Altar

If you had an altar that big, what would you place it to give you inspiration and comfort??  I need to think of my own.

I would go with portraits of my wife, my mother and my grandfather, a black bear figurine, an abstract drawing of a yoni, used passports, a globe, and a fake headstone with my name on it.  And I would place fresh durian out to appease the gods. Of course, I would sneak down and eat it during the night.

Street Interviews

Chai is on Khao San Rd in Bangkok.  He Talks with people from Chile, France, Hungary, Australia, USA and Italy.  I like the first man and the solo female traveler from Chile.  Wow.  Great advice.  Click here for the video.

Cologne

Cologne, Germany - Britannica

Cologne Cathedral

My great-uncle and I arrived in Cologne by train (from Bonn) and we walked inside the huge cathedral and around the city.  This was in the '90s.

The 14 best things to do in Cologne

Chile Tips

source

● from 2016 e-mails ●

We went to Valparaiso and beaches a bit north and south of there.  The ones south are a bit more beautiful.  Hold on to your wallet in Val.  With your daughter being there and a family helping, should have no problems.  In between Valparaiso and Santiago are some fabulous wineries.  I would recommend at least one!  Santiago is also interesting.  You can also take day hiking tours outside Santiago.  Definitely recommend the San Francisco Glacier.  If you need a guide, I know a very reliable and trustworthy local, and an outdoor tour company that is superb.  You will have an awesome time. We spent about 20 days there, and eight in Argentina.  Great escapes! 

The guides I know specialize in day trips out of town, especially nature trips.  Chile has so much to offer.  The company name is Hike Chile.  They are a little pricey, but good.  I also know a guy who works with a company and he does trips on the side.  They are less expensive that way.  If you want to hike, ride horses or do some other activity while you're in Santiago, this guy is worth it, as is Hike Chile.  If you are staying in Valparaiso the entire time, I would research tour companies in that city.   Trip Advisor will give you ideas, and the reviews are very helpful.  You can take free walking tours in Valparaiso and Santiago.  However, if you are dealing with your big family unit (4 or more), I would think it's best to pay for private tours, which include a guide, driver and vehicle.

The biggest tip I could give you - and I don't know your travel experience, who's going with you and their ages, the age of the daughter studying there, or how much research you have done already - is take safety precautions seriously in Santiago and especially Valparaiso, which may have the worst reputation for pick pocketing and theft in South America.  Read what you can online and in guidebooks for safety tips before you go.  You don't have to worry about your physical safety (unless in wrong places at night), but anytime of the day your wallets, handbags, shopping bags, luggage, wallets, passports and smartphones could be snatched.  So be smart.  iPhones are particularly popular, and if you and your kids have them out like you do here, believe me, someone will look for an opportunity.  They are known to identify targets and wait for a time to walk up and snatch a phone right our of your hands! We bought a tiny camera with wrist strap at Best Buy for our outdoor photos and kept our smart phone in our pocket, only pulling it out when it was absolutely safe, or in a coffee shop or restaurants.  Backpacks are easy pickings for thieves.  They can be cut open in crowded spots. 

We had nothing stolen, and I didn't even detect the possibility.  However, I read all the warnings and used my years of experience to limit the chances.  A lady I know from Asheville - her husband has his wallet and passport stolen on the metro in Santiago.  But again, I emphasize that Val has a horrible reputation.  If you are smart (not paranoid) and sure of of your day's plans and don't stick out so much, you will be fine.  The key is reading up, taking precautions and utilizing the tour companies to take you around.  They will be your security, too.

Good luck.  Chile is one of my fav countries!!!!

Pursuit

Bangkok Rooftop Bars I tried in 2024

Initially when I started planning my 2024 trip to Bangkok, I thought I might be able to do around 15 rooftop bars.  And that was very optimistic!  We were going to be in the city for three weeks - after a week in Kuala Lumpur.  And we'd be there during the rainy season.  As it turned out, however, we stayed an additional month (so seven weeks) and the rain really didn’t interfere that much.  The result: I ended up going to 54 new (for me) rooftop bars!  Over the years, that means I have been to 84 rooftop bars in the Thai capital.  And believe it or not, there are 30+ more that I've yet to experience.  Perhaps I can get my overall number to 100 in 2025.  Click here for a map showing all the ones I've enjoyed.  And click here for ones I'm targeting this year.

Bangkok Arrival

Landed safely in the Thai capital after a lovely time in Kuala Lumpur.

What a fruit greeting!

You can find anything in Bangkok - even oat milk.  It's what I put in my morning coffee.

Enjoyed sweet cantaloupe ("orange melon" on label) and a wonderful papaya just now.  Kade purchased them at a nearby supermarket.  She then cut them beautifully. 

 For lunch and dinner, we ate stuffed bitter melon (gourd) soup that Kade's mother made.  Apparently this melon has anti-inflammatory properties and aids a bad cough or sinus infection.

Click here for more on Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup and its attributes.

What A Start!

This is just an ordinary condo on the Thonburi side of Bangkok.

I saw this mural on my Grab ride.  Grab is like Uber, and it's an excellent service.  I had somewhere to be.

King Power Mahanakhon

% Arabica is on the 55th floor of the Empire Building, straight ahead.  I recommend it.  Go very early, like I did.

Years ago, I got a massage in that yellow home turned massage shop across the way.

Arrived at the Amara Bangkok hotel for a rooftop bar.

That's a nice view of Samyan Mitrtown (office tower/mall).  You can see the 5th floor rooftop terrace.  I managed to go to that terrace this trip.  While there, I filmed back towards this direction.

 

One really good thing about AkaAza is that it's open in the daytime.  It's a hotel swimming pool bar.  Non-guests can go there for drinks.

I stopped by there for a massage.

Checking in on my business!

The three rooftop bars on the 9th floor of Silom Edge mall are some of my favorites.  Fantastic views.  They all open at 5 PM.  This day, I just walked up in the early afternoon, through the parking garage, to get to this spot.  Later on, I returned for drinks.

Hard to beat this!

The Water Club is on the 10th Floor at SO/Bangkok hotel.  There's another rooftop bar (HI/SO)  - an excellent one - in the same hotel.  I think it opens at 5 PM.

Tom Kha Gai 

(Coconut Soup w/ Chicken)

The meal was perfect!

The Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School

Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn Bangkok

Italian food in Bangkok can be pretty wonderful.  Just go to the nice hotels (like this one) or any restaurant that has an Italian chef, then just make the "Sign of the Cross."

Antito is another rooftop bar where you can go during the day.  And if it happens to be raining, it's good for that, too.

As you can see, I had five opportunities, in a single day, to view Bangkok's skyline from high up and from unique vantage points.  

My goal this trip was to go to lots of rooftop bars.  And this day increased my motivation!  % Arabica Empire Tower is obviously not a rooftop, so can't count it.  And I didn't count the Silom Edge viewpoint, since I didn't have a drink.  I want to sit down and have some kind of drink for it to count.  This trip I drank mostly mocktails.  If I had 75 drinks, 67 were mocktails.  No need to damage your liver!

Rooftop Bar Count

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