Archive for the ‘travel adventures’ Category

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California: the Sojourn Begins

July 28, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

After a 15 hour non-stop flight, we are safely in California. After much sleeping to recuperate and adjust to the new time zone, We headed out to do a few errands.

Unfortunately, we didn’t think to exchange our currency before leaving the airport. In the UAE, changing currency is not a problem as there are currency exchanges on nearly every street and rates are reasonable. In the States, there are few currency exchanges outside the airport and if you go to a bank to exchange currency, they will expect you to have a bank account with them. We ended up going to the nearest airport and trying there. As non-passengers, we had access to only one exchange kiosk. The rate they offered was outrageous. For the equivalent of $700, they were offering us $500. We weren’t willing to lose $200 that way. So, off we went to find another option, a currency exchange kiosk in a shopping mall. This time we got $600, so had to take it even though that’s not a good rate either, but we were over a barrel, so to speak. Lesson learned, always exchange currency before leaving the UAE airport.

Next errand was to get USA phone sim cards which are necessary because there is no roaming service for Etisalat or Du here. This was easier than our currency experience.

By then we were very hungry and went in search of a neighborhood taqueria. We landed at El Papucho and had enormous burritos. It was a quaint family business, half restaurant and half grocery store.

By then our afternoon was shot and we headed home to pick up DaddyBird’s parents and head to the Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival performance of Hamlet, starring family members as Laertes and Ophelia. The performance was wonderful. Audience members were laughing and crying at all the right places.

For pictures, click here.

Posted in food, restaurant, Theatre, travel adventures, USA | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Leaving Ukraine

July 7, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

suspension bridge wires

Friday morning, we got into a taxi and hurtled toward the airport. Neither of the taxis we rode in had functioning seat belts, which always makes me uncomfortable.

view out the airplane window at the runway

Back into an Air Arabia plane. Thankfully, this flight was also only about half full, so we had an extra seat between us.

bugs bunny cartoon on the drop down screen

They showed the same Bugs Bunny cartoon.

white, fluffy clouds out the window

Many miles of white fluffy clouds.

brown haze out the airplane window

One does not really realize how much of the desert is airborne until you see it from the top.

view of desert as plane is landing

Hello Sand Pit. Back to miles and miles of brown.

sunset pink clouds

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Ukraine: Day Six

July 5, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

The walking we did on Day Five very nearly did me in, therefore, Day Six became rest up day. We did nearly nothing other than eat and sleep.

bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs

The advantage of renting a studio apartment, having a vague itinerary, and travelling with my chef is the freshly made hot breakfasts.

ironwork sculpture - bearded man with watering can

We did venture out in the evening to meet our friend for dinner. Walking from the metro train station to the restaurant, we passed this apartment building that has a blacksmith shop in the ground floor. I suspect that they never lack for heat in this building.

ironwork sculpture - knight's helmet mounted on the side of the building

Back to the neighborhood restaurant from Day Three, we had a lovely dinner with our friend Rupert.

light brown bread slices in a basket

Having ordered “white bread” this is what came. Rather healthy looking white bread.

salad of cucumber, tomato, onion, feta cheese, and olives.

This is my Greek salad.

pork meat, grilled squash, and tomato sauce

DaddyBird’s pork entree.

two pieces of beef steak with wine sauce

My steak with wine sauce. (There were a couple of other pictures I was going to add, but I cannot seem to get them to load successfully.)

We had a pleasant, relaxing evening followed by a train ride and walk back to our apartment. However, upon arriving we discovered that the electricity was out in our building. It was just our building. DaddyBird had planned for such emergencies, so he had flashlights. The real problem was sleeping, since DaddyBird has sleep apnea and needs a CPAP device which requires electricity. It was a hot and restless night. We can say that we’ve had the complete Ukrainian experience.

Posted in food, travel adventures, Ukraine | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

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Ukraine: Day Four

July 2, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

Soviet hammer and sickle emblem on an iron gate

Most of the museums are closed on Mondays, so we took a stroll through the historical heart of the city. Starting with a metro train ride. Then a downhill walk to the central area we had visited after dark before. Stopped into a phone store so that DaddyBird could get a local sim card. The challenge is finding a store where there is a clerk who speaks English. With that accomplished, it was time for lunch at a brew pub.

steep hillside rail car

Another metro train ride to a stop near the funicular entrance and a ride up the funicular later, we were on the top of a hill. At the top of this hill is the St. Michael Cathedral. Quite amazing and beautiful. We continued our walk to St. Andrews Church. By this time for me, the thought of climbing the steps to St. Andrews was a no brainer. I had a seat on the bottom step and people watched while DaddyBird scaled the hill and checked it out.

baroque style church on the top of a hill

We continued on down the hill gawking and taking pictures all the way. Once we reached flatland, it was time to catch a metro train back to our neighborhood and meet friends for drinks.

red velvet wall hanging with a picture of Vladimir Lenin on it

To see all the pictures and comments, click here.

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Ukraine: Day Three

July 1, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

A rather low key day spent wondering about, looking at our surroundings. Most of the time spent sitting, eating, and talking.

blue sky, white clouds, ornate gable of an old building

To see all the pictures and commentary, click here.

Public transport is old, noisy, and bumpy, but it is reliable and cheap. You might want earplugs for riding on the subway train, but it will only cost 2 Hryvnia ($0.25 US or 0.90 AED) to ride to any destination on the three lines. To ride the trolley buses (electric) it will cost you a whopping 1.50 Hryvnia ($0.18 US or 0.67 AED) for a single ride for any distance. Both the trains and the buses run on frequent schedules. During peak times, the trains run at 3 minute intervals and off-peak 6 minutes, or so. (Back when I was travelling by public transit in Portland Oregon, the intervals were 10, 15, 20 minutes and more off-peak.)

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Ukraine: Day Two

June 30, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

brown toilet paper rolled tightly with no cardboard center

One guess what this is. It’s not very attractive or promising, but it is serviceable.

shoes placed on the heated towel rack

After the rain storm, my shoes were quite soaked. Luckily, we happened to have a water heated towel rack that dried them effectively.

We spent most of the day light hours blogging and sleeping and more sleeping. In the evening, we headed out for a walk to the downtown area (approximately 2 miles). It was just a leisurely stroll, looking at the sights …

ornate church spires

looking in store windows …

porcelain figures, a horse drawn carriage

and counting the many sushi bar signs.

orange sign for the Manga sushi bar restaurant

We stopped in here for dinner – Puzata Hata.

red sign over a restaurant door

It turned out to be a cafeteria style restaurant where one gets a tray and goes down the line pointing to food desired.

two trays full of plates and bowls of food

Here is what we ended up with. Chicken, potatoes, salad, dumplings, and borsch. This spread cost us 124.55 Hryvnia ($15.27 US or 56 AED). When selecting the bottled water, I had compared the blue label and the green label to try to decipher what the difference was. I could not, so just went with the green label. Upon opening it and having it explode, I deduced that green label means sparkling water. Blue label, therefore, is probably still water. Live and learn.

yellow building with a red roof, yellow bus, city street

We continued our walk downtown with my mood much improved with my hunger finally sated. The architecture is lovely and varied. It is refreshing to see an old, well established city with a clear identity.

mechanical candy making machine in the store window

We stopped into another Roshen candy shop. This one had a lovely candy making machine in the window to amaze children, young and old.

beautiful building with fountain, lit after dark

The sun went down and the lights came up. We stopped here for a while to sit on a park bench, rest my feet, and watch people go by.

The downtown area was full of people enjoying a pleasant summer’s evening. Due to the weekend the streets were closed to automobile traffic and pedestrians were free to wander where they would. Buskers and street performers were out and about.

In fact, here’s a little taste.

In the end, we took the metro train back to our neighborhood and called it a night.

For all the pictures, click here.

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Ukraine: Day One

June 29, 2013

Posted to Kanga.

view out plane window of airport control tower

We departed from the Sharjah Airport on Air Arabia. This was a new experience. We usually travel from the much, much larger Dubai airport. Sharjah airport is small and quite efficient.

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

This is my food court breakfast (freshly made mushroom and onion omelette), which I had to gobble down because the loud speaker started calling passengers for our flight. We arrived at the “gate” and were bussed to the plane.

space between my knees and the seat in front of me

Happily, the flight was only half full, so we had plenty of space and no one reclining the seats in front of us. Air Arabia was a pleasant experience. They are a low frills airline, similar to Southwest Airlines. The tickets are cheaper, but you pay fees for things like the weight of your bags (which is nice because you can pay less if you travel light or if you know you will have a heavy bag, you can pay for the weight you need). There is food on the plane, but you pay for that separately, too.

airplane drop down screen showing safety video

The safety video was the best I’ve seen because they cleverly cast only children. It was actually interesting to watch.

Japanese style fan on an airplane seat

It was a bit hot, especially since we had been bussed out to the plane on the tarmac rather than walking through an air conditioned gangway. However, I always come prepared for these eventualities.

close up of the airplane safety guide sheet showing a red X through a remote control toy car

I was disappointed to find that I was not allowed to play with my remote control car. All that aisle space and I can’t race up and down it?

airplane safety sheet showing a red X through something indistinguishable

I never did figure out this illustration of something I am not supposed to do. My best guess is that when the plane crashes, before I exit, I am supposed to remove my shoes and leave my briefcase behind. I assure you, I will not be taking off my shoes during a crash. My bags are on their own, but until they provide ample leg space, my shoes are sticking with me.

cartoon on an airplane drop down screen

There was entertainment provided, beginning with a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It was nice to see old Bugs. I haven’t seen him in ages. We were amused at how much kissing and groping there was in this little cartoon. I wouldn’t be allowed to have this cartoon in my library.

view out the airplane window

After a short flight (less than 5 hours), we arrived in the verdant Ukraine.

Soviet style apartment buildings

For all the pictures and commentary, click here.

We ventured out in the evening just as a summer rainstorm let loose. We waited under a sheltered area until the worst was over. Thunder, lightning, rivers rushing down hill. All very exciting. Needless to say my shoes were soon soaked. I only brought one pair. 😦

Brief video of the fountain at Ocean Plaza mall.

Posted in Sharjah, travel adventures, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Jerash

April 13, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

Our last site to see was Jerash. It was established by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. and later expanded as a Roman city, one of the Decapolis cities.

triple arched gate

Much of the city was toppled by the earthquake in 749 A.D., but it is one of the best preserved sites.

steps and massive Corinthian pillars

The pillars of the Temple of Artemis remained standing despite the earthquake.

Roman street lined with columns

We had a guide and it was worthwhile. Sometimes the guides can get in the way of the experience (such as the one at the Citadel). This guide went slowly, told us important information without it being too much and gave us lots of time to take pictures and enjoy ourselves.

To see all the pictures, click here.

Posted in historical site, Jordan, travel adventures | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Madaba, Mt. Nebo, and the Dead Sea

April 10, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

After Wadi Rum and Petra, it seems to be downhill. Perhaps we should have reversed the order of our itinerary.

Dead Sea, beach, feet

On our way to the Dead Sea, we stopped at St. George Church in Madaba where there is a mosaic map from the 6th Century. Neither of us is very interested in the Byzantine era. I enjoyed some of the newer mosaics that were hanging in the church (21st Century).

We also stopped at the Mosaic School, where we were briefly (very briefly) shown how new mosaics are made in a small workroom and then ushered into the expansive gift shop. The school teaches Jordanians, some of whom are physically disabled, how to create and restore mosaics. They do good work.

Next was Mt. Nebo, where there are more remains of mosaic flooring from a Byzantine church. The view of the Jordan Valley was lovely, despite the cloudiness.

By mid-afternoon we were at our Dead Sea hotel, ready for a late, late lunch and a long nap. Testing the waters waited until the next morning.

See all the pictures – click here.

Posted in Jordan, travel adventures | 1 Comment »

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Petra Cats

April 9, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

You knew it would happen, right? A post about stray cats during our vacation is traditional.

orange tabby laying on top of a garbage can

We saw this tom three times on our trips up and down the siq (canyon). He clearly has a territory that is his niche. There is a patch of bamboo and a large crack going away from the path area, so there is probably a whole ecosystem that provides for his needs.

Since we were walking out on the second day, we could stop to have a little chat with him.

bearded man petting cat

He was very sweet and very clean (except for his dusty paws). It would appear that he has a pretty cushy life just sitting around, licking himself, and watching the tourists go by.

man petting orange tabby

The cats in this region aren’t Arabian Maus, like our own Oliver and Bert. These cats have shorter legs, shorter spines, and rounder faces. They are very nicely proportioned, medium sized cats.

cat on man's shoulders

He even made himself right at home on DaddyBird’s shoulders.

We tore ourselves away and went further up the trail. This little female came running with her tail in the air when she saw us.

orange tabby with tail in the air

She also was happy to get some attention.

man petting orange tabby

Until the dog came…

cat at the base of a tree

And she had to take defensive measures.

cat in the tree, dog at the base of the tree

All the stray cats we’ve encountered in town have been very skittish and defensive. It was nice to encounter these two, who have it pretty good and can afford to be friendly.

If you would like to see all the pictures from our second day at Petra (222 of them) click here.

Posted in animals, cats, Jordan, travel adventures | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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