Travel with Art

Taj Mahal, Agra (from across the river) For a slideshow of my photos scroll to the bottom of this entry (you can click on the slideshow there to open in Picasa for a larger sized view) Road to Udaipur 30 minutes to descend from the mountains and back on to main highways to head to Udaipur. The temperature seems to have warmed up a bit from the previous chill - and that is quite nice. Our route continued for the most part as the drive into Mt Abu. Then we started to head into and through other mountain ranges that rose from the flats that also became more noticeably farmland. Udaipur itself is set nestled into several hills built around three lakes and dominated by the hill containing the massive City Palace. Udaipur After checking into the fort like Ramada Resort we headed out with our driver for our first views of Udaipur.  And then came the central streets… I should actually say alleys as it was unbelievable how our driver was able to get through these streets ...

I will be covering my tour of India in 2 parts. Please enjoy! Part 1 - A: Delhi | B: Mandawa | C: Bikaner | D: Jaisalmer | E: Jodhpur | F: Mt Abu Part 2 - G: Udaipur | H: Pushkar | I: Jaipur | J: Agra | K: Varanasi | A: Delhi For a slideshow of my photos scroll to the bottom of this entry (you can click on the slideshow there to open in Picasa for a larger sized view) Delhi Air India is a pretty basic service with nothing to recommend its business class except for having front of the plane and larger seats. Service was mostly one of ignorance!  Anyway we did have wheelchair assist for Mom so were able to bypass the enormous immigrations queues and that was worth a great deal. Our driver and a tour company rep were waiting for us on arrival and then it was into Delhi traffic to go to the tour office to settle the balance and get the hotel and travel vouchers for the remainder of our tour. First hotel was Le Meridien (part of the Starwoods Group) and ful...

6 days. Great weather. Full fledged resort. Large swimming pools. Private beach. We had a very nice time in Langkawi, Malaysia staying at the Westin Resort. As indicated in my 2013 itinerary I was supposed to be racing on Freewind. Unfortunately she experienced difficulties on the attempt to get her from Phuket to Langkawi so did not make it. Mom and I went anyway and used it to see more of the island that I had previously and simply rested as tourists.  A bit of shopping (especially with the very cheap booze prices). A day cruise around several Langkawi islands with a stop at a private beach for BBQ and swimming. Lazing and reading at the pools and out on the private beach. A rental car and drive around the island to the wonderful Bird Paradise, some of the waterfalls, and other more touristy beach towns. We felt for the sailors as the weather for us was perfect (almost no winds, hot and sunny) - which of course was not great for them. A slideshow for your amusement: ...

Mom and I headed to Bangkok on December 23 to spend Christmas there with several friends from Phuket: Steve Marshall, Steve's son Chris and Chris' girlfriend Stacy, John Hassall and Uie, John Young, Russel Martin, and Jude and Steve. We all stayed near or on Sukhumvit Soi 11 but in a few different hotels. Still, with the sky train, it was easy to gather - as we did over the next 3 days. First up was drinks at an Irish Bar as the people started to arrive. The next day Mom went out with Steve to do a bit of shopping and I headed to the Indian Embassy to collect my passport with the visa for my travel in January to India. Then Christmas Eve Dinner at the wonderful Italian restaurant, Lemoncello. Christmas Day we headed over to the Intercontinental Hotel for a multi-hour buffet dinner (some of use took the free-flowing champagne and wine package; a few were not imbibing). Boxing Day we headed out to the Chao Pray river and boarded a longtail boat to traverse sections of the river...

Every year the Raja Muda Sailing Regatta is held in Malaysia. Starting at Port Klang (near Kuala Lumpur) the event races to Pangkor, then Penang, and finishes in Langkawi.  I did this year's race on Nick Smith's Freewind, with fellow crew Mai, Mick, John, Wazza, and Tony. Some people kipped on board but 4 of us took the more comfortable route of hotels at each of the stops. We raced in class 5 (there were 3 classes for IRC rated boats, 1 for premier, 1 for multi-hulls, and 1 for cruising boats). Race 1: Port Klang to Pangkor - result 2 Race 2: Pangkor to Penang - result 6 Race 3: inshore Penang - result 2 Race 4: Penang to Langkawi - result 5 Race 5: inshore Langkawi - result 1 Race 6: inshore Langkawi - result 3 OVERALL - we finished 3rd in our class  A few pictures and a video for you: Sunset at sea Penang: fish farms and George Town Crew under way Sunset in harbour Me and Mount Gay Waiting to start Penang inshore race

Taxi - Train - Tuk Tuk - Mini Van - Taxi   Train tracks at Village Stop On the train So what a ride! We set our alarm clocks and where checked out and in our taxi at 4:30am.  We arrived at Hualamphang Railway station at 4:50, purchased our tickets (Thai Baht 48 per person - around US$1.60) and stood around for a long time with the locals and a few dodgy looking foreigners. Around 5:10am we heard a train arriving and moved out to our platform 6 - good thing because as soon as it stopped and the non-existent passengers disembarked - it was open for open seating boarding.  We lucked in! The train left station at 6:05 (only 10 minutes late). We commenced through the densely populated city of Bangkok and out into the outlaying countryside. A completley flat landscape from Bangkok to the Cambodian border. With Cambodia continuing the endless flat views. The Tuk Tuk from the train tried to drop us off first at a spot to get a Cambodian visa but we were alre...

Hi all, this update is to let you know the itinerary I have for the remainder of 2012. It's a packed full schedule. October 20: flight to Bangkok and meet up with David, Leslie and their 2 kids October 22: 5:55am train with the Rules to the Cambodian border and taxi to Seam Reap (Angkor Wat) October 22 - 27: in Seam Reap October 27: travel back to Bangkok October 28: flight to Hong Kong October 28 - November 6: in Hong Kong November 6: flight to Phuket November 15: flight to Kuala Lumpur and meet up with Tony and Mick for drive to Port Klang November 16 - 25: Raja Muda Sailing Regatta (Port Klang to Pangkor to Penang to Langkawi) November 26: approximate - sail / deliver the yacht Freewind from Langkawi to Phuket December 1 - 8: King's Cup Sailing Regatta in Phuket December 11: flight to Bangkok to meet up with Mom who arrives late that evening, overnight and return to Phuket the next day And that's it for 2012 with Christmas in Phuket with Mom and my friends...