Around the World With Uncle Moose
My quest to visit 170 countries before I (or the earth) come to an end. Current count: 156
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
2023: Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo
To view pictures and descriptions from this trip, go here.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
To recover from the 2022 election, I booked a week-long tour of Sri Lanka and a small boat cruise of the Maldives from G Adventures. Since I was travelling halfway around the world, I decided to knock off two additional countries by booking short stays in Bangladesh and Bhutan. While I had tour and cruise mates in Sri Lanka and Maldives, I made arrangements for a private guide and driver for Bangladesh and Bhutan with Bangladesh Scenic Tours and Firefox Tours, respectively. I recommend both companies.
To get to Bangladesh, I flew from RDU to JFK on Delta, and then from JFK to New Delhi on Saudia Airlines (with a change of planes in Jeddah). I overnighted at the New Delhi airport, and caught a flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh the next morning on Vistara Airlines. From Dhaka, I flew to Kolkata, India on Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and then to Paro, Bhutan on Druk Air. From Bhutan, I flew to New Delhi on Druk Air, and then to Sri Lanka on Sri Lankan Air. As part of the G Adventures tour, we flew from Sri Lanka to the Maldives on Sri Lankan Air. Then it was back to New Delhi on IndiGo Airlines. I was scheduled to fly from New Delhi to JFK on Saudia, but I'll let you know how that turned out when I get to that part of the trip. At this point, I'll just say that if you're making a connection in New Delhi, allow at least 4 hours.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
2022: South Africa, Swaziland (eSwatini), and Lesotho
We originally planned this trip in August of 2000, but Covid interrupted us. We were finally able to get there in July and August of 2022.
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Days 8-11: Phoenix and Tucson
Day 8: Blythe to Phoenix
This morning we left Blythe and headed east towards Phoenix, bypassing the interstate as much as we could. This meant that we passed through Brenda, Arizona, but unfortunately there were no signs that we could steal as souvenirs (or photograph). We stopped for lunch at the Coyote Flats Café, in Aguila, Arizona.
Downtown Scottsdale |
There actually was one restaurant |
Happy tourist in downtown Scottsdale |
We then drove across Scottsdale to see the Arizona Biltmore resort.
Royal Palms Resort, on the way to the Biltmore |
Neighborhood around the Biltmore--never got a shot of the hotel itself |
For all your water needs |
A satisfied customer |
A horse carved into pencil lead |
View of the Santa Catalina Mountains from Tucson |
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Days 6 and 7: Joshua Tree and Palm Springs
Day 6: Red Rocks State Park to Twentynine Palms
Today we left Las Vegas, for a few days driving through California and Arizona. We picked up our rental car at the airport, which gave us a chance to visit the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, which is next to the airport.
Somewhere on the way between Las Vegas and Twentynine Palms |
On the outskirts of Twentynine Palms--Trump Country |
A Joshua Tree |
A yucca in bloom |
Approaching Palm Springs |
We drove around Palm Springs for about an hour, seeing lots of palms, but no springs.
The Ingleside Inn |
Melvyn's was closed for lunch, so we saved lots of money |
Garden at the Ingleside Inn |
Rooms at the Ingleside Inn |
Housing in Palm Springs |
Downtown Palm Springs |
More of downtown |
More housing in Palm Springs |