April 7, 2026
Monday April 6th is another travel day for us on our destination to remote Raja Ampat. We started the day at 5am to make our 7am flight from Denpasar, Bali to Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in South Sulawesi for our brief layover to connect with our flight onto Sorong, Indonesia.
This cat was the most interesting artwork in Sultan Hasanuddin Airport but they did play a rather loud impossing Indonesian Raya at 10 am where everything stopped and people stood. The anthem is to foster nationalism, patriotism and unity, encouraging citizens to pause their activities to honor the nation's history and values.
We arrived in Sorong around 6:30 pm, checked into Aston hotel, got some dinner on their rooftop and had an early night. We had some time to walk the neighborhood this morning before leaving for the Ferry. This is the land of motor scooters! The kids were out in abundance headed to school and all want to pose for photos with big smiles and hi's!!
Little India is a neighborhood in Singapore that I wanted to explore becase I love Indian food and their Temple's have such unique gods and Architecture, super colorful and detailed. Below is the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Singapore's first temple dedicated to Veeramakaliammam or the Kali , a fierce incarnation of Shiva's wife and the "Destroyer of Evil" .
Other residents had a great experience at Singapore's Food Playground on prior visits, so we wanted to try it out! Our first day in Port, twelve of us signed up for a fun afternoon, where we got to enjoy our creations as a yummy lunch. Front row (L to R) is Ellie, Rick, their visiting friend, Sue, Christy and Angela. Back Row - Me, Bosco, Delia, John, Terri & Lori.
We just relaxed on the Island of Koh Chang, Thailand. It's one of the largest Thai Islands in the Gulf of Thailand and it has a dense, steep jungle & National Park covering the interior of the Island, which extends off shore, to coral reefs. The coast line is dotted with beaches and villages. This was a tender port, so we decided to stay on the Island for 3 nights, to be able to experience the nightlife. Turns out, it is low season, so nightlife was pretty sleepy. However, we did find a new favorite night time activity! Any Guesses?!?