Hello from a dark and rainy Oregon #PTTravel

A1 #PTTravel Living on the Pacific Coastline I see the storms as they are coming off the oceans. This is the time of year the PNW can see big wind storms and I enjoy watching them.

A2 #PTTravel Aside from NYC & the Xmas Markets, I haven’t traveled to somewhere cold. I do warm instead like the trip I just came back from. I remember NYC was so cold, when it snowed it actually warmed up.

A3 #PTTravel The Christmas Markets of Germany

A3 #PTTravel I took these pictures in a Bangkok shopping mall ready for the holidays

A4 #PTTravel To see the Northern Lights one day. Otherwise I’ll probably stay with warm weather places. If I want snow, I’m 100 miles away from it in the Cascades. Looking down on Bangkok from their highest observation point.

A5 #PTTravel If you don’t go to warmth, stay warm. A battery powered coat helps. It was nice to have in New York.

A6 #PTTravel Know what you are getting into and what the weather is doing and plan accordingly

Hello from Oregon back after my 18 days in SE Asia #TRLT

A1 #TRLT I still prefer to walk. This was historic George Town, Malaysia

A2 #TRLT I think when it comes to anyplace, I like to be right in the heart of the city where the action is. These were taken around Phuket, Thailand.

A3 #TRLT In Chiang Mai, Thailand I was surprised to find they had the remnants of a city wall.

A4 #TRLT In George Town, these were called jettys, houses over the water. They once were built for the poor, but have become a tourist attraction & are now owned by richer people who have invested a lot into them. Some even run businesses out them for the tourists

A5 #TRLT Don’t be afraid to go out and explore. You might find something really interesting. Bangkok’s Chinatown & its endless market.

A1 #travchat Both, my recent trip, I took Malaysian Ringit along with a couple of credit cards. When I crossed into Thailand I converted what was left of the Ringit & $200 dollars I had plus used the cards.

A2 #travchat I took $500 dollars on the recent trip, but it also depends on where you travel to SE Asia tend to be less expensive than a lot of other areas of the world. Have your ATM card

A3 #travchat A credit card is all I’ve ever used. If someone hacks a credit card, you can have it shut off & they can’t get at your bank account. Also, I use Apple Pay a lot overseas.

A4 #travchat No & sometimes they don’t want cash. I encountered that a few times in SE Asia

A5 #travchat None of my cards have foreign transaction fees. I’ve made sure of that.

A6 #travchat I prefer mobile payments if I can use it. It’s contactless & Parts of Europe you can even find things like self serve laundromats that will accept mobile payments.