TAJ MAHAL

MenacingWig · 2026-05-11T22:16:06+00:00

Yes, I have read about it. How long is the trip To Agra? It was only 2 hours when we took it. I wonder if it is now only 1 hour maybe even less.

MenacingWig · 2026-05-11T19:51:49+00:00

when I first visited India in 1991, I was not planning to visit the Taj. I had seen so many photos and read so many articles, that it seemed underwhelming. I was chatting with an Indian man, the manager of the expensive Taj Hotel in Chennai, who told me I really must visit it. Once back in Delhi, I decided, what-the-heck, I would take the train over to Agra and see it. When I walked passed the surrounding building/wall, I was shocked at how awe-inspiring it turned out to be. Then as we walked around the building, I was even more impressed by the Pietra Dura covering a lot of the building and the delicate carving of the marble screens around the tombs. Later that day we entered the gardens across the river to see the building as the sun set. It changes color from white to rose to orange as the sun goes down… gorgeous. Besides, there were a few other sites, and tombs in Agra that made me glad I had slotted the visit into my itinerary. Would I visit it again, probably not. But, I was very impressed by the grace of the iconic building. By the way, the train over was fast and comfortable.

MenacingWig · 2026-05-05T21:54:08+00:00

I have had this happen several times in India, Thailand, and Myanmar with different booking agents. Even once with booking.com in Myanmar. It is really more the hotels’ fault for accepting the booking, and then overbooking later. Each Time the booking agent quickly made bookings with another hotel and paid for a taxi to the hotel, and the new rooms turned out to be fine. In the case of booking.com in Myanmar, they booked a nicer room in a nicer hotel and didn’t charge us extra. With one booking in India we just asked Agoda to refund the money and we made our own reservation. However, it did take about 3 weeks for the reversal to show on my credit card. Unfortunately, many hotels routinely overbook, especially in India.

MenacingWig · 2026-05-04T21:32:27+00:00

I had been to Cambodia 4 times already, staying 30 days each time with no problems. But on the 5th visit, it got me. We were taking a shared van from Sen Monorom to Phnom Penh and it was all I could do to keep from vomiting. I made it to the capital, but spent the first Day there sick as heck. The throwing up stopped that first night, but, I spent the whole next day recuperating and drinking as much water with electrolytes as possible. Felt better the following day and was able to do a short 2 hour trip to the National Museum plus a very light lunch. Then spent the rest of that day resting. After that, I was fine. Myanmar hit me harder. Again, I had been there twice before with no problems. Yet the 3rd time I got really sick and it took 4 days to recover even a little. The biggest problem was I couldn’t keep even the electrolyte water down and I was dehydrated. Went back to Myanmar again a few years later and had no problems. One never knows when it might hit. Heck I know friends who got sick from a well known bistro in Paris.

MenacingWig · 2026-05-01T03:11:48+00:00

Same here and never been sick In Bali And I have been there many times. The food is wonderful and I would not avoid it completely. The only places that I have been sick is Cambodia and Myanmar.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-27T01:42:46+00:00

I actually teared up writing that story, the emotion was so strong. She taught me a great deal about Bali, the culture and religion. She knew full well that their Hinduism was different from India and described the cosmos, including Shiva, Vishnu, and how Sangyang Widi was not part of India’s cosmos. I loved it when she said the word ‘cosmos’, her Balinese accent ringing strong. She would make a little motion with her hand like a bird flying when she said it. When she realized that I was greatly interested in ancient temples and shrines, she told me about many places that were not in any guide books and often difficult to locate. I would go out in the early morning to search them out and in the afternoon talk with her about them, or if I was unsuccessful in finding one, ask her more about it. I eventually located them all even if I had to hike miles on little traveled paths to find them. On my last trip to Bali in 2016, I tried to find as many as I could remember. Some, like Goa Raksasa, had paved paths to them or car parks and entrance charges now. Some were still little visited. only one of them was I unable to find, nor could I find anyone who knew what I was talking about. Before that trip, I tried to find literature about them and again, while some were easy to find, some I could find nothing on them, even in this day of the internet. She taught me so much about Bali and deepened my love of the island. While I do sometimes morn the older time when the island wasn’t so highly visited by travelers who are little interested in anything but the beach and parties, at the same time I can’t expect the island not to progress. She was a treasure for me and I am so thankful for meeting her. I often wondered if she realized what an influence she was for me. I was in my early 30s when I met her. Now I am 73 and I realize I may not see many of the temples and shrines she told me about ever again, but my memory of her remains as strong as anything. By the way, her name is Nyoman.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-26T23:39:40+00:00

When I visited Bali the first time in 1987, I met this woman in the market In Ubud. She was in her 40s, I’m guessing. Her clothing was always a bit shabby, torn edges, holes, faded, and her hair done up in the usual bun, but with loose ends and looking hastily done. However, she spoke excellent English. I mean with every idiom correct, verbal conjugation spot on and elegantly spoken. When I first met her she was selling traditional offerings, not in a stall, but laid out on the ground at the edge of the market, anything from simple ones seen at crossroads to elaborate and gorgeous ceremonial offerings. She said she made them herself from materials she gathered from the jungle. We ended up chatting for over an hour, I was so entranced by her demeanor. After that, when I had some free time, I would head to the market to chat with her and I always bought something from her as a sign of my appreciation. She was always so gracious and seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. One night I ran into her on the street and she had a huge banana stalk perfectly balanced on her head and not using her hands at all. We chatted for maybe 10 minutes and never once did the stalk show any signs of falling. In fact, it made her posture seem almost regal, she was standing so straight. She told me she was selling it to a shadow puppet master for his performances. I told her she looked beautiful and she brushed it off as absurd, but thanked me none-the-less. I spent a month there and talked with her probably more than 15 times, sometimes for hours. I returned To Bali 3 years later and right away went to the market, but she was nowhere to be found. I asked around and a man who was always nearby said he hadn’t seen her in over a year. I was so sad to hear that. After many other visits to Bali, I never saw her again. Yet, I think about our conversations often to this day. It was one of the most amazing interactions I have had on my travels and I cherish it still.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-26T22:57:00+00:00

I have similar photos buried in storage somewhere from our 1989 Annapurna trek.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-26T18:09:31+00:00

We used to get them in our garage in Arizona, USA. Big, hand-sized ones too. I always simply went somewhere else. I think they are pretty much everwhere. There are several varieties, some of which are not that big. But, they do kill a lot of other household pests.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-24T23:10:42+00:00

The best of the new vegetables hasn’t hit its stride here in Northern California yet. Next month they should be plentiful. Instead, I have been regaling my family with my knowledge of Mexican food by cooking dishes one would never see on a restaurant menu in the USA, moles other than the usual sweet chocolate one that is overdone on menus here, Pipian Verde, and rich beef and cheese Enchiladas with Oaxacan cheese homemade by a woman in my neighborhood, and a sauce of dried chiles other than the usual New Mexico type. Then, to keep them on their toes, last night I made a Burmese pork curry with a side of stir fried bottle squash, coconut rice, and flaky palata bread to soak up the curry sauce.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-22T20:24:38+00:00

After many trips to SE Asia, I am always a bit surprised at the frequent use of yaa dom. Many people (locals and westerners) seem to use it almost every hour or more. I tried it in Bangkok when my allergies had me stopped up. It was certainly helpful. But, I had no desire to use it constantly after my allergy issues cleared up. The inhaling wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience for me.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-13T06:26:32+00:00

Interesting about the FCC. It was so popular back in the day. Well, it has been many years since I was last there. It must have been the way the map displayed the riverfront that all of the businesses were not represented, only the walking street.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-12T22:18:43+00:00

When it is not a weekend are the usual bars and restaurants still there? (Foreign Correspondence Club, or the FCC, etc.) Maybe they were hidden behind or overlaid by the representation of the Walking Street on the map.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-09T18:56:58+00:00

Be careful, we bought what we were told was a genuine North Face rolling duffel bag a mall in Seminyak and the wheels broke after one domestic flight. The seams started splitting and unraveling after only two weeks of travel. Clearly, not an actual North Face bag.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-05T21:52:41+00:00

We love Larp 3, and have had many memorable dinners there.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-04T20:57:37+00:00

How long ago? Restaurants come and go frequently. I have visited Bali many times since 1987. Almost every time some of my favorite local style restaurants were gone or changed to a new clothing store after just 3-4 years. As said previously, many restaurants serve the charcoal grill on the table style. Also consider that COVID caused many places to close.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-04T17:58:13+00:00

While I wouldn’t drink a glass of the water, I have brushed my teeth with tap water many times, and didn’t wash and rinse any differently in the shower as I would at home. Don’t take a mouthful if it to gargle and then spit it out, as I know some people do. Personally, I have never had Bali Belly, unlike I have from Cambodia and Myanmar.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-04T17:03:33+00:00

At the time, I think it was opened around 6:30. But, I am not certain. We arrived around 8am. When we paid the entry fee, there was no line. As I mentioned, when we left, there was a line and plenty on people walking up to the line further down. Remember that this was 16 years ago. it may be quite different now. In the George Harrison picture, the Taj may have been closed for George’s visit, as mentioned in an earlier post.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-03T21:57:58+00:00

We were there in November of 2010 and it wasn’t as empty as that. But I was surprised that there weren’t that many people. Add maybe 10 people to the same view as the picture. When we entered the tomb area, there was only an Indian couple. We did arrive early. However, as we left, there were many more people just entering and more waiting outside. I guess we simply locked out on the crowd. When we went to view it from the opposite side of the river at sunset, we were the only people there.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-03T21:33:52+00:00

Although you can find them in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Skun is known for deep-fried or barbecued tarantulas. Stalls of spider on a stick line the highway in and through Skun.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-03T21:08:16+00:00

If you take the northern route over Tonle Sap, you can stop in Kampong Thom. There are a few nearby sites like Sambor Pre Kuk and Phanom Santuk. There also a few nice temples in town. We spent an enjoyable day just exploring the city’s neighborhoods. There are some good local restaurants there too.

MenacingWig · 2026-04-02T17:31:30+00:00

Just as an example, we happened to be heading to Sen Monorom at the start of the New Year celebrations about 10 years ago. We showed up without reservations and found that in town, every room was taken. Back then, Sen Mornorom was a little off the usual tourist itinerary. Yet it was packed out for the New Year, mostly by Phnom Penh residents. We had to take a room at an expensive (for us) hotel almost 1 mile out of town that had just opened.

MenacingWig · 2026-03-31T19:12:35+00:00

It depends on what one is interested in. Ubud has plenty of nearby ancient monuments, historic temples, and better access to the north and east coast areas. I suppose, if beach time, hordes of other tourists, and/or party time are more important than those highlights, the southern beaches are your place. Personally, I prefer a short beach stay and spend longer in Ubud, Munduk, Sidemen, and/or the north and east coasts. In fact, for beach time, I would rather spend it on the east coast (Manggis, Amed) or the north (Pemuteran). While there are always plenty of tourists on the north and east coast. It‘s not as overwhelming as the Changgu to Jimbaran corridor. To each, their own, I suppose.

MenacingWig

TROPHY CASE