September 2019  [by Bill]

Today was my last full day in Kuala Lumpur, and I took a day trip to the former capital of Malaysia, the City of Melaka(City of Malacca in English; population:424,800). This UNESCO World Heritage Site was about a 2-hour drive each way. 2 others had reserved space, but they didn’t show up, so just the driver Nora, and me! Nora was excellent, fairly knowledgeable, entertaining, and funny. Total cost, paid in cash, was about USD $80, which includes pick up and drop off at the apartment where I’m staying in Kuala Lumpur.

There’s a small winding canal through the older part of the city, with each side lined with small eateries, stores, and other buildings.

There were lots of tourists, mainly from other parts of Malaysia, as well as other Asian countries. There’s a fleet of bicycle rickshaws, each decorated in a specific theme or character. Every inch of a rickshaw is covered in artwork, decorations, plush toys, and streamers. Pretty outlandish, made me smile!

At the edge of Melaka, we stopped to visit 2 different mosques. The Masjid Selat  Mosque is quite large, with a very decorative dome (both inside and outside), and a stunning tower, all situated along the Strait of Melaka.

Lots of interesting street art in Melaka.

There’s also a more modern city-like area just a mile or so away.

What to see & do in Melaka: Lonely Planet

Getting to Melaka from Kuala Lumpur

 

May 2019  [by Pat]

We spent two nights in Killorglin, a charming town of 2,200, at an Airbnb house. Killorglin is mostly known as a starting point for the Ring of Kerry drive.

Itinerary Link

For 3 days every August the town is ruled by a wild mountain goat known as King Puck.

After our trip around the Kerry peninsula we went into town looking for dinner and some traditional music. We failed once again in finding music, but we find a wonderful seafood platter that we could not come close to finishing:

May 2019  [by Pat]

The southwest corner of Ireland consists of several peninsulas jutting out into the Atlantic. County Kerry is the largest of these peninsulas and the Ring of Kerry is a road around the peninsula. Another road, the Wild Atlantic Way, follows the coast of all of the peninsulas. We found ourselves on the Wild Atlantic Way several times during the following days.

While many of the towns we visited can be described as “charming,” The word “rugged” comes to mind when describing the coastal roads in the southwest. In mid-May, the road was not too crowded, and we did the circle in 2-3 hours with stops.

Itinerary Link