Papua New Guinea – Day Five (Aug 13)

Day five started with an early flight from Port Moresby to Mt Hagen, a city in the Western Highlands province. The flight up took about an hour and the airport sits at about 5,500 feet, while our lodge, which overlooks the Wahgi Valley, sits at 7,100 feet. Our time over the next few days willContinue reading “Papua New Guinea – Day Five (Aug 13)”

Papua New Guinea – Day Four (Aug 12)

It was a 5 a.m. wake-up at our Port Moresby hotel to head out to the Varirata National Park, about an hour drive that took us along twisty paved roads, through an assortment of traffic circles, and past small homes on stilts, market stands, power plants, gorgeous views of the low mountains and valleys withContinue reading “Papua New Guinea – Day Four (Aug 12)”

Papua New Guinea – Day Three (Aug 11)

The first half of yesterday was taken up by the flight from Brisbane to Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. We had a 9:30 a.m. departure, but needed to arrive at the Brisbane airport by about 7:00 a.m. since our tour director knew that things were going to take a while there. And. They. Did.Continue reading “Papua New Guinea – Day Three (Aug 11)”

Papua New Guinea – Intro (Aug 9 – 21)

Headed off to Papua New Guinea, with an initial stop in Brisbane, Australia for a couple of days. I’ll write more about both Brisbane and Papua New Guinea (I’ll be calling it “PNG” going forward) in the days ahead, though I’ll say that my primary reason for visiting PNG is the Mt Hagen Sing SingContinue reading “Papua New Guinea – Intro (Aug 9 – 21)”

Bangkok, Bhutan, and Nepal – Day Ten

April 26, 2023 – Everest and More First off, I guess I should forewarn about a longer than usual entry and photos . . . How do you write about the experience of flying by helicopter, on a sunny and misty-to-clear morning to get unparalleled views of Mt Everest and the Himalayan peaks that surroundContinue reading “Bangkok, Bhutan, and Nepal – Day Ten”

Bangkok, Bhutan, and Nepal – Day Eight

April 24, 2023 Day 8 – The Hike to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery At the hotel bar last evening, a handful of us briefly chatted with three women who’d hiked to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery that day. They’d said they got started at 6:40 a.m. and the trail was pretty much empty; when they finallyContinue reading “Bangkok, Bhutan, and Nepal – Day Eight”