July 29th, 2018 Carribean Ranking

A very expensive and the shortest trip, indeed!
The Pitons were the favorite part of this trip. I have got to get to Jade Mountain another time.

July 29th, 2018 Financials

I spent 3363.64 USD on this trip. This surprised me. I can't believe this only took a week. I knew I flew every day for a week but I didn't even stay in hotels for most of the time. I hope to get my rental damage reimbursed. I would still have spent around 3000 USD though.

July 1st, 2018 St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda to Los Angeles, California

5AM I woke up and got a coffee near Antigua Yacht Club Marina and Resort. The barista collects foreign currency. I gave him 20 CNY and 10 UAH for my latte. I then toured the Nelson's Dockyard and learned a little about the ship knot tying. I then drove up to Shirley Heights for lunch.

10:30AM I pestered the restaurant until they gave me the lobster for 50 XCD and 2134 XCD on Visa.

12PM I got back to airport and left for Miami. I stopped a couple of hours there and had an angus 
burger on the land side of Terminal E. I left for LAX at 7PM and arrived at LAX at 1AM.

June 30th, 2018 Castries, Saint Lucia to St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda

5AM I slept in the car and started driving to Jade Mountain Resort. When I was 30 minutes away from Soufrière, Saint Lucia, I stopped at where I thought was a view point. I back into a ditch. A good Samaritan came by to try to put rocks underneath to no avail. We finally called Sixt to try to get someone to tow it out. The good Samaritan drove me to Soufrière, Saint Lucia and we found the guy parked at the side of the street. We got it out with some help from 4 men driving by. I gave a 20 XCD tip to the tow guy and went on. I arrived at Jade Mountain at 10:20AM and the manager no longer let me in for breakfast. I drove to La Levada instead and took a milk shake there for some shots of the Piton. I drove back to get into the public beach next to Jade Mountain.

12PM They wouldn't let me get lunch there. I was wasting too much time talking to security and my flight to Antigua and Barbuda was soon. I gave up and drove back to the airport for my flight leaving at 3PM.

7PM I arrived at Antigua and Barbuda. I didn't book any car rentals and they were all leaving. I just took the only one there at the time, Dollar Car Rental, for 46.20 USD. It was a real SUV this time. I drove to have dinner at Hemingway Cafe. I had some fish, shrimp dish and then drove to the English Harbor. Surprisingly, all the bars were shut down. I didn't really know where the concert was going on. Apparently the whole island is there. I drove back to downtown and found a couple of clubs but I didn't think anyone was there. I was too tired and just slept in the car.

June 29th, 2018 Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Castries, Saint Lucia

6AM I was woken up by the commotions outside. I took a van to Fort Charlotte. There was no entry fee but it was also boring.

9AM I toured the botanical garden for 1 hour. It had some parrots but was also boring. The entry fee was just 5 XCD.

11AM I took a shower and hopped on a van to the airport.

3PM I arrived at Saint Lucia at around 3PM. The Sixt car rental representative was a little late to arrive. The car looked quite large for a minimal car. It was a Nissan that looked like a SUV. I drove to Pigeon Island.

5PM I then drove to Gros Islet for the Friday street party. I had a pot fish, followed by some banana salad salad and salt fish, which were all bad. I also had some beef kidney for 5 XCD. I had 3 Piton beers over the night. They were small.

June 28th, 2018 Bridgetown, Barbados to Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

2AM I came out of the Taco Bar and went to sleep.

8AM I left for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. There was a stop at Saint Lucia and we arrived at 11:30AM. I spoke a man from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on the plane sitting next to me. He told me to visit Melting Pot where his girlfriend works.

1PM I was trying to sort out the canceled flight I had for the next day from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Saint  Lucia. I had to book another flight. At the same time, I was trying to get a dive in with Serenity Dive. I left the airport and took a van to Serenity. They didn't want to take me to the deeper dive. I just the one reef dive for 200 XCD. It was alright. The dive master killed a few lionfish during the dive.

5PM Paradise Hotel wanted 80 USD plus tax. I took a van to Cobblestone Inn instead as I believed there was more night life in town. I bargained down to 70 USD but the 181.5 XCD was just around 66 USD so I paid local money instead.

6PM I went to Melting Pot, which was not bad. Dinner was conch, fruit and milk shake for 63 XCD. The guy sitting next to me on the plane even came to visit. I made some conversation with a crew of South Africans, English and Americans working on a yacht.

7PM I got a coke and went to bed.

June 27th, 2018 St. George's, Grenada to Bridgetown, Barbados

3AM I drove back to Sea Breeze without incident. The room was just fine with fan.

7AM I woke up to drive to the Dragon Bay. I couldnt really get down to where the statues were and only got close enough the first time. It was alright and costed 67 XCD. When I started driving up a hill, a dog distracted me and I couldn't control the bike once it had slowed down. I tried to push it back up but fell again. I asked Rocky, the local working at Dragan Bay, to help me and I was back on my way to the center. I looked at a couple of churches before going back and packing my stuff at Sea Breeze. When I started the motorbike again, I fell again. This time my left leg got stuck under the bike until I got it out in a minute. I got some help and returned the bike. They didn't catch the small scratches from my falls.

11AM I got a ride from the motorbike company to send me back to the airport. My flight didn't leave until 2PM. I stayed in a lounge and spoke to the girl working there.

3PM I arrived at Barbados and rented a car to go to the limestone park, which was closed when I arrived. The roads are the best of the Caribbean that I have seen this town. I had dinner at Uncle George's, which was excellent.

7PM I slept a couple of hours in the car and drove to Saint Lawrence Gap. I missed it first and went to a Karaoke place first. I drove a few more blocks north and reached St Lawrence Gap.

June 26th, 2018 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to St. George's, Grenada

2AM I went to sleep in the car.

6AM I woke up and drove around town and around the Savannah. I took my time but there was really not much to do unless you went to the beach.

10AM I got to the airport. I had to wait until 11:30AM until they opened for check-in. I finally boarded the 40 minute flight at 1PM.

2:15PM I took my time looking for a rental and finding a way to Dragon Bay. A girl volunteering here suggested I rent a motor bike. Since no vehicle was available for less than 100 USD, I took it for 35 USD.

7PM I drove to Dragon Bay. The tour was finished. They said the people would be back tomorrow at 8AM. I drove back to BB's. It was uninspiring, 126.5 XCD which is almost 50 USD.

9PM I tried to bargain with Regis Palms but they wouldn't come down. I got to Sea Breeze and got a room without air conditioning for 50 USD. I got a beer at Esther's beer and drove to Bananas. The Reggae rapper didn't show but there was plenty of people there.

June 25th, 2018 Miami, Florida to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

7AM I woke up at 7 or I should say I was woken up by the people who are leaving Rubia's apartment. I took an Uber to the airport and spent a couple of hours at the lounge. I then went to the restaurant paid for by Priority Pass. The omelette was just awful though. I left Miami around 10AM and arrived at 2PM. I rented a car at Enterprise for 221.34 TTD.

4PM I finally left for the beach. I first arrived at Las Cuevas and went back to Maracas, where I had Bake and Shark for just 45 TTD. That was very good!

8PM The road was pretty windy but I finally got back to town. Escape the Movies recommended by the tourist office was closed. I tried looking for doubles near the theater. Solo was not on and I had no interest in the other movies. I went back to Ariapita Ave where the bars are.

12PM I had a few drinks at the bar. Nicholas who works for an old oil company there bought me a drink. I went to sleep in the car at 2AM.

June 24th, 2018 Los Angeles, California to Miami, Florida

1:15PM I left LAX to arrive at MIA at 9:30PM.11PM I got to Rubia's and got a wine and some ice cream. I slept on her couch.

July 24th, 2018 Africa, Central and South Asia

India is the highlight as expect of this trip.
Albeit expensive, this trip like all others, is necessary.
I wish I had gone to India in January or February. End of March is extremely unpleasant weather wise. But I suppose it could only be worse, considering that it is July 2018 at the time of this writing.

July 23rd, 2018 Financials

These are the financials for this trip. Most of the spending on this trip was on the flights. The total expenditure was $9862.72, the most I have spent in a month, ever!

April 4th, 2018 New Delhi, India

2AM I stayed awake until going to the lounge at 2:30AM.

April 3rd, 2018 Agra to New Delhi, India

4:45AM I woke up to take a tuk-tuk for 150 INR to Mehtab Bagh. Now that I have been there, I would say the general consensus is correct, that you should spend the evening there rather than morning.

7:30AM I left for Taj Mahal. The ticket was 1,000 INR. It was just as expected.

9:30AM I left for Agra Fort but it took me an extra hour to find an ATM that worked. Agra Fort ended up being much bigger than I though even though only 1/4 of it was open to public.

11:30AM I left for the bus station and waited there. I had to take the bus without air conditioning since the air conditioned bus didn't leave until 3PM.

6:15PM It was a brutal 4 hour to Noida. After reaching the Noida station, I took the metro to the Red Fort. Even though the light show was on, they closed at 6PM and wouldn't let me in.






7PM I left for Jama Masjid, which is one of the oldest mosques in India. It didn't impress when compared to Uzbekistan. When I was walking toward Karim's, I passed by and chatted with two Japanese girls. They came after and we shared a table, we shared some food together. Karim's is a slight disappointment. Indian food is good but has too much carbohydrate content. I can't say it's top 5 in the world even though it would likely to be in the top 10.

10PM I headed toward the airport. That Airport Express ticket costed 60 INR. I exchanged the 650 INR I had left, 40 USD with a lady who just wanted some spare change with 50 EUR.

April 2nd, 2018 Jaipur, India to Delhi, India

6AM I arrived at Jaipur and took a tuk-tuk to Hoztel. I decided to go to City Palace and Janter Marat. Janter Maratwas a place for astrology calculations. I got out after an hour. I decided to skip City Palace after I saw the pictures from another traveler. I went back to Hoztel. It took forever due to the strike going on. I then took another tuk-tuk to the public bus station. There was a stoppage for buses departing from Jaipur. I found tuk-tuk's willing to go for 2,000 INR. A taxi traveler found me and wanted 2,500. I offered 2,400 INR. We left for Chand Bawri.















4PM We got to Chand Bawri. It was moderately impressive. I can see how it is not a major site since there was nothing close to it. I didn't want to pay the driver more and found a couple of Indians to take me. I waited an hour for them and one of them who claimed to do business wanted 1,000 INR. I gave him 500 INR.





8:30PM The ride took way longer than expected. We reached Moustache Hostel three and half hours later. The 500 INR was definitely worth it. Yasder landed me right outside the doors of Moustache Hostel. I stopped by an Indian wedding right the hostel and got some free food. I then got an awful coffee plus some two scoops of melting ice cream and went back to Moustache Hostel. Initially I just wanted to pay 200 but then opted for 250 INR because I decided the 50 INR for air conditioning was worth it.
I went to bed a little after midnight.

April 1st, 2018 Jodhpur, India

6AM I arrived at Jodhpur. I walked for a while before taking a bus to the clock tower. I got a lassi for 40 INR and continued to the Toorji Ka Jhalra Step Well. It was nice and much better than the one in Jaipur. I took about 30 minutes there and continued to advance to Mehrangarh Fort. That was great. I took about 2 hours there under the 42 degree Celsius sun of Jodhpur. 

































1PM I finished at about noon and walked to Jaswant Thada. That was a nice garden and memorial. I had lunch at "JHANKAR..Choti-Haveli" Restaurant. The cashew curry was definitely overrated by the tourist here. I proceeded to spend another half an hour at Toorji Ka Jhalra. I then went for 1 hour of zip lining for 1,600 INR. I finished around 5 and tried to go for the shot behind Jaswant Thada with the fort in the background. I hired a tuk-tuk to get there but we couldn't get t\though the entrance. I quickly realized it was a shot only obtainable during sunrise. When I was walking out, I met a 55 year old Indian man who claimed he knew all the angles to take photography in Jodhpur. I was curious and told the tuk-tuk to wait for us while I checked out his photos. To be honest, they were hardly impressive at all. I left with the driver to the palace. They wanted 5,000 INR up front which I think is due to the fact I took a tuk-tuk there. It didn't look that interesting so I just took a photo and left.

8PM I roamed around the road near exit of the palace and walked and chatted with people in a tailor shop. I then walked to a supermarket to buy a USB type C cable for my Galaxy 9 plus. I got a tuk-tuk for 61 INR and got to the station.

9:30PM I got to the station and sat in the cafe across the street. I broke the glass as I was leaving and I had to pay 20 INR. My bus left at 10:30PM.