Budapest, Hungary (June 2019)

Posted on July 9, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Uncategorized

Pronounced Budapesht because the “s” is a “sh” sound. We stayed at an AirBnb apartment in a 150 year old building.

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Our building is the on the right of the peach-colored one in the center.

We got the transit passes and used them to get all over town. Budapest has great public transportation including subway, trains, trams, busses, trolleys, etc.

We saw the Central Market, Kalvin Square, Sisi statue, The Dohany Street Synagogue was closed (and will be all weekend), St. Stephen’s Basilica, saw a holocaust memorial by Liberty Square (having a beer festival), Ronald Regan statue, parliament, metro under the river, more churches.

We hiked to Matthias church and the Fisherman’s Bastion with a great view of Pest and the Danube, bus back to to organ (also trumpet, and mezzo-soprano duets) at St. Stephens. Big pipe organ for Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor, also other pieces. Walked along Danube, saw shoes memorial to Jews who were told to take off their shoes, then shot to fall into Danube, also the parliament building,

The next day we walked across the chain bridge, rode lots of trains today, walked around the Buda Castle District, up and down the hill, Semmelweis museum of medical history, trams, light rail, Buda hills, children’s railway, cogwheel train down, light rail, metro, bus.

Sunday morning we attended the Pest Ward with everything except prayers in both English and Hungarian. We were invited to lunch with Lazlo Torok and Ildiko Kovacs (and their children) at their house in Göd (by Felsögöd and Alsögöd). To get home we took the fancy regional train, then Metro. Later tram, then bus to the Citadella and Soviet Memorial on Gellert hill. Great views, walked down the mountain and back over the river.

Whit Monday (Pentacost/7 weeks after Easter—so lots of things closed for national holiday), walked along Andrássy Street, saw the Hungarian Opera House (under renovation), Franz Liszt Academy, the Oktagon intersection, rode metro to Heroes square, monument and interesting statues (and bah relief sculptures) of historical Hungarian heroes, walked by Vajdahunyad castle and lake, handicrafts and food booths, free admission to the museum of agriculture, went to Margaret Island, 1300s Dominican church ruins, great outdoor pool/thermal springs, dancing fountains to American music.

We took Wizz Air (discount airline) to get to Stockholm. It felt kind of like a cattle warehouse waiting at the “gate”.

Stockholm, Sweden (June 2019)

Posted on July 8, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Uncategorized

We had overcast weather for most of our time in Stockholm, with sunset around 10:30 and sunrise at 3:30 am so it was just kind of gray most of the time. We attended the conference opening social at the Nordic Museum on Djurgården Island.

The next morning we decided to explore Djurgarden. The island is a big park area with lots of museums, we walked around the Skansen open air museum and zoo, Viking Museum, historic boats, amusement park-the oldest in Sweden and host of summer concerts, ABBA museum, etc.

At the Swedish History Museum we saw some interesting history. Unfortunately the Viking exhibit was closed.

Attended the conference, then took the subway to Gamla Stan (old town), lots of old buildings and narrow roads, Nobel Museum was very interesting, walked by the Palace.

The next day we took a tour of Town Hall, and had Vio scooter ride for 25 minutes before taking the Royal Canal boat tour–lots of historic buildings and boats.

I had a reindeer wallenbergare for lunch.

The conference closing social was at the Vasa Museum with its restored sunken ship.

Paris, France (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Europe

We had a whirlwind of a day in Paris—23,000 steps, 10.2 miles, 27 floors plus riding the Metro. We hit most of the major landmarks and had crepes for dinner and gelato too. Our hotel was the Marriott on the Champs de Elysees, we walked with group of about 10 all over— Arc de Triomphe, Tuileries, crepes with Nutella, Louvre, walked along the Seine, Notre Dame, blocked off due to fire, gelato, walked to Centre Pompidou, subway to Sacre Coeur and Mountmarte, walked up tons of stairs to get to the top, long walk down to Moulin Rouge, metro to Trocadero to see Eiffel Tower light up with sparkle lights.

Amman, Jordan (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Middle East/North Africa

Quite a few people in our group were needing Pepto Bismol in the morning, not quite sure if it was the dinner at the bedouin camp or the sack lunch after Petra, but we started calling it the “Wadi runs.” We visited some Roman Ruins at the Citadel and found out that the Greeks used to call Amman Philadelphia. We had a brief shopping outing, walking around downtown. We had a fancy lunch with strawberry drink with a texture almost like jam.

We had a brief shopping outing, walking around downtown. We had a fancy lunch with strawberry drink with a texture almost like jam.

We had an enjoyable business visit to Aramex—they do shipping worldwide—partnering with UPS and Amazon. It was interesting to hear about their rapid growth, as well as challenges of operating in this part of the world.

We got explore Jerash—where there are tons of Roman and Greek ruins from as far back as 5500 BC. Among other things, there were big theaters, temples to Zeus and Artemis, and a hippodrome.

Sarah and I walked to the Boulevard mall for dinner.

We drove to Bethany, the site of Jesus’s baptism based on the ruins of three churches found there (in the middle of nowhere), barely a puddle of water right now, walked further to the Jordan River (opposite side of the river from our visit in Israel in 2017)–it was pretty muddy.

From there we drove to a Dead Sea resort hotel. It was nice to have a place to change clothes, have showers, towels, and lunch. People enjoyed the mud and floating, also fun times in the pool—especially the water slide.

After lunch we drove to Mt Nebo where people think Moses was buried, great view (on a clear day) all the way to the Red Sea. Nice ancient mosaics. The artist was told about some African animals, but hadn’t actually seen a giraffe (as you can tell by his depiction). We visited a shop where disabled people make mosaics including a “Lehi’s Dream” mosaic.

We had a farewell dinner–a fancy traditional Ramadan feast at Karam Beirut. There was way too much food, lots and lots of plates of dishes.

Aqaba/Petra, Jordan (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Middle East/North Africa

We were thrilled to discover that our bus for Jordan has WiFi, USB charging, and a bathroom. We had a Sunday devotional on the bus since LDS church services in Jordan (and UAE) are held on Fridays. After a four-hour bus ride we arrived in Aqaba at our hotel right on the Red Sea. After a nice breakfast we went swimming in Red Sea and pool. Others in our group played beach VB, or went scuba diving or parasailing.

After lunch we visited ASEZA-the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and heard an interesting presentation on the government investment in the area.

We drove to Wadi Rum on the bus and then got in the beds of some old of Toyota trucks for a ride around Wadi Rum. We saw petroglyphs and some Bedouin camps. There was a pretty strong sandy wind storm. We finally arrived at our camp which has concrete buildings with Bedouin style black outer shells, includes AC and shower, toilet, and electricity.

We had a sunset camel ride out and back, mine was one of the largest, named Shahaine. Dinner in big tent was pretty good, chicken lamb and potatoes cooked in a pit barrel (more on this later…)

The next morning we had about an hour bus ride to Petra. Sarah and I were better prepared this time. We had our sunbrellas and plenty of water this time. It seemed more crowded this year and quite dusty. Some in our group ran to get to the Monastery and back in time. We did the Treasury, Royal Tombs, and everything in between. We had a sack lunch on the bus on our way to Amman.

We stopped at the Tafila Wind farms.

On to Amman.

Dubai, UAE (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under Middle East/North Africa

In Dubai we stayed at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hotel. We’ve seen the dramatic difference of poverty in India to the excessive show of wealth in the United Arab Emirates. We shared Uber Mercedes to Mall of Dubai for the lights and fountain show by the Burj Kalifa, dinner at Shake Shack with $7 shakes! It was a looong walk to metro station. We were glad to ride the metro in the crowded women only car.

We had an amazing breakfast buffet–best I’ve seen. We went to the Jumeirah Mosque for an educational session about the mosque and Islam in general from a British lady (convert to Islam). It is Ramadan right now, so most Muslims are fasting during daylight hours. Ramadan Kareem is a common greeting right now.

The prayer clock--updated daily based on the sun.

We took a cab to the Burj Khalifa and went to the observation deck on 124 – 125, it was pretty cool. We had about 5 miles visibility so we couldn’t see the palm islands or Burj al Arab.

We went with Arabian Adventures to the sand dunes—Amjad was our driver. They deflate the Land Cruiser tires once they are ready to go off-road. It was awesome. We got to sandboard down the dunes, get henna tattoos, ride a camel, have a traditional bedouin dinner, and watch a Sufi whirling dancer.

We went to Emirates Air crew training headquarters, got to see safety and evacuation, also customer service and appearance management. We got to see their flight simulators with hydraulic lifts to simulate turbulence and nose dives, saw slides and water landing training, photo with safety vests, simulated fire in the cabin, details about each type of seat, first class suites, even a fancy shower suite, hair and makeup.

Other members of our group had amazing adventures with jet skis around the Burj al Arab, helicopter flights, ziplines, skiing in the Mall of the Emirates, and visiting penguins.

Mumbai, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Our time in Mumbai (Bombay) had a rushed beginning. For security reasons they locked the exit door for a few minutes, splitting up our group. We were finally allowed to exit and had a rushed bus ride to get to Gandhi museum before closing. The museum is in a house where Gandhi used to live and did some of his critical work.

We drove along the Queen’s Necklace along the shore, but we were warned “don’t get in the water” because it is so polluted.

We had an early start to take a 1 hour boat ride to Elefanta Island and the caves carved in the 1400s. We rode a “mini toy train” to the base and hiked 120 steps through a shopping gauntlet to get to the caves. Chitra our guide explained about the carvings of Lord Shiva throughout—telling a story. It was very hot and muggy. It was interesting to watch the aggressive monkeys stealing food and drinks.

We had a very interesting time at our Tara Consulting Services visit. Sarah and the others daughters went to the pool instead.

We had a very fancy dinner in the hotel. There were lots of cricket players staying in our hotel for a big tournament, so many of our group got tickets and went to one of the matches. It was 136-8 when we left. Akash Tigers (blue) had just hit, and the Eagle Thane Strikers (yellow) were up to bat next.

We had an interesting visit to P&G Mumbai, and they even fed us lunch.

Jaipur, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Our hotel was a former palace. There is still a room reserved for royalty only ($15,000 per night).

We saw some snake charmers on the way to the Amber Fort. There are lots of snakes in India, and snake charmers are still very important to remove snakes from houses and help with snake bites. Since they don’t kill the snakes, and don’t have good medical care, India has the highest rates of snake bites in the world.

We got a tour of the Amber Fort /Amer Palace (built in the 1600s) in Jaipur. We got to ride in the back of pick up trucks to get up the narrow, steep streets to the fort. Elephants are another option.

The “small wall of India”

We had a tour of a textiles factory, demonstrations of block printing fabric and carpet making.

We drove through the Pink City—old colonial part of town all buildings are required to use the same color of terracotta pink.

We had a business visit to Jaipur Foot where they make prosthetics for free. They use flesh-tone PVC pipe (heated up) and interesting technology for the knee joint. They don’t turn anyone away, most done within a single day but if not they can sleep in the dorms. We had a detailed presentation from Dr. Mehta the founder. Our group was able to give them a generous donation. Many of the workers have prosthetics themselves.

We drove to the outskirts of town to ride elephants–ours was a 28-year old named Lakshmi.

With a few others, we attempted to take a tuk tuk ride to McDonalds. Our driver didn’t know where to go, and there were too many of us in the vehicle. Although finally got there, McDonalds was closed for remodeling, but we were able to walk to Dominos nearby.

Delhi/Agra, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Due to flight delays, we arrived in Delhi late (and the hotel even later).

3:30 am outside the Delhi airport

With 2.5 hours of sleep, we still made it to church at the Vasant Vihar Ward in the basement of a non-descript building. They had a very nice Mother’s Day service and gave us flowers.

After a quick clothing change, we headed out to the Gadodia spice market. It was closed due to the election, but we could still walk up the narrow stairs several floors to the roof. It was very hard to breathe—so many spices, especially chili peppers in the air.

After lunch we had a long bus ride to Agra and dinner at the hotel.

We got up early for our sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal. Our guide Raaj had traditional Indian clothes for the faculty leaders and our daughters.

We got the “high value tickets” and tour of the mausoleum—but no photos allowed there. Intricate carved marble.

We had a tour of Agra Fort, just down the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned here by his son. You can glimpse the Taj Mahal out the window.

We had a tour of the Akhbar marble factory tour and demo about inlaid stone carving used in the Taj Mahal.

We got to visit one of Mother Theresa’s Sisters of Charity organizations. It was really sobering to visit the children’s and women’s wards. The community helps provide support.

Our drive to Jaipur was long!! (8 hrs instead of 4.5). Traffic was heavy with lots of toll booths, cows, big trucks, scooters, tractors, etc.

Hong Kong (June 2018)

Posted on August 4, 2018 by drbonnieanderson under Asia, China

We arrived in Shenzhen by high speed train. A bit of a hassle and two bus rides to get through the border into Hong Kong–Chinese Special Administrative Region.

The girls and female chaperones stayed at the L’Hotel Island South. The boys stayed at the Andersen’s house. After getting settled, we walked to the Andersen’s house (mostly—Allen Andersen picked us up in his Mini Cooper to take us up the mountain, 4 people at a time), Jill Andersen was very sweet. She had been preparing for weeks to have all the food ready. We had sloppy joes, green salad, chips and salsa, baked beans, watermelon. Also chocolate chip cookies and ice cream for dessert. They have a very nice house. Jill also obtained octopus cards (for all purchases in the city) for the whole group.

The next day we took the subway (MTR) to the Deep Water Bay and took junk boat out to Bluff Island in the South China Sea (1.5 hr ride).

Most of us jumped off the roof of the boat several times.

Lauren went in the motor boat to the island since she didn’t want to swim (but she got stranded there and soaked in a rainstorm before we were able to get her picked up again).

The water seemed very salty. Amy, Stephanie, and I got to ride on the banana boat (inflatable). We got dumped a few times, but were laughing most of the time.

There had been some light rain a few times, but then a huge storm hit. It was so bad with lightning that the boat captain made everyone get in the boat for a while. The rain was pretty cold. Lots of people with stomach illness today (some more with motion sickness). Lunch on the boat was great US fare—Jill Andersen made sure of that. Back on shore we walked to the mall and got food for dinner from the City Supermart. Then we took the Star Ferry to Kowloon Island (ICC) so we could look back at the Hong Kong skyline and watch the laser/light show. Quite a walk to get back to the hotel using the subway.

The next day we went all over Hong Kong. Periodic downpours didn’t slow us down. We took the subway, then a double-decker bus up to Victoria Peak. Hiked around then took a funicular tram down—it was so steep in places we were standing at a steep angle.

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These squares are indented for a better grip on the steep ride.

I’m standing upright–the tram is at a steep angle.

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Walked through some interesting local food markets on our way to a dim sum lunch.

We took a double-decker street car and subway to get to the Sky 100 Observation Deck at 393 meters. The rain limited the view somewhat—but still very interesting.

We walked through the jade market, then a series of touristy market streets.

We enjoyed Italian food at Amaroni’s for our farewell dinner.

Some went to see the Hong Kong temple; sick kids went straight back to the hotel.

We left for the airport early the next morning. Several people sick, some really ill in the airport. We waited as long as we could to decide if they needed to stay longer in Hong Kong. Ended up boarding everyone.

Lots of pepto, Imodium, cough drops, ibuprofen on the 12-hour flight to Seattle. One student even fainted in the aisle, making for a bit of drama including paging the whole plane for a doctor on board. Lauren and I were glad that we didn’t catch whatever was going around.

A few other random photos from Hong Kong: