Category Pages For: Journeys

Information about getting from A to B

Travel Information
  DECEMBER 2015:   Click here to read our Vietnam Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I really enjoyed my time in Hoi An, but it was time to move on. It was time to move on to my next destination: Cat Ba Island. You can get to Cat Ba from Hoi An by train, but this is best done on an over-night ‘sleeper’ and the journey from Da Nang to Hanoi is said to take 12-14 hours. I’m a GRANDPAcker so, I decided to fly. BOOKING THE FLIGHT: You need to Book a Regional Flight from Da Nang to Hai Phong; I went directly to the Vietnam […]

Hoi An – Vietnam – To Cat ...

FEBRUARY 2015: ARRIVAL AT RANONG: The bus ride from Krabi to Ranong was scheduled to take 6 hours. It took 7 hours. By the time that I got there I had a sore bum (the seats were not the most comfortable that I have ever sat on). We were at the Ranong Bus Station by 3:30pm. If I went again (depending on where I was coming from), I would seriously consider taking the flight to Ranong from Bangkok. If I had known this at the time, I would have changed: From: Langkawi – air – Kuala Lumpur –air – Krabi […]

Ko Phayam – Thailand – Arrival

JANUARY 2015: Click here to read our Retirement Review. IMMIGRATION: I used TIKET.COM to book a flight from Kuta Lombok via Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi. When you land in Malaysia you land back into an organised, civilised world where things happen the way that you are used to. You join the ‘Foreign Passport Holders’ queue and get your 90 day Tourist Visa stamp. There is no ‘Arrival Card’ to fill in. But, they do scan both of your index fingers at the Immigration Desk. AIRPORT ATM: With the Lessons Learnt from arriving in Denpasar, I did my sums in advance. […]

Langkawi – Malaysia – Arrival

JANUARY 2015: Click here to read our Retirement Review. THE FAST BOAT(s) TO BALI: For detailed Information about Gili Air click here. The day before I was due to leave Gili Air, we heard that the Fast Boats to / from Bali had been cancelled due to poor sea conditions. This was the 4th of January. The cancellations were to extend to (at least) the 9th of January. This forced many people to re-think their itineraries; many looked at catching the ‘official’ slow ferry from Lembar, Lombok back to Bali; the Ferry trip, alone, takes about 6-8 hours. It takes you 3-4 […]

Gili Air – Indonesia – Departure

DECEMBER 2014: Click here to read our Retirement Review. THE FAST BOAT: My arrival in Bali went without any problems. I was given two prices: As promised, the minicab picked me up from my hotel in Kuta Bali at 07:00 on the dot. We spent another 20 minutes picking up others from other hotels until all 8 seats were taken. The drive from Kuta was uneventful and we arrived at Padang Bai at 08:40. There were just over 30 minutes to wait at Padang Bai; Which would have been plenty to sit down in one of the waterfront Warungs to […]

Gili Air – Indonesia – Arrival

DECEMBER 2014: GETTING THERE: I used CHEAPFLIGHTS.COM to book my flight from New Zealand to Bali. VISA ON ARRIVAL: After baggage scanning / security you queue up for your VOA. There are several counters so the process is reasonably stress free and speedy. The VOA voucher has US$25 printed on it. But, there is now a manual stamp on top increasing the price to US$35. It all looked very legitimate to me. I had some US$s with me that I have had for a long time; I have always taken US$ folding cash with me on my travels for emergencies… most […]

Bali – Indonesia – Arrival