Hanoi, Vietnam (July 15 to 20)

Its the wicked witch of the West... no, it's Hanoi Hanna. Well not really, I was just remembering that from Goooooooooood Morninng Vietnam!

This is the second time I visited Hanoi. I stayed at the Horison Hotel which is pretty nice and definitely less expensive that the hotels in New Delhi ($270.00/ night plus tax). I took a good picture of the sunrise outside my hotel room window. I also got a picture of the town view but I didn't have the opportunity to get any more street vendors come up to me and put one of those ridiculous hats and vegetable slings on me. Hahahaha. :)

New Delhi, India (July 2 to 14)

I was in New Delhi, India from July 2-14 and got to visit some places in Delhi as well as The Taj Mahal in Agra. On Saturday July 7th, I visited the Parliament building, India Gate, the Red Fort and Akshardham.

On Sunday July 8th, I woke up around 5 and left the hotel close to six am to begin the drive to Agra where I visited the Taj Mahal.

RED FORT
The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests. The Red Fort stands at the eastern edge of Shahjahanabad, and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone that defines its four sides. The wall is 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, and varies in height from 60ft (16m) on the river side to 110 ft (33 m) towards the city.

AKSHARDHAM
Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind.

The grand, ancient-styled Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was built in only five years through the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000 artisans and BAPS volunteers. The complex was inaugurated on 6 November, 2005.

Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever pervades.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of Akshardham since they were selling DVD documentaries of the palace. Their website has a really good video that shows how it was constructed.

TAJ MAHAL
Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Its one among the New 7 Wonders of the world. One of three World Heritage Site in Agra, other being Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

Completed in 1653 A.D., The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his favourite Queen, Mumtaz. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, The Taj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna river. It can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb.

It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate. The verses of Holy Koran as inscribed on it and at the top of gate 22 small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build.

The Taj Mahal has been built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with diameter of 60 feet, rises 80 feet, over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's tomb has been erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate the interiors.

Kolonia , FSM - Diving at The Village Resort (June 23 to 26 )

After Leaving Majuro we flew to Phonpei, Kolonia in the Federated States of Micronesia and spent the weekend at the Village Resort.

We were supposed to go diving Saturday morning but due to a storm we had to postpone it until the afternoon. Everyone else cancelled their trips except a co-worjer and I who wanted to dive since we lugged all our gear from Manila. After going out the seas were really rough and my mask wouldn't seal properly which was a bit frustrating. We got to see some manta rays, schools of baracuda and a few little sharks which ate a trumpet fish in half.


I was kept awake both nights from animals making noise in the woods as well as mosquito's buzzing around my bed which had a mosquito net over it and I luckily had a can of deep woods off. haha. Well other than that we spent the rest of the time eating good dinners at the resort and working during the day.

Here is the link to the below description. It is the third resort on the page.

THE VILLAGE RESORT HOTEL

The island of Pohnpei and The Village Resort Hotel - one a creation of Nature and the other of man influenced by Nature. Both lie beyond the realms of the most idealistic imagination - yet together they exist. The combination is so striking and yet so subtle that is powerful environmental message is delivered gently, eloquently, but without equivocation.

ENCHANTMENT IN A RUSTIC ENVIRONMENT

Bob and Patti Arthur, an entertaining American couple who have written themselves and their hotel into Pohnpeian folklore, built the entire considerable complex of local materials and using timeless Pohnpeian carpentry techniques. Built on and atop a steeply sloping lagoon front site, The Village Hotel is amazing in its simplicity, yet unbelievably comfortable and elegant.

The construction techniques may be rustic, primitive even, but the results - understated luxury (remembering that luxury is relative) of comfortable, individual huts built almost entirely from local materials and mostly kept level on the steep hillside by stilts on at least one corner.

The extremely spacious huts contain two king-sized canopy waterbeds, white wicker furniture, swirling wooden fans and attractive island print fabrics. The timber bathrooms, a far cry from the offering of some far off marbleized metropolitan Hilton Hotel are nonetheless en suite and comfortably elegant. Waist to ceiling windows take up three of the walls and the view is mostly of the jungle less than a metre away. The windows are covered only with insect screens but huge eaves extending from the thatched roof ensure that the Pohnpeian rainfall does not intrude. In fact, there is little that will beat sitting in the room and reading a good book during a midday shower of tropical rain.

Keeping alive the legend of how Irish castaway James F. O'Connell had himself tattooed back in 1828 and entertained natives with an Irish gig to save his life, the village hotel called its imaginative bar and restaurant complex, the largest thatched roof structure in Micronesia, "The Tattooed Irishman". Completely open to the elements, this complex is the hub of all social activity at the village. A rustic sunken bar occupies one corner and it is possible to order a drink or a snack or meal at just about any time. The menu at the village changes regularly and the food is a clever interpretation of tasty Pacific rim cuisine, designed to appeal to both eastern and western pallets.

The Village Hotel provides a full tour service to its guests, specializing in day trips to Nan Madol and neighbouring islands, cultural dances and land trips as requested - including certified scuba and snorkel guides. For scuba activities, please bring certification card, regulator, and buoyancy compensator.

The Village is a hotel built to fit the times, the people, the local economy and, above all the romantic mood of Micronesia's most beautiful island. So much is it part of Pohnpei that it won the OPIC's inaugural 1991 Ecotourism Award - for tourism projects, undertaken with sound environmental values, ensuring environmental sustainability and preventing environmental degradation. Guests may be tempted to never leave the hotel, however the inland site, the lagoon and cultural treasures will undoubtedly lure visitors to experience Pohnpei's delights.

Majuro , Marshall Islands (June 19-22)

This trip to Majuro, a co-worker requested me to bring him two bottles of Tanduhay rum (Philippine brand). We spent the first two days working and the second noght having a barbeque. I bought a shirt at the airport that says "Where on Earth is Majuro" hahah. I will have to wear it next time and see if anyone comments on it.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (May15 - June 2)

Well I spent two weeks in KL and stayed at the Mi Casa Hotel which is pretty nice. My room was overlooking the pool and we got free breakfast. I didn't get a chance to take many pictures but got a shot of the Petronas Towers, where we ate in the mall there a few times during our stay.

Majuro, Marshall Islands (May 8-12)

On May 8th, I flew to Majuro on coach again and it was as bad as the last time. I stayed at the Hotel Robert Reimers in a bungalow which was pretty nice but this hotel is at the far end of the Island so it took about 30 minutes each day to get to work sharing taxis with the locals packed in around you. Most people here are large-boned similar to Samoans so that makes it even more interesting.

We went to the Flame Tree Bar, which is one of the only places to go after work, to play pool and relax a bit. Other than that is was the usual boring trip with extremely LONG flight again on the Continental Micronesia Island Hopper. I found out there is a direct flight from Guam on Saturday's, so the next time I have to go here I will see if I can get on that flight. I don't really know what else to say about Majuro except I got a gold card from flying here so much. Now I'm working on my Platinum Elite, which hopefully will enable me to get a ticket back to the States for free.

Diving in Anilao, Batangas

April 28, 2007
I went diving again in Anilao, Batangas (about a 2 hour drive south of Manila) the last week of April with some friends. We spent a day trip at the Outrigger resort and went on two dives. On the way back the traffic was horrible and it took around 4 hours to return to get home. We stopped at Starbucks to rest for a bit and had a good time just talking and enjoying the smog free environment.