2017 – The Chicken Scratches

Yerevan, Armenia (November 14, 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 16, 2017June 8, 20220

We arrived, by train from Tbilisi, in Yerevan at about 6:30 AM and took a cab to our AirBnB. The primary reason I picked this particular AirBnB was the owner was willing to let us check in at 7 AM. The cab driver was unaware of the location and had to ask several times, even though we had the location mapped on our phones (not me, of course, since I left mine in Charlotte). Our AirBnB was not particularly in a convenient location and the bathrooms left a lot to be desired, however, since we were only going to be …

Qatar and Georgia (November 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 15, 2017June 9, 20220

We left Jordan on November 6th, heading to Tbilisi, Georgia. But first a 5-hour layover in Doha, Qatar, where we got to visit with Allison/Alessia. She is our exchange student from the Ukraine who spent almost a year with us in Charlotte. She is now a flight crew member for Qatar Airlines. She just finished her last day of training. She met up with us as we left Customs. We all crowded into a cab and went to find a place to eat – Allison suggested a crepe restaurant, so off we went. How good to get to spend a …

Jordan (November 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 7, 2017June 8, 20220

We left Egypt on November 2nd, flying on Qatar Air (through Doha) to Amman, Jordan. Thus began our next adventure… From the international airport outside of Amman, it was an hour taxi ride to our hotel (Arab Tower Hotel) in the old part of the city. Much of this hour was spent waiting in traffic within the city limits. When we finally arrived at the hotel, I could tell I had made a mistake – as my notes say, this hotel was the “pits”. One of the problems was that I had found a hotel matching the name in our …

Egypt (October 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 2, 2017June 8, 20220

On October 21, we boarded our flights to Cairo, Egypt, where we met up with Jenny, Tom and the boys. This was the start of a vacation to countries we never thought we would visit. From the airport, we went to our hotel, Om Kolthoom Hotel, located in the Zamalek neighborhood on an island in the Nile River. This hotel is located on the site of the villa belonging to Om Kolthoom, who “was an internationally renowned Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s.” Highlights of Cairo: A night cruise and dinner on a …

Western U.S.A (01-30 Sep 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeOctober 1, 2017October 7, 20220

We’ve been traveling the world for the last several years (England, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Denmark, Germany and France), so it was time to see more of the U.S.A. and some National Parks. Pat’s cousin Susan lives in La Conner, WA (an hour north of Seattle), we set out for there on the first day of September; but first a long, Labor Day weekend in Franklin, TN, visiting friends we had met in Singapore. When we moved to Singapore in 2014, Susan and Woody took us under their wings to introduce us to life out …

Paris (7-25 July 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 24, 2017October 9, 2022

Continuing our adventure that started in Singapore, moved to Copenhagen, on to Hamburg and now, on to Paris… Our AirBnB was located about halfway between Sacre-Coeur and the Louvre. Great location. Observations on Paris: Rue Cadet was a good place to stay, as it was about equidistant from many of the sites we want to see. Pastries are wonderful A large cup of coffee isn’t (see photo below). If you want a large coffee, order an Americano or better still go to Starbucks or McDonalds Good city for walking Crowded with tourists Most French beer is bland People speak English …

Hamburg (5-7 July 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 7, 2017October 9, 20220

Continuing the adventure that started in Singapore, stopped in Copenhagen, and now in Hamburg, Germany… After arriving, Pat and I went to our hotel, Centro Hotel Boutique 56, across the street from the station; Jenny’s family had and hour to look around before boarding a train to Berlin and the start of their adventure, traveling through Europe. Our room at the hotel was at the front, facing the station. No air conditioning, so the windows had to be left open all night. Less than ideal, as the street noise (cars, police and the restaurant below our window) PLUS no lift! …

Copenhagen (30 June – 5 July 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 3, 2017October 11, 20220

After a 4 hour layover in Bangkok, our flight from Singapore arrived in Copenhagen at about 7:30 PM. Pat and I took a cab to our AirBnB. The driver was not one of the better ones we’ve had: seemed to have trouble using his GPS and had to reload it several times – each time I had to look up the address again. He had to pull over three times to reset his GPS, promising that he was not charging for these delays. When we finally got to our AirBnB we met the owner who showed us her apartment and …

Unexpected India (1-4 June 2017)

by Pat WhydeJune 5, 2017October 13, 20220

When Ray and I flew back to Singapore to visit Jenny et al we didn’t plan on any additional trips until we leave at the end of June for our next adventure. But an opportunity arose shortly before we left the US. Jenny had a work trip to New Delhi the week after we arrived in Singapore. She asked me if I wanted to join her at the end of the work week for a few days of mother/daughter adventure. I had just enough time to apply and wait the 7 working days to get my India visa (I had …

Singapore (May 5 – June 30)

by Pat & Ray WhydeMay 20, 2017October 13, 20220

When we left Singapore, with Jenny and family staying behind, a return trip was in our future. We finally picked May 5. Our original plan was to leave Singapore on July 5 and fly to Paris for 2 weeks. We decided to wait until June to book the flight to Paris – good thing, since our plans were changing! Between the time we booked our flight to Singapore and actually got there, Jenny announced she quit her job and travel the world with her family! Her last day in SG was to be June 30 (a week before we were …