrives – Happy Hour pizza party on beach

Day 5 – Cebu to Borneo – 1.5 hr flight – plan is “go to the Orangutan Sanctuary and hop back on the jet” headed to Jaipur.

More SS as now the plane has a hydraulic seal issue! At least this part is coming from Kuala Lumpur.

  • 1st stop – Orangutang & Honey Bear Rehabilitation Center – a bit disappointing since viewing is through a wall of glass
  • 2nd stop – Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary

FUN-fact: In Cebu and Borneo we had police escorts thru town to stop traffic. Definitely felt like royalty!

Sabah Hotel Sandakan – (where we were supposed to stay on Day 3 & 4) re-books us and a cultural show with dinner.

Day 6 – 9 am tour back to sanctuary for feeding in hopes of seeing Orangutangs in the jungle. Got to see 1 plus lots of other monkeys scurrying and scattering to get the leftovers.

More FF: The A&K team did an incredibly great job at recovery! To have to cancel and then re-book all the transportation, hotels, local guides, etc. for over 60 people was truly amazing!

2 pm – Borneo to Jaipura – 7 hr flight – gain 2.5 hrs – arrive 6:30 pm – customs SS! Board motor coaches for 3+ hr drive to Rathambore – 11 pm arrive Oberois Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort for 3 nights

Not so FF: Totally missed out on all the festivies in Jaipur.

Day 1 – 1st drive 7 am – no tigers

  • 2nd drive 3 pm – get ever so lucky! My Xena is definitely watching out for us as “Tony the Tiger” walks right in front of our jeep. Chris’ camera bag had bounced off the seat and spilled out. So, we stopped to put it all back and that’s when he crossed right in front of us. Then he started walking toward us, so driver put jeep in reverse. Watched him mark his spots by scratching the tree trunk and then took a big dump – incredibly exciting to say the least!

Day 2 – 5:45 am wake up for 1st game drive – no tigers but lots of birds and monkeys – back for breakfast at 10:30 – lunch at 1 followed by a nap and 90 min Balinese massage at 3 🙂

FF: Both nights great food and entertainment! Service incredible – all staff beyond accommodating – leaving us feeling ultimately pampered and spoiled!

Not so FF – The dirt roads are so heavily rutted due to rainy season just ending. The rocking and rolling jeep ride feels like you’re being rumbled and tumbled, jammed and slammed like rocks in a quarry.

 

 

FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World #7 – The Taj Mahal

May 11, 2017 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World #7 – The Taj Mahal 

Taj Mahal FUN-facts

  • Translated means Crown of the Palace.
  • Commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
  • She was a Persian princess who died giving birth to their 14th child.
  • It took 20,000 artists 10 years to complete at a cost of 32 million rupees.
  • In 2015 it would have cost 52.8 billion rupees or $827 million US.
  • Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”

FUN-Fact – It is made of semi translucent white marble and polished to emphasize the exquisite detailing of flower carvings.

More FF – Specialists brought in from as far away as Europe produced magnificent marble screens, archway spandrels decorated with highly stylized almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits, and pietra dura (marble inlay work) made with thousands of semiprecious stones, yellow marble, jasper and jade then polished and leveled to the surface of the walls.

  • In the summer of 2007, more than 90 million people cast their votes to determine which architectural marvels in the world deserved to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There were a total of twenty-one landmarks vying for that title.

  • Of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, only the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt still stand. The pyramids were given an automatic spot after infuriated Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace to have to compete for something that had belonged to their country for so long. I agree!  We saw them in 2007.
  • It is our goal to see all twenty-one landmarks. Also, Chris and I have collectively seen a lot of the twenty-one, however, not together. So the rule is, “If you’ve been there but not together, it doesn’t count.”

New 7 Wonders of the World we’ve been to:

#1 Chichen Itza, Mexico – 2005

#2 Great Wall of China – 2010

#3 Machu Picchu, Peru – February, 2012

#4 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro – February, 2012

#5 The Coliseum – Rome, Italy – August, 2012

#6 Petra, Jordan – March, 2013

#7 The Taj Mahal – Agra, India – November 2016

New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Ups we’ve been to:

# 9 Statue of Liberty, New York – May, 2005

#10 Sydney Opera House, Australia – January, 2006

#11 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – May, 2007

#12 Acropolis, Athens – May, 2007

#13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia – March, 2010

#14 Eiffel Tower, Paris – October, 2010

#15 Stonehenge, England – October, 2011

#16 Alhambra, Spain – August, 2012

#17 Easter Island, Chile – February, 2013

#18 Neuschwanstein Castle – Füssen, Germany – September, 2013

#19 Red Square, Moscow – July 2014

TBD #20 – Kiyomizu Temple – Kyoto, Japan – April 2018

TBA #21 – Timbuktu – Mali, Africa (may never happen due to current civil war)

FUN-video: Last BIG Fat Vacation – Movie Trailer

December 27, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-video: Last BIG Fat Vacation – Movie Trailer 

We have now officially made it to all of the New 7 Wonders of the World…and 19 out of the 21 that were vying for that title.

  • In addition…we visited a total of 15 UNESCO World Heritage sites…with our modes of transportation including: 1 elephant – 2 camel carts – 2 horse carts – 3 rickshaws – 4 jeep safaris – 1 boat safari – 1 houseboat – 1 live aboard – 1 river cruise – 5 lake boats – more than 2500 kilometers driven – 9 international flights – 17 domestic flights…and it took 50+ hours to get home.

Thank god the bucket list is almost done!

  • Here’s a little snippet of the trip from over 5 hours of edited video. Enjoy!

FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 2

December 26, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 2 

20 Days – Nagerhole National Park…for more safari…Chikmagalur…and temple touring…Historical Hampi…with its Rocks and Ruins…Aurangabad and the Elaborate Ellora & Amazing Ajanta Caves… carved out of solid rock hillsides…Multi Cultural Cochin…called the “Queen of the Arabian Sea”…Kerala…land of Coconuts & Curry…on a Heavenly Houseboat for a backwaters cruise…Picturesque Periyar National Park…Magnificent Madurai Monuments…and Marvelous Mamallapuram…for more monolithic… Indian rock-cut architecture.

FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 1

December 24, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 1 

  • We covered a lot of territory…from the tippy top in the Himalayas…and ending … at the very end… literally! …in the city of Trivandrum.

First 22 Days – Bustling Bombay…our Himalayan high…Dizzying Delhi… Awesome Agra with its Majestic Taj Mahal and Red Fort Complex…Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary…Rathambore Reserve… in search of the ever elusive tigers…which remained just that…Jaipur Palaces…Pushkar Camel Fair…Commanding Kumbhalgarh Fort… Jain Temple Treat…Unbelievable Udaipur…and Very Sacred – Very Special – Varanasi…where we celebrated Dev Dewali on the Ganges.

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