"Bob & Patty's Search" bpwarne's Profile

Please Note:
If you are new to VirtualTourist, you may be missing some pages that unfortunately are not that easy to spot. Look for the tabs 'Personal Albums' for lots more pics, 'Travelogues' for even more pics and narrations and 'Tips' for info on hotels, restaurants, transportation, things to do, etc. They are usually near the top of the page and also at the bottom. you miss a lot if you are not aware of this

To read some entries on the 2007 Cambodia/Vietnam trip, click HERE

To check out the Cambodia/Vietnam 2007 trip expenses, click HERE

We are a middle aged couple who have developed a growing desire to live somewhere else and to experience different cultures. Presently living in the Sierra Mts in Markleeville Ca, near South Lake Tahoe, we also spend time in Shelter Cove on the 'Lost Coast' of Northern California at what is no longer our primary home. While both these places are beautiful areas, we are beginning to feel cramped even in these once isolated places. Shelter Cove particularly has become an almost unbearable place to live full time since the passage of the Cal Medical Marijuana Law as virtually every other neighbor is now a major pot grower, quasi sanctioned now by both the state of California and the county of Humboldt's 'compassionate' allowance of 99 plants and 3 pounds (yes, I said pounds) of processed marijuana on each 'patient's' possession at any given time. After building our Dream Home in northern California, it is no longer the dream we had anticipated.
Anyway, as neither of these places any longer offer the peace and solitude we once enjoyed, we wish to try something different. In search of a place to relocate to, we have traveled to Panama 3X, Costa Rica 2X, Belize 1X, Asia 4X, Alaska 1X, Canada 2X, Mexico 2X in the last five years, among other travels. Until recently, we had been thinking that Panama or Costa Rica in Central America would be a great place to spend more time. After our first trip to Asia in late 2006 we are no longer as intent on relocating to Central America as we were and have now returned to Asia on two more occasions to explore possibilities of living there for an indefinite time. Perhaps there is no ideal place for us to relocate to. Perhaps we are just meant to travel now.

Panama Canal

In 2008 we returned to Asia for 6 weeks in April/May. Visiting Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Saigon, Nha Trang, Hanoi, Sapa, Dien Bien Phu, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Udon Thani, Myanmar, Guilin, Yangshuo, and Bejing with 11 flights, 3 overnight train trips, 2 day train trips, 1 boat trip, and numerous 'locals' buses, ferries, motorbikes and taxis. Most exhausting.
In Oct/Nov we took a 11 night Mexican Riviera Cruise out of San Francisco aboard the NCL Sun, visiting Mazatlan, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo, and Cabo San Lucas, a great time at a price so incredibly low, we had to go.

2009 Travel
January - Austin, TX
March 13, Cruise around the Horn on RCCL Radiance of the Seas, 16 days. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
August 11-25, Gettysgurg, PA and Cleveland, OH (wedding)
Nov 16, 2009 - Feb 12, 2010 , Saigon, 3 months in Vietnam! Got a great apartment in a terrific neighborhood and two part time English pronunciation teaching jobs within a week after arriving. Patty came over for 2 1/2 weeks and did some weekend volunteer work. We also flew to Angkor Wat for a few days.

2010 Travel
Mid February - returned from Saigon
May - Austin Tx
Sept 15 - Oct 4 - We are booked to fly to London, UK and the Amalfi Coast, Italy (FINALLY!)
Nov or Dec - Either Panama to see Brad & Debbie's yacht they are in the process of refurbishing for charters or to Malaysia/Phuket/ChangMai, by way of Sai gon, of course. Decisions, decisions.

2011 Travel Plans

June - Austin Tx and Galveston, one week
July - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 6 days
Oct-Nov - London and Rome for 9 days, then 14 day cruise on RCCL Navigator from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, stopping at Florence, Barcelona, some other place in Spain, someplace in France and also the Azores

2012 Travel PlansFinally back to Vietnam for 3-4 months in January. Chang My and Malasia

On this visit to Asia we plan to visit Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, then fly to Tibet, travel to Everest Base Camp and then travel Lhasa - Beijing by way of the new high altitude, oxygen equipped train that started running in mid 2006. We would like to visit Dali, Kunming, Leaping Tiger Gorge, and areas surrounding Chengdu while in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

.

Sapphire Princess anchored in Nha Trang, Vietnam

We enjoy cruising and have been on 6 cruises in the last 6 years. Our Asian and South American cruises of 16 days, left us feeling a bit burned out though. They were our longest cruises to date and to be honest, perhaps just a bit too long to be on a ship. We have cruised Asia, Alaska, the Mexican Riviera twice, South America, the Western Caribbean and Panama. We have cruised on Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines. One of the great aspects of cruising is the variety of people you meet, both on and off the ship. Cruising also gives you the opportunity to experience multiple destinations and determine which you would possibly care to return to for a longer visit. Unfortunately, cruising allows for very little time in any given port, usually only a day and sometimes only a few hours. This is the biggest downside to cruising for us, the other being the most often very disappointing espresso. On the upside, you only unpack once, you can have room service every morning - free, and you don't have to lug your belongings with you everywhere you go when traveling to multiple destinations..

Please see our Miami, Florida tips for Carnival Spirit Panama Cruise review.
See our Whittier, Alaska tips for Coral Princess Alaska Cruise review.
See our Xingang, China tips for Sapphire Princess Asian Cruise review.
See our San Francisco, CA tips for NCL Spirit Mexican Riviera Cruise review.
See our San Francisco, CA tips for NCL Sun Mexican Riviera Cruise review.
See our Santo, Brazil tips for RCCL Radiance 'Around the Horn' Cruise review.

Shelter Cove, north over Little Black Sands Beach

Little Black Sands Beach with Cape Mendocino in background, Shelter Cove

If only every hotel room had one of these...

Now THAT'S what I call an "in-room coffee maker"

Well, what would a travel page be without one of these....