Tag: Gay

Thailand with Pheuxn (Friends)!

by BOLT, posted in African American, buddhist, family, Fun, Gay, Lanna Traditional Medicine, Lesbian, Long term travel, Old, POC, queer, retirement, spiritual, Thai Traditional Herbal Treatments, Thailand, Travel, WOC, Women

It has been a whirlwind month for BOLT. In addition to our wonderful stay at Inthakin Green Village we had a delightful time playing host to our dear friends, Lecia and Sergio.

It was wonderful showing them around, playing tourist and sharing with them the Thailand that we know and love.

Kathy and I are not crazy about Bangkok but it is a must stop for your first visit to Thailand. We were waiting for Sergio and Lecia at the Air BnB we rented and had planned a fun-packed 5 day stay in Bangkok. The first day we spent shopping at the humoungous Platinum Fashion Mall. We had fun, got great bargins and returned home exhausted.

We had a ball the next day, being pure tourists at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We even got to enjoy a boat ride during a monsoon rain!

Of course, no visit to Bangkok is complete without going to the Grand Palace.

Thanks to Lecial and Sergio we finally got to visit Wat Pho.

In contrast to the sacred beauty of Wat Pho we got to experience another type of beauty…the faboulous queens at the Stranger Bar drag show!

One of the most fun things we did in Bangkok was also the cheapest! We took the local (15 Baht) boat and saw the city from a different view point.

We loved showing Lecia and Sergio around our beloved city of Chiang Mai. They got to meet some of our friends, do more shopping and enjoy the local cuisine. Lecia and Sergio also got to spend some time at an elephant camp.

It was crazy fun seeing my bestie enjoy her first tuk-tuk drive!

We ended our friend’s time in Thailand in the best way possible: a healing stay at Inthakin Green Village.


Saying good-bye was bittersweet but I know we will be seeing our friends again soon. Afterall, who can resist Thailand?

If you are planning a visit to Thailand please let us know. We would be honored to show you around Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas.

Advertisement

!Es una vida maravillosa de perro!

by BOLT, posted in African American, Baja California, Black, dogs in Mexiso, Ensenada, family, Fun, Lesbian, Long distance, Long term travel, Old, POC, queer, retirement, rv, rv with dogs, RVing, Travel, WOC, Women

It is truly a wonderful life for a dog here in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico!  In the U.S. Kahlo was almost always on a leash when outdoors and she spent a lot more time with us in the R.V. 

photo

Here at the Monalisa R.V. Park Kahlo has found a new way of life and we have too.  There are a lot of dogs living here (at least 9, including Kahlo). As there is no traffic here, they all run free during the day.  At first, I was very cautious about letting Kahlo join in the fun but now she runs with the pack for hours out of each day. 

photo.JPG

All of the dogs and their owners are very friendly.  It is interesting to see dogs playing together in this way. Nikko, the alpha male, keeps everyone in line. Kahlo is very submissive towards him and he is very gentle but firm with her.

IMG_20171225_101718.jpg

Another big difference from the states is that dogs run freely on the beach here. Kahlo absolutely loves this!  She is a really fast runner and loves to chase and be chased by her buddies.

photo.JPG

I love all the dogs here but I think Lucky is one of my favorites. He was a stray, in terrible shape, until Javier took him in.  Javier is the groundskeeper here and a lovely man.  Thanks to him Lucky is in great shape now!

photo (1).JPG

photo (2).JPG

We are really happy to have found this puppy paradise and I am pretty sure Kahlo is too!

 

 

 

Along the Shores of Gichigami

by BOLT, posted in African American, Anishinaabe, Black, family, Fun, Gay, generational, lake superior, Lesbian, Long distance, Long term travel, Old, POC, queer, retirement, rv, RVing, serendipity, WOC, Women

Gichigami is the Anishinaabe name for the largest freshwater lake in the world. It has been given the name Lake Superior by the United States and Canada. The Anishinaabe are the First Nations Peoples who are from the areas surrounding this great lake. They are also known as Ojibwe, Ojibwa or Chippewa. I vaguely remember hearing Longfellow’s 1855 poem about this lake and more clearly remember a racist I Love Lucy sketch. It saddens me that I didn’t know, until 62 years of age, that this is a real place and with real people.

We have had a lovely 2 weeks driving and staying along this amazing lake. Our Gichigami drive started in Minnesota, continued in Ontario, Canada and concluded in Michigan. We’ve only driven about 2/3s of the lake!

We stayed at wonderful campgrounds with winding trails that led to the lake.

Along the way we got to learn a little Anishinaabe history. They were integral to the vibrant fur trading industry of the 1800s.

In Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario, Canada there is a beautiful trail called Bimose Kinoomagewnan (Walk of Teachings) trail. Along it you can read and learn of the Seven Grandfather Teachings from Anishinaabe elders and enjoy art work, representing the teachings, from the younger generation. The teachings are love, honesty, respect, wisdom, truth,humility and bravery.

In Sault Saint Marie, Michigan we saw the locks which enable ships to travel from Gichigami to the lower great lakes.

We are now on Anishinaabe land, staying at the Kewadin RV Park and Casino. It’s a beautiful and restful place. We are looking forward to attending a pow wow on Saturday. I’m really humbled by how little I know about this area and First Nations Peoples. I’m really grateful for any opportunity to learn even a little bit more!

The ABCs (and more) of RVs

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Fun, Gay, Lesbian, Long distance, Long term travel, Old, POC, queer, rv, RVing, Travel, WOC, Women

There are many different types of recreational vehicles and probably almost as many articles written about them. It took me awhile to learn the difference between a class C motor home (like the Minnie Winnie we have) and a behemoth class A (like the one in the hilarious movie RV) and then there are all the trailers.

There are 3 basic types of motor homes and they come in all sizes. Class As are the ones that resemble buses. They are built on a chassis and have large front and rear windows. They often have slide outs and can be quite large and luxurious.

Class Bs are also called campervans. They are easy to park and drive and are great for weekend trips. Not so good for full-time RVers like us.

Our Minnie Winnie is an older class C. The way I can identify class Cs are by their cab over design. They come in many sizes, with and without slide outs.

Then there are all types of pull behind trailers like cute little teardrops.

In Minnesota we have seen several of these ice fishing trailers. They drive them right onto the ice in the winter!

There are pull behinds that pop up into tents and pull behinds that are long and luxurious inside. I really love the retro ones!

Fifth wheel trailers are another option. Instead of being towed the coupling is actually in the bed of the truck.

I had fun taking most of these pictures here at at Lake Bemidji State Park. Kathy and I are always exclaiming over fancy new ones and really cute older ones. You can get lots of information on line or by visiting an RV dealership. We are really happy to answer answer any questions you may have.

Uh Oh! Do-Over and Never Again!

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, buddhist, family, Fun, Gay, generational, Lesbian, life coach, Long distance, Long term travel, Old, POC, queer, retirement, spiritual, Travel, WOC, Women

Kathy and I have been traveling for eight months now.  We’ve been extremely blessed with drama free experiences, good travel health and very few problems. We’ve learned a lot about what works for us, what we love and what we prefer to avoid. 

Uh Oh!

image
There is a vast difference between economy class...

image
and first class train travel.

Economy Class Train Travel
While traveling through Indonesia we missed a connection to the “first class” train we had reservations for.  An economy class train was leaving the station soon.  Rather than wait a whole day for the next first class train we decided to hop on this really low priced train. I remember thinking “how bad can it be?”. Well, it was pretty bad.  Economy trains make more stops so the anticipated 4 hour ride turned into 8. The seats were uncushioned, hard benches. We had to sit 3 across where even 2 people would have been uncomfortable. There was no air conditioning. I was pretty miserable for most of the trip. The upside was we were sitting with very kind and helpful  local people.  Locals travel this way all the time, it is not for me for long trips.  The experience helped me see how privileged we are and also what I’m willing to pay more for.  This Uh Oh! was a great learning experience.

Do-Over…

image
On our second visit to Georgetown we rode the ferry instead of the very expensive taxi we took on our first visit.

image
We got to explore so much of Georgetown, including this beautiful Burmese Temple.

image
And all of our wonderful Chinese New Year experiences.

Georgetown, Penang Island, Malaysia

When we first got off the boat, landing in Singapore, we moved pretty quickly.  We spent a day and a night in Singapore, 4 days in Kualu Lumpur and 5 days in Georgetown.   Neither of us were crazy about Georgetown.  We had yet to learn the value of slower travel, longer stays.  I’m really glad we made a decision to visit Georgetown again. Exploring this lovely island town a second time, for a whole month was a wonderful experience. Now Georgetown is one of our favorite places, it’s even on our short list for a permanent retirement home.

Never Again!

image
Questioning our visit to the Tiger Kingdom, Mae Rim/Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai, Thailand

We visited the Tiger Kingdom on our first visit to Chiang Mai on a whim.  We did no research.  We just hopped into the cab of a friendly driver for what I thought would be a pleasant adventure.  Had we done more investigation we would have easily seen that there is a lot of controversy about this place.  Mistreated, drugged tigers are kept in small cages.  Tourists (including Kathy and I) lie on, pet and take lots of pictures with these beautiful animals. I wanted to believe what the keepers say: that the cats are not drugged, that they grew up with people and are thus friendly.  But I left with the nagging feelings that those things are not true.  I have decided to never again visit attractions involving animals without first making sure the animals are being treated humanely.

image
The animals at the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia are free and happy.

Home free, serendipitous travel has great opportunities to find out more about oneself.  I’ve learned that I like a certain level of comfort and am willing to pay for it; that staying long enough to get to know a place is best and that thorough research is a valuable tool in deciding where to visit.

image

What are some of your travel uh ohs, do-overs or never agains?  Please share in our comments section. We love hearing from you!