- Getting ready to hit the road!
- Some thoughts on Hong Kong…
- A day in Danang and Hue, Vietnam
- Saigon River and Saigon, Vietnam
- Siem Reap and Temples, Cambodia
- The Floating Village — Kompong Phluk, Cambodia
- Phnom Penh and the road to Sihanoukville, Cambodia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Day 2 in Bangkok — Ayutthaya, Thailand
- Singapore
- Langkawi Island, Malaysia
- Phuket, Thailand — or sort of…
- New Delhi, India
- Agra and the Taj Mahal
- The road to — and Jaipur, India
- India — a few closing thoughts.
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Oman (The Sultanate of)
- Luxor, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, Egypt
- Petra, Jordan
- Sharm el Sheik and St. Catherine’s Monastery, Egypt
- Cairo and Giza, Egypt
- Egypt — Some final thoughts…
- Zooming around Israel
- Bodrum, Kusadasi, and Ephesus, Turkey
- Corfu, Greece
- Dubrovnik and Zadar, Croatia
- Venice, Italy — the last hurrah!
Well, it had to come to an end and we were really started feeling it 2-3 days before the end of the cruise. I know that sounds weird, especially when you take a weeklong cruise, but this was a 55-day cruise – and our first ever cruise. The Seabourn Quest had been our magic carpet, taking us from place-to-place, across corners of the earth we had never visited. Through the guest lecturers and our tour guides, we had gotten an education that we will never forget. We learned about the historical interdependence of cultures, religions, and economies across the globe and how things in distant history have impacted us all today. But we also learned that we, as peoples across the globe, are not so very different. We all have the same basic needs, wants, hopes, and dreams – for ourselves and our children. As groups of people, we also get along pretty well. Not surprisingly, it is the people in power (or desirous of power) that generally screw things up for everyone else. I really like what I learned about the Eastern philosophies when we visited Asia and India. Not only do they try to take the long view, but also I really like the idea of karma. It’s the Golden Rule with consequences. Sure, there are bad people everywhere, but they tend to be in the minority (unfortunately, often in the minority that has the power). We will definitely go back to visit a number of places we saw on the trip. The world is so big, yet so small.
We really enjoyed our time on the ship. Seabourn is a quality cruise line and their service was spectacular. The crew became like family to us as well as a number of fellow passengers we met. I guess that happens when you spend that much time together (sort of like the Stockholm Syndrome).
Anyway, the last day was sort of bittersweet. Amazingly, it was only the second day it had rained during the entire cruise! Seems appropriate. Having been to Venice a number of times before associated with business, we really didn’t feel a lot like “touring.” Instead, we went to visit some friends in Murano and then we came back for dinner on the ship with the other two couples we went with. We were the only people in the restaurant. From there, we went our separate ways. For us, there was one more stop – Istanbul! Stay tuned!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
