On Our Houseboat Cruise in Kerala

It’s located on the coast in southwest India and is filled with backwaters, lush scenery, and hilly regions.  We used some “manpower” to do a houseboat cruise through the famous backwaters.

From there we moved on to one of the smallest states of India, Goa, is also called the ‘beach paradise’.  There we lounged around on Palolem Beach, one of the world’s top beaches.  It was featured as the Indian residence of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in the film The Bourne Supremacy (2004). The beach is about 1 mile long and largely unspoiled and is inhabited by both local fishermen and by foreign tourists who live in shacks along the shore.

Phildup Lounging on Palolem Beach in Goa

Phyless with Hrithik Roshan in Bollywood

From Goa we traveled on to Bollywood in Bombay!  The lights!  The stars!  It was a real gas!  We watched a live Bollywood film shooting and visited the fascinating film sets at Balaji Telefilms.  Phyless got an autograph and picture with Hrithik Roshan, one of Bollywood’s most famous actors.  Phyless was a bit flustered and acted like she was running on fumes, so I got her out of there quick and we headed off to the most romantic city in Rajasthan, Udaipur. Known as the ‘Venice of the East’, and is famed for its breathtaking Lake Palace Hotel as well as being a key filming location for the James Bond film, Octopussy.

Phyless Waving from the Roof of the Lake Palace Hotel

From there we visited one of the seven wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal, in Agra. A white marble monument, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. More than 20,000 laborers worked day and night for 20 years to bring his dream to life.

Phildup & Phyless Stroll at Sunset by the Taj Mahal

Our next stop was Varanasi, regarded as the holiest city in India and which lies next to River Ganges in Uttar Pradesh state. It’s also one of the world’s oldest cities, so you just know it’s filled with historical sites and places of worship that are several centuries old.

Phildup at Varanasi Ruins

Afterwards, we traveled east to Darjeeling and I tried my hand at picking tea leaves on a plantation so Phyless and I could “refuel”, so to speak.

Phildup Tries Refueling with Darjeeling Tea

We then found ourselves among the fascinating and friendly population of Sikkim, where the indigenous peoples consist of the Lepcha, migrating from Tibet, Bhutias, descendants of Buddhists who arrived from Tibet in 15th century, who migrated from the Kham district of Tibet in the 14th century, and Nepali, descendants of Hindus who arrived from Nepal in the 19th century.  We had a real gas with those folks!

Phildup with Sikkim Friends

Our trip to India finally wrapped up in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, the most eastern point of our Indian travels.  This world heritage site hosts two-thirds of the world’s Great One-horned Rhinoceroses and boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer, too, as well as being recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International.

Phil & Phyl Enjoy an Assam Elephant Ride

Phyless and I were honored to have a chance to ride one of the park elephants and much like those amazing animals, will remember our incredible trip to India forever!

Phildup Relaxing at Trincomalee

After a relaxing break in the sun, we went on to investigate Dambulla, a city that boasts the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka.  There we visited the reclining Buddha in the famous temple.

Visiting the Dambulla Buddha

Then Phyless decided to test my sense of rhythm by partnering me with some famous Sri Lankan dancers.  The beautiful women took pity on me and showed me some of their best-known traditional moves.  Sri Lankan dance, be it the rhythmic and acrobatic prowess of the Kandyan Ves dance or the supple grace of the harvest dancers, or even the controlled movements of the Bharatha Natyam, are all the more memorable for their vibrant costumes. These costumes are an intrinsic part of the overall dance forms, with their own rich heritage and traditions.  I stuck to an elaborate headdress, but the ladies dancing around me were like a brilliant rainbow.

Sri Lankan Dancers Led by Phildup

Then we visited Sigiriya (Lion’s Rock), a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient frescoes, which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka and may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until 14th century.

Phyless on the Steps of Lion’s Rock

Now we’re off to India before circling around through Asia…stay tuned, fuel-saving fans!

Pantai Seri Kenangan – the “unforgettable beach”

Once we arrived we visited some of the most beautiful sights of the small nation including the Dewan Majlis or Parliament House, Pantai Seri Kenangan (literally translated as the “unforgettable beach”), and Phyless tried out the kebaya, a traditional blouse-dress combination worn by many women in Brunei.

Phyless Tries on a Kebaya

After the fashion show Phyless and I visited the Taman Tasek, a forest reserve in the middle of the city which has a natural waterfall in the middle of a lush forest.  Following a few leisurely backstrokes in the cool waters, we took a boat three kilometers west of Bandar Seri Begawan’s city center, past the Istana Nurul Iman, the residence of His Majesty The Sultan.

Visiting the Istana Nurul Iman – residence of His Majesty, The Sultan

Visiting the largest residential palace in the world, with golden domes and sweeping roof lines, we hoped for an opportunity to greet His Majesty and members of the royal family but, sadly, it was not Hari Raya so we were out of luck.

Phildup enjoys the Sultan’s Palace

Finally we ended up at our target landmark – the Billionth Barrel Monument.  Built to commemorate the billionth barrel of oil produced by the onshore Seria Oil Field at the S1 site (where the first well that was dug about 70 years ago), it was designed by a local architect.  Seria, is known as the oil town of Brunei due the first discovery of oil in the area.

Visiting the Billionth Barrel of Oil Monument

Phyless and I had our picture taken in front of the monument in a moment of irony – a monument to oil by two fuel gauges on full!  Thank you, VMAC, for this hilarious and amazing opportunity.  Sure hope the truck fleets back home aren’t missing us too much – we’ve still got full tanks and lots of vacationing ahead of us!

Rising Above Singapore

Phyless and I flitted over to Singapore after our adventure in Papua and were amazed and delighted by all the incredible sights we saw.  We soared 165 meters above the city in the Singapore Flyer,  the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel and also one of Asia’s biggest tourist attractions.  You can even see a glimpse of neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Marina Bay’s skyline.

Enjoying the Singapore Flyer View

After we left the Flyer we headed over to the amazing Gardens By The Bay.  This billion dollar 101 hectare superpark features more than a quarter of a million rare plants in huge domed conservatories.

The Singapore Supertrees

and is split into three waterfront gardens.  What impressed us most was their latest attraction – the “Supertrees”.  Designed by British architects Grant ­Associates, a bunch of these botanical beauties stand at up to 50 meters tall and contain between nine and 16 levels.

Strolling At Night Under the Supertrees

Each supports a diversity of tropical ferns and flowering creepers and is equipped with rainwater-harvesting systems and photovoltaic collectors capable of storing the energy used to power the park’s lighting at night. In addition to being fuel savers like Phyless and I, these Supertrees are also works of art, illuminated with colored lights and video projections.

Meeting the Papua Mudmen

One of the most exciting activities of our Papua, New Guinea visit – a place known as 120% adventure travel and not for the inexperienced or faint of heart – was our visit to the legendary Asaro Mud Men!

As the story goes, many years ago in the village of Asaro, north-west of Goroka, the Mud Men were beaten in a tribal fight and chased off their land. But it didn’t end with that.  The most vengeful warriors covered themselves with grey mud and huge mud masks before they attacked the enemy to take back their land. Their payback raids were reputed to be especially brutal – like an intense box hockey tournament! The enemy escaped in wild panic as these “ghosts looking people” emerged from the jungle.

As we ventured into the territory of the ferocious Mudmen, they emerged suddenly from the jungle, covered with mud from top to toe.  We both screamed, fearing the worst, but fortunately the Mud Men were just getting a good laugh at our expense. They showed great skill in shooting while teaching us to use a bow and arrow making me happy we we were not their intended targets.

Phildup with the Mudmen

They were very interested in our tales of our travels but, as they are a fuel-free tribe, could not grasp the awesome benefits of our new fuel-saving lifestyles.  No worries – those fabulous fuel savings, courtesy of VMAC’s ingenuity, will benefit us back home but for now we’ll focus on “mudmen-power” for our New Guinea vacation stop!

Our Cozy “Room” at Raja Ampat

Halfway between Jakarta and Papua, New Guinea, we stopped at Raja Ampat or ‘Four Kings’ – the name given to a group of four Indonesian islands: Waigeo, Misool (which is home to ancient rock paintings), Salawati, and Batanta.  The area’s blue water mangroves are a unique, world-class destination for underwater enthusiasts who flock to see the world’s best marine sights.   Increasingly well-known as the world epicenter of marine biodiversity, the islands of Raja Ampat offer a world of thrilling big animal encounters, the chance to see new species, pristine reefs of  hard and soft corals and some of the world’s most intriguing macro creatures.

Phildup enjoying the Blue Water Mangroves

During our series of dives in the crystal blue waters we spotted archer fish, pygmy seahorses, turtles, frog fish and a plethora of soft and hard corals.  But the most compelling part of our underwater adventure was the beautiful light and shadow from the mangrove roots.  Floating along underwater it was hard to believe that trucks back home were laboring through yet another tank of gas while we enjoyed the VMAC gift of a true fuel break!

A view of the National Monument in Jakarta

Well, now that I know there is very spotty WiFi in the Australian outback I think I’ll be able to post a little more frequently. We had not noticed too many fuel gauges touring around the city but we started to feel right at home when we heard about Jakarta’s Car-Free-Day’s. These are held on the last Sunday of each month! Someone should tell these Indonesian gas gauges about VMAC’s new Intelligent Digital Controls and they might get more than one Sunday off per month!

A setting sun at Glen Helen Gorge

Crikey! What a trip so far! Phyless and I both agree that the extreme conditions in the Australian Outback would be no match for VMAC’s new Intelligent Digital Controls. Too bad the same cannot be said for myself as Phyless witnessed me shrieking like a girl when I saw a spider the size of a baseball.

Sydney, Australia

After a fantastic voyage we’ve finally hit land! Unfortunately our ship’s navigation is not anywhere near as sophisticated as VMAC’s Intelligent Digital Controls and our journey took a little longer than expected… However, the added time allowed us to work on our tans.  What a trip!

Phyless getting her sea legs

Well we had a great time in Hawaii but today we left for Australia! Setting sail without fingers or thumbs was tricky but now that we’re off there is just smooth sailing ahead. With the wind on our backs and our tanks full of gas it’s time to kick back and enjoy the Pacific.