by Loti | Jan 2, 2014 | Food, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia. I am always amazed at how much I don’t know. While I have traveled the world fairly extensively, I always find new fascinating things. Whether 5 miles from home, in my backyard or thousands of miles away, there is a whole world out there if I just pick my head up, look around and be present. Checking into my amazing room in Bali, I couldn’t help but notice a very weird looking fruit on the plate in my room. It was brown with scales and looked like a baby armadillo. Do you eat this thing, I wondered? Well it turns out to be salak or snake fruit. Sadly, I never took time to eat one which was my loss since they are packed with nutrition and are supposed to taste both sweet and acidic. And why would I not try one? Because I got busy with other things, life got in the way, all the cliches I can think of come to mind. So next time, I will stop and experience a new wonder. I may never have the chance again. Taking a photo is great, but tasting and experiencing life is even better! Life’s moments only come once and then they are gone forever. My New Year’s resolution? Being fully...
by Loti | Oct 21, 2013 | Indonesia, Travel
Indonesia. Breathtakingly beautiful. At least at the Four Seasons in Bali where we stayed. So beautiful (as seen from my villa in the photo), I didn’t leave the hotel property for the short 48 hours we were in the country. And Indonesia, it turns out, is the 33rd country I have visited around the world. So how many more countries do I need to see in order to have been to every country? And who even keeps track of what defines a country? According to the United Nations, who seems to be the main authority, there are 193. The US State department says 195. England and Scotland are not considered countries since they are part of Great Britain, Greenland is part of Denmark (news to me) yet Vatican City is a country. Ask the Olympic Committee, the World Soccer League, the World Atlas folks and you come up with different answers. But whatever the number, I have a lot to go (about 160 by my reckoning). Yet, as you read this, I will have added India to my list of places visited. So one more my country under my belt. 34 and...
by Loti | Oct 7, 2013 | Africa, Australia, Conquering Fear, Easter Island, Fiji, Food, Indonesia, Panama, Portugal, Travel, United States
Miami/FT Lauderdale . Arriving at our kicking off spot for the jet trip around the world, I am vacillating between being totally terrified (I mean what was I thinking about signing up for a trip with 23 people I don’t know) and feeling completely exhilarated (what an adventure). We visit 8 countries in just 22 days on our Airbus (which hold 24 travelers plus 3 pilots, one engineer, 4 flight attendants, a full time chef and 4 tour guides, plus an IPad to use). So just how far is it around the world? I was guessing 50,000 but it turns out it’s just under 25,000 miles, barely enough to get Silver medallion status on Delta. So if you have any minimal status on any airline, you have probably flown the equivalent of around the world. I just happen to be doing it all at one time. And which way do you want to travel? East to west or the opposite, west to east? As with so many things, I never really thought about it. Our pilots feel flying from East to West is much easier on jet lag. You generally arrive during daylight and then can go to bed at a normal time. Which is great as our entire trip is east to west. We leave for Panama in the morning for a short 2.5 hour trip with no time change so I think we will be safe from jet lag for a couple more days. By this time tomorrow, we will have traversed one of the largest locks in the world (the largest is in Belgium). The journey...
by Loti | Jul 9, 2013 | Africa, Australia, Easter Island, Fiji, Indonesia, Panama, Portugal, Time, Travel
Palm Beach, FL. Having just committed to a 3 week trip around the world beginning in Oct, I now find I need yellow fever shots, extra pages added to my passport, country visas. Yikes! We start in Florida traveling west to Panama, then Easter Island, Fiji, Australia, Bali, India, Kenya, Portugal and then back to Boston. So how do I keep up with the changing time zones? How many time zones even exist in the world and what is a zone? Well, there are 40 time zones according to one website (37 according to another). With a time zone referring to the Earth’s surface loosely divided by 15 degrees of longitude (not even sure what that means) there are 24 standard zones (see map) with another 16 zones that use 30-45 minute increments after the hour. The U.S. actually has 9 time zones (yep 9, including Alaska, Hawaii and Samoa). Ok, really? Yet, China has only one time zone for the entire country and then throw in daylight savings time. And how about outer space? The common practice is to use the time zone of the launch site. Wow, this is way too complicated. I am just glad I start and end in the same zone, 40 zones later (or is it 37?). >...
