Monday, October 27, 2014

Dalai Lama ... Here I Come: My Journey To Enlightenment

My journey began with a two hour flight delay in Kansas City, so I had to scramble to get a seat that would get me to Frankfurt in time to catch my connection to Delhi the next day. The United Airlines gate agents worked quickly and professionally and before I knew it, I was booked through Washington DC, arriving in Frankfurt three hours before my original departure time. Frankfurt being Frankfurt, that should have been enough time to make my connection.

I am staying in Delhi for four nights (three really because I arrive at the hotel around 2:30 AM (0230 hours), taking a flight to Dharamsala on November 1st for the beginning of my Journey to Enlightenment. I hope to get a feel for New Delhi (and Old Delhi) while there as we will be returning in a couple of months to to the "tourist" thing.

Once in Dharamsala, I will be volunteering with the Tibetan refugees teaching English, studying Buddhism and yoga, and working on forgiveness, a skill I have yet to acquire in close to six decades on this lonely planet.

I will be sharing my Journey to Enlightenment here on my blog, including stories, video, and photos, as well as my YouTube channel, CombatCritic TV. Please feel free to follow me on my journey where I hope to educate, inspire, and document the trip of a lifetime. FOLLOW ME to TravelValueTM.

Key Words: Dalai Lama, dalai, lama, India, Delhi, New Delhi, Dharamsala, Dharmsala, yoga, meditation, Buddhism, enlightenment, journey, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, guide, review

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Henry Doorly (Omaha) Zoo: Full Price, Half Closed, Big Disappointment

Henry Doorly (Omaha) Zoo
Omaha, Nebraska

We had heard that the Omaha Zoo was "not to be missed", so we decided to go on a free day after my wife's conference presentation at UNO.

The aquarium was nice, the primate enclosures interesting, and the "big cat" exhibit inspiring, although the poor animals have very little room to roam freely.

We then decided to take a (long) walk around the exterior of the zoo to see the rest of the animals, but EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED!

The outdoor lemur enclosure closed minutes before we arrived (4:02 PM when the zoo did not close until 6pm) as did the giraffe exhibit. The rest of the large animals (elephants, zebras, hippos, etc) were nowhere to be found because the zoo is constructing a new area for them DUE FOR COMPLETION IN 2016!

Could they not tell people that half of the zoo is closed before we paid or at least offer a discount for the inconvenience and disappointment? I guess not because we paid full price.

CombatCritic Gives the Henry Doorly (Omaha) Zoo 4 Bombs Out of 10 ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!























































































Key Words: Henry Doorly Zoo, Henry, Doorly, Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska, NE, animals, lion, tiger, bear, gorilla, elephant, giraffe, hippo, CombatCritic, TravelValue