The next morning, we got up and ready to head out at 7 AM to San Marco’s Square again. People in costumes and photographers were up early to get their one-of-a-kind photographs! It was noticeably a lot more quiet in the early morning with very few tourists. Photographers had their lighting set up while people… Read More More Incredible Costumes and Masks at the Venice Carnival
Venice is one of the most unique places that I have ever been to (even after traveling 50+ countries), it stood against time with its Renaissance and Gothic palaces, countless bridges and canals, and car-free. If there’s one place that makes you feel travel back in time, Venice is the first one in my mind!… Read More Venice Carnival – An Incredible Festival of Costumes and Masks
Our last stop on this trip was Tokyo, where we spent two quick nights before flying home. This was our 2nd time in Tokyo so we didn’t do any sightseeing and just concentrated on eating and shopping! We flew from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda (the airport much closer to Tokyo center) and took an Uber/taxi… Read More Tokyo – All You Can Eat Waygu Beef, Tsukiji Outer Market, and Capsule Toys
From Bali, we stopped in Japan before heading home thanks to Alaska Airlines’ generous free stopover even on a one-way award flight. Most of us had previously been to Tokyo and Osaka, so we decided to go to Hokkaido. It wasn’t easy to get to Hokkaido, it involved 3 flight changes: Bali to Jakarta, Jakarta… Read More Sapporo, Hokkaido – First Oversea Getting Medical Help Experience
We got up just before sunrise to prepare for our 6 AM head start to the infamous Lempuyang Temple, aka “Gates of Heaven”. Even at 6 AM arriving at 7 AM, Putu said the wait would be at least 3 hours; he had clients get up at 3 AM and wait in line for the… Read More Bali Day 5 – Lempuyang “Gates of Heaven” and Tirta Gangga Water Palace
Floating breakfast is one of the must-dos in Bali, it got so popular that it spread to other hotels all over the world. The villa offered a one-time complimentary breakfast since we booked via Marriott Home & Villas and to “upgrade” to a floating breakfast, there was an extra charge of 150K IDR per floating… Read More Bali Day 4 – Floating Breakfast, Seafood Feast, and Staying in a Bamboo House at Camaya
We had an early start today at 6 AM in order to catch the ferry over to Nusa Penida Island at 7 AM. I booked the day trip directly with Putu which includes the roundtrip transfer from our villa to Sanur Harbor, the roundtrip ferry ticket, lunch, and private drivers at Nusa Penida to take… Read More Bali Day 3 – Day Trip to Nusa Penida: Diamond Beach, Rumah Pohon Treehouse, and Kelingking
Bali is known for its Instagram-worthy waterfalls and they have way too many to choose from! I narrowed down to a few in Northern Bali: Banyumala Waterfall, Banyu Wana Amertha Waterfall, Sekumpul Waterfall. It was just not possible to visit all 3 because from Ubud to Northern Bali took around 2 hours each way. I… Read More Bali Day 2 – Sekumpul Waterfall, Handara Golf & Resort Gates, and Ulun Danu Bratan Temple
Originally, we planned to go Kanto Lampo Waterfall first thing in the morning but according to Google Maps, it was temporarily closed. I asked our driver, Putu on WhatsApp and he confirmed that too so changed in plan: Bali Swing instead. We got ready by 6:45 AM and walked down to the main road to… Read More Bali Day 1 – Bali Swing, Rice Terrace, Tirta Empul Temple, Monkey Forest, and Ubud Palace
Bali – the trip that I have been postponing since 2017…6 years later, we finally made it there. It was a long way from Boston totaling 27 hours in travel time (Boston to Hong Kong 15 hours, 7 hours layover in Hong Kong, and then a 5-hour flight to Bali). But I was lucky enough… Read More 26 Hours To Indonesia – 52nd Country!
