Christmas in Tonga is refreshingly un-materialistic Sure, there are the simultaneously bizarre, yet amusing store fronts dotting the dusty strip of downtown Nuku’alofa, and families often shop for a gift or two for the children, but otherwise, Christmas is all about family, church and community (and a little Christmas Eve bingo, natch). An interesting addition to…
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Often overlooked, Tonga’s mid-island group, Ha’apai, comprises 62 islands (only 20 are inhabited), hides some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world, and cradles famous tales of nautical misadventures in its unassuming waters. Ha’apai, a History For instance, the mutiny, as in the Mutiny on the Bounty, occurred in 1789, just between the…
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Tonga can be a hard place for dogs, and presumably for this reason, our adopted dog-who-still-won’t-let-us-pet-her, A/K/A “Ibu”, has been hiding her brood of two puppies deep under our back porch. One of the puppies came out earlier yesterday and played with Sam a little during lunch time, but the other had yet to make an…
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This is Toni: holder of (almost!) two Masters degrees, Tongan civil servant, husband to one excessively fit and pregnant young lady otherwise known as Amy (featured here, dutifully warming him up) and … coconut-tree-climber extraordinaire! Today, Toni will show us Palangis how to make fresh coconut cream, an ingredient staple of the South Pacific diet,…
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This is the view Sam and I encounter every day, after walking or riding up a side road from our house for about one third of a mile. Our road ends here, at Vuna, which is the main road going along the coast of Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital city. Not too shabby! The island you see…
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Thanksgiving is a big holiday for most Americans, but when you’re an American in Tonga, it gets even bigger. For starters, that over-priced frozen turkey you speculate over at your local grocery store? Well, it’s a sacred acquisition here. If you’re lucky enough to spot one in Tonga, you abscond with it immediately, regardless of…
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View Hong Kong Island in a larger map (Note: blue markers indicate locations, pink lines/markers indicate transport routes) Hotel and “Airport Shuttle”: We left Cambodia with a little trepidation; Hong Kong is expensive, everyone says it, and since we were on a tight budget, we weren’t sure how wise it was for us to have…
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Our last free full day in Cambodia (Sunday) was spent seeing some of the sights beyond the main Angkor park attractions. We had planned on heading out on Saturday, but Sam got hit with some kind of ninja bug Friday afternoon, and by that evening, he was in full-blown chills, sore throat, runny nose and…
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I have wanted to visit Angkor Wat since I was a teenager. Growing up in Indonesia and Malaysia, I had the opportunity once to visit the Borobudur and Prambanan at a time when people didn’t recognize those names, thanks to my dad who took my older brother and me. The Borobudur is magnificent: the largest Buddhist temple in…
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Siem Reap is a city in the Northwestern area of Cambodia, and is most well known for being the gateway to the famed Angkor Wat and the other magnificent temples comprising the Angkor Archaeological Park (more on that later). The town itself has some highlights — it is very international in terms of cuisine — but it also…
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