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Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan: Buddhists and Buddhas Everywhere!
I can see Russia from my cruise ship! Well, maybe that’s Russia – it definitely will be Russia tomorrow morning. For the next week, we occupy a room on the Celebrity Millennium as it sails across the Bering Sea (with a stop in Russia, if the Russians see fit to let the passengers off. Sometimes they just say ‘nyet’ we’re…
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The Golden Triangle: Burma, Laos, Hill Tribes, and My First World Assumptions
We were sitting on red ants. We had crossed the border into Laos, and at the local market children had been trailing our every move, pestering us: “Baht! baht!” – imploring us to give them money, pointing to our Diet Coke cans, asking us to buy some for them (we think that’s what they wanted, anyway). As hard as it…
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Thailand: Ancient Kingdoms, and an Elephant or Two
A ride on an elephant was definitely not part of the plan, but here we are: riding on elephants. Go figure. We knew we were going to visit an elephant rescue camp, but if you’d asked me yesterday if I would ever ride an elephant in this lifetime, that would be a definite ‘no’. So glad we did (Padre even…
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Bangkok, Thailand: Temples, Buddhas, and Watch Out for the Supersoakers!
We’ve been in Thailand for a few days with our small Gate1 Tour group, an eclectic collection of Americans and Canadians, shepherded expertly by our Thai guide, Ranee. I’m writing from the bus as we travel north, through rice fields and a heavy rainstorm. Quite refreshing after the relentless heat of Bangkok. Bus travel take us back to our old…
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Japan: Kyoto, Shimizu, and the Two-Heart-Attack Train Challenge
We don’t back down from travel challenges, but our race through Yokohama’s sprawling train station had me longing for the rocker and remote, just for a moment. The morning started on a high note, with our entrance to Yokohama Harbor and our last morning with the Diamond Princess (thanks Shari for the ‘view’ tip, and the detailed instructions – it…
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Hong Kong: No New Husbands Here, but a Great City Nevertheless
Hong Kong more than lived up to expectations, and I didn’t have to find a new husband there, thank goodness. Our wonderful tour guide Mandy would have helped me if things had come to that, I’m sure; she was simply the best. (Mandy and her sister Apple make up the much-in-demand tour company, The Hong Kong Getaway.) So Mandy started…
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Vietnam and Malaysia: Chaotic Scooter Culture, Vibrant Markets, and Rickety River Bridges
Let it be known that we did not die when we rode, perched in the front baskets of trishaw bicycles, through the middle – and I mean the middle – of Central Saigon traffic. I thought I might be a goner when my driver stuck his bike – I mean he stuck ME, since I was on the front of…
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Australia Easter: Convicts, Conquests, and Light in the Darkness
I’m having my own Sunrise Service here at sea, waiting for the sun’s rays to peek over the horizon any minute – I’m sure the captain up on the bridge is on the lookout as well. Padre plans to check out the passenger-led service later this morning, but you know Padres. They assess the ministering, just like teachers critique the…
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Darwin, Australia: Crocodiles, Cyclones, Bombs, and Snakes – Oh My!
Darwin, Australia: It started with a romantic Fanny Bay beach walk, until I found out that saltwater crocodiles crawl over rocks there. Oh, and the bombs. Oh, and the cyclones and snakes. Let’s just call this the Death to Humans Day. Before I get to all that, an important discovery: A new favorite pool! In my last post I said…
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Diamond Princess Dilemma: What to Do Onboard for Six Sea Days?
Today is Day 6, and we’re not bored yet. Not even close. One of the best things I’ve amused myself with so far was the Goldilocks Swimming Pool Challenge. It started at 5:30 am and Padre wasn’t invited, since he’s a morning snoozer. We’re opposites in many ways; I’m up at the crack of dawn or before, he sleeps ‘til…
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Diamond Princess: How to Find Your Cabin, Coffee, Chocolate….and a Fave Sparkling Swimming Pool
So first things first: Where ARE we? Not in the world, mind you; we know we’re in the Coral Sea sailing along the Great Barrier Reef and on to Darwin (see map). No, it’s more basic than that. Where are we on this ship, and which way to breakfast? You know, the important stuff. So we’re learning school stuff (map…
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Sydney, Australia: The Bus to Bondi Beach and Beyond
Sydney Touring Day 3 An almost free bus tour – sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It was true, though; approximately $14 U.S. for transportation costs, and the tip was up to us, for an excellent three-hour tour. Our tour guide Martin drove the big rig as he narrated our ride out of Sydney proper to beaches, lookouts,…
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Sydney, Australia: Ferries, Free Walking Tours, and Flinder’s Cat
The Harbor City just might steal this Seattle girl’s heart, and trust me the Emerald City is no slouch when it comes to scenic beauty. Back home, I’d still be bundled in the puffer coat and wool socks right now, but here I’m rocking my Judy Dench Best Exotic Marigold Hotel linen pants (Goodwill, $1) and clutching the sunscreen bottle…
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Waikiki: Three Days On the Quiet End, and a Trip Down Memory Lane
It was one of those 1970’s low-ceilinged lounge cabarets; murky dark, smoky, packed. My teacher buddies kept calling for more rounds of syrupy-sweet Chi Chis with umbrellas, and sure – why not? So what if I was pregnant at the time? Hey, this was 1979; no one cared about that yet. Bad lounge singers marched out in cop/construction worker/cowboy/Indian chief…
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Oahu: How to Take Great Photos in Paradise, No Experience Required
Update: When visited Honolulu in 2019, arriving by cruise ship this time, we took this same photo tour and it was wonderful! See 2019 photos and info here. If you want to go right to the most exciting part of this post, check out the info about our first encounter with an automated Japanese toilet, which we’re still giggling about..…too…
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Plan, Pack, and Don’t Forget the Relationship
This ship is about to sail. In T-minus two days we toss our bags on the local airport shuttle, and off we go! The months of trip planning had me thinking about travel challenges, and the time when Padre yelled at me on our honeymoon in Ireland. We’d been married two weeks; what do you know about your partner at…
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Cruise Ships: Favorite Hideouts and Hangouts Onboard
Would these lovers ever see each other again? Was her heart broken, or his? Would she make it up the gangplank before the ship pulled away from the dock? We only learned the answer to that last question (darn), as we played a favorite game in one of our favorite spots on board, called Will They Make It? The game…
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Russia by Cruise Ship: Tours, Kitsch, and Safety Questions
After a once-in-a-lifetime visit to St. Petersburg last year, I was surprised that so many Americans asked me if I felt safe there. Sure I did, except in their subway, where I kept my eye on a clever Russian supposedly reading a book, who was also slyly eying Padre’s pocket. Thievery is rampant in the St. Petersburg subway, our guide…
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Australia: Weather Catastrophes, Surfers, Malcontents, and More
Our March 2018 journey began as a struggle between competing travel bucket lists. I voted for Southeast Asia and the Far East; Padre was stuck on Australia due to what he calls the ‘Steve Irwin’ effect. Irwin, a wildly popular critter-wrangling TV star who died from a stingray attack, made the “G’day Mate!” Aussie attitude about life seem pretty darn…
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Great Big Beautiful World
We don’t have to leave home to see the great big beautiful world. No one does. The beautiful world embraces us: The landscapes we live in, the skies overhead, and right at our feet, in the royal purple winter crocuses that peek above the frozen soil here in the Pacific Northwest. The sun and moon rise and set every day…
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Why Travel? Come Home to the Same Place, Only Better
Ok that’s a puzzler: What does T.S. Eliot mean by that? As an Eliot-besotted English major back in the day, I analyzed the original poem where this quote is from and it’s not about travel, unless you mean travel to the inner recesses of your soul or a search for the meaning of existence. (If you like poetry, it’s a…
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Traveller’s Tales: Just Say WOW
What travel experiences have left you speechless? We were awestruck last year while touring St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Art Museum, which used to be Peter the Great’s Winter Palace. We just kept saying ‘wow’. During my studies of the 1917 Russian Revolution, I watched film footage of Red soldiers fiercely storming up the staircase pictured here. To walk up those same steps…
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Vietnam and Malaysia: What War Leaves Behind
Catfish and Mandala, by Andrew X. Phan, 1999. 342 pgs. ★★★★★ Five stars for a tale that every American who remembers the Vietnam War and its aftermath will appreciate. ★★★★ Four stars for page-turning narrative, occasionally too raw and real for some. I’ve read many titles in the growing canon of Vietnam War books, and hoped to visit Vietnam someday…
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Travel: Well, Why Not?
At the age of 24, close to Shackleton’s age, I caught the travel bug. I’ve been infected ever since. At that moment I stood stunned by King Tutankhamen’s golden death mask, oddly alone with it for a moment during the 1978 King Tut exhibit in Seattle, Washington. Our busload of students had scrambled ahead, leaving me to stare in silent wonder…
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Japan: Samurai Swords, Wind-Up Birds, and Clever Cats
Our penchant for travel might just be an excuse to read. Before departure day we scour second-hand stores, download travel guides, and track down hard-to-find titles through online sources. Some ‘free’ travel titles come with an Amazon Unlimited subscription, $10/month – lots of Lonely Planet guides there, FYI. We read relentlessly before departure day, then tuck a few books…
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Venice, Italy: Water Taxi Ride
How to get ourselves (and our luggage) from our cruise ship to our hotel, in a city without streets? Our destination: The lovely Hotel Concordia, steps from San Marco Square in the heart of Venice. I had reserved a water taxi for six. We waited for our launch, concerned, as small boats zipped in and out in front of us…
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Rome’s Colosseum: Bread, Circuses, and Christians (maybe)
We joke that Padre, standing in THAT place in Rome’s ancient Colosseum, would soon be toast, considering his chosen profession. Just a light snack for the snarling lions bearing down upon him, all while the raucous crowd cheers on his imminent demise. History supports some of that scenario, but not all. The picture we have of cowering Christians huddled in…
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Cruise Critic Guide: The Godfather, the Roll Call, and Us
It all started with Bill’s Valentine’s gift. Bill adores reruns of old Godfather films for some reason. Me, not so much. Bleeding dying bodies riddled with bullets give me nightmares. Bill’s my guy, though, so in the spirit of love I presented him with a homemade gift certificate for a cruise shore excursion. When our cruise ship docked in the…
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Key West, Florida: Make the Most of Eight Hours on Shore
Key West has always been known as a hard drinking town, ever since Ernest Hemingway threw back dry martinis at Sloppy Joes, or Capt.Tony’s Saloon, or both. (The bar debate rages to this day.) When ships dock in Key West, revelers walk off the boat to find themselves smack in the middle of the world-famous Duval Crawl, where several landmark…
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Cruise vs. Independent Travel? Both!
Even though we’re experienced travelers, we’re rather new to cruising. We avoided cruises for years after I spent a miserable seasick night on a cruise ship in the 1990s. Wasn’t fond of the herd mentality thing either, on a 700-passenger Epirotiki cruise ship (how quaint, considering today’s monster cruise ships). I did appreciate how easy it was to get from…
