OBSERVATIONS AND SUMMARY

WELL, THE DAY FINALLY ARRIVED. IT SEEMS SO LONG AGO WE LEFT THAT COLD, SNOWY, DREAY DAY IN LATE JANUARY. YET, IN SOME RESPECTS, IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY. SO MUCH WAS ANTICIPATED, SO MUCH UNKNOWN, SO MUCH TO LEARN, SO MUCH TO SEE AND SO MUCH TIME TO DO IT.

COULD WE SURVIVE THE BOREDOM, WOULD WE, IN FACT, BE BORED? WOULD WE OVER EAT, WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND WOULD OUR DINNER TABLE MATES BE EASY TO GET ALONG WITH AND FLEXIBLE?

COULD WE ENDURE AN INSIDE CABIN FOR 107 DAYS AND NIGHTS? WOULD WE BE AT EACH OTHERS NECKS AND COME BACK ENEMIES, INSTEAD OF FRIENDS AND LOVERS? WOULD WE BE DRAWN CLOSER OR FURTHER APART?

WE LOOKED FORWARD TO THE FORTY DAYS IN PORT, BUT WHAT TOLL WOULD THE SIXTY-SEVEN DAYS AT SEA TAKE ON US AND OUR LOVE FOR CRUISING?
IT CAN ALL BE SUMMED UP IN JUST A FEW WORDS, WHERE DO WE SIGN UP?

OUR BUCKET LIST HAS MORE ITEMS ON IT NOW THAN WHEN WE LEFT HOME IN JANUARY. I RECENTLY READ, THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND TO ONLY EXPERIENCE WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY AROUND YOU IS LIKE ONLY READING BUT ONE PAGE OF THE BOOK. WE HAVE ENJOYED SEEING LANDMARKS OF GREAT ESTEEM AND OTHERS THAT ARE LESSER KNOWN.

HOWEVER, IT IS THE PEOPLE OF THESE FAR OFF PLACES THAT ADD SO MUCH TO THE EXPERIENCE OF SEEING THE WORLD. (IT IS GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE THE P.I.A. OF THIS WORLD). I DON’T WANT TO IMPLY THAT ALL PEOPLES EMBRACE THE VISITORS THAT INVADE THEIR LANDS. AND BY NO MEANS, DO THE VISITORS EMBRACE ALL THOSE THEY COME ACROSS. IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE WATCH WHEN TRAVELING AS IT IS TO SEE THE ICONIC SITES OF THIS WORLD.

OUR VENTURE TO THESE FAR OFF PLACES WAS MOST INTERESTING BECAUSE THE SIZE OF OUR SHIP PERMITTED US TO ENTER HARBORS MOST LARGER CRUISE LINERS WOULD BYPASS, ESPECIALLY THE SMALL ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC.

ISLAND LIFE IS SIMPLE, LAID-BACK AND AS A RULE, POOR. YET THE PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM TO BE VERY HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. ONES FIRST THOUGHT IS THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE MISSING, YET MANY OF THEM HAVE SATELLITE DISHES ON THE ROOFS OF THEIR HOMES. THEY ARE NOT VOID OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

THE COUNTRIES OF THE MUSLIM WORLD ARE MOST INTERESTING AS SEVERAL STRIVE TO ENTER THE MODERN TIMES, WHILE OTHERS REMAIN IN THE WORLD OF CENTURIES LONG GONE. SURE THEY HAVE CARS, AND CELL PHONES, AND TELEVISION BUT THEY CHOOSE TO LIVE BY STANDARDS LONG AGO TOSSED ASIDE.

THE MUSLIM CULTURE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR WOMEN. THEIR PLACE IN LIFE IS TO COOK, HAVE BABIES AND BE SUBSERVIENT TO THE MEN WHO RULE THEIR LIVES. THE CALL TO PRAYER, FIVE TIMES A DAY, RARELY INCLUDES THE WOMEN, AND ALTHOUGH SOME MOSQUES ALLOW WOMEN TO ATTEND, ON CERTAIN DAYS, THEY MUST STAY SEPARATE FROM THE MEN. YOU MIGHT RECALL THE BATHROOM EPISODE IN MUSCAT (SEE DAY 93).

THE CHINESE ARE VERY EAGER TO MEET AND TALK TO VISITORS, ESPECIALLY AMERICANS. CHINA IS A BUSTLING BEEHIVE OF CONSTRUCTION IN THE MAJOR CITIES. PLACES LIKE BEIJING AND TIANJIN ARE LARGER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. SMALL CITIES HAVE ONLY A MILLION PEOPLE AND BASED ON THOSE STANDARDS PITTSBURGH DOESN’T QUALIFY TO BE A VILLAGE.

WE WERE SURPRISED TO FIND PUSAN, KOREA SO MODERN AND PROGRESSIVE. WE EXPECTED A SLEEPY LITTLE TOWN, BUT IN FACT IT IS A MAJOR SHIPPING CENTER IN ASIA.

SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG ARE JUST LIKE THE LARGEST OF CITIES IN AMERICA. OTHER THAN A FEW CULTURAL THINGS, LOOKING UP AT THE TALL BUILDINGS YOU MIGHT THINK YOU WERE IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO OR EVEN PITTSBURGH.

THE DESERTS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND AFRICA, EGYPT, JORDAN, DUBAI AND OMAN, JUST CAN’T BE ANY HOTTER THAN WHAT WE THINK HELL IS LIKE. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE LIFE HAS EXISTED IN THESE AREAS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. GLOBAL WARMING IS NOTHING NEW TO THESE PEOPLE, IF, IN FACT, THERE IS SUCH A THING. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE WE ARE TO THIN SKINNED. AT ANY RATE THESE COUNTRIES SHOULD BE THANKFUL THEY DON’T HAVE UNIONS THAT COULD CREATE WORK STOPPAGES WHEN THE TEMPERATURE GETS ABOVE 100.

INDIA IS EVERYTHING SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE PORTRAYED. IT IS, AS THEY DESCRIBE THEMSELVES, INCREDIBLE. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, TALL BUILDINGS, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS AND PACKED WITH SOME OF THE POOREST LIVING CONDITIONS IMAGINABLE. AS OUR INDIAN TABLE MATES PUT IT, “THEY JUST DON’T SEEM TO HAVE ANY PRIDE IN THEMSELVES.”

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA POSSESS GREAT BEAUTY AND IF IT WERE NOT FOR TOURIST THEY WOULD LIVE IN TOTAL POVERTY. IT IS A HAVEN FOR DICTATORS, OPPRESSION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BLAME OTHERS FOR THERE SITUATION.

WHAT WORDS DESCRIBE THE LANDS DOWN-UNDER. NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ARE FABULOUS. (MAYBE BECAUSE THEY SPEAK ENGLISH...OR SOME FORM OF IT...IT CERTAINLY ISN’T THE QUEEN’S ENGLISH) THE COUNTRIES ARE CLEAN, THE PEOPLE ARE FRIENDLY AND THEY ARE PROUD OF THEIR HOMELAND. FURTHERMORE THEY HAVE A DEEP LOVE AND APPRECIATION FOR AMERICA AND WHAT THE YANKS DID FOR THEM IN WWII. THANK GOD SOMEBODY LOVES US.

WE WERE ONCE TOLD THAT THE BEST THING YOU CAN GIVE YOUR KIDS ARE ROOTS AND WINGS. WE TRUST WE HAVE DONE OUR JOB. THEY HAVE CERTAINLY TAUGHT US HOW TO USE OUR WINGS, AND COMING HOME, NO MATTER HOW GOOD A TIME THE HOLIDAY MAY HAVE BEEN, IS JUST AS EXCITING AND ADVENTURIST.

IT HAS BEEN ANOTHER TRIP OF A LIFETIME. IT HAS COME AND GONE, WAY TO SOON. WE HAVE SEEN GREAT PLACES, MADE MANY NEW FRIENDS, TOOK THOUSANDS OF PICTURES AND LEARNED MORE THAN WE EVER EXPECTED. THE QUESTION IS, WOULD WE DO IT AGAIN, IN A HEARTBEAT?

WE HAD BEEN ASKED WHAT OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO VISIT HAVE BEEN. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS ONCE ASKED WHICH OF HIS PROJECT WAS HIS FAVORITE...TO WHICH HE REPLIED...HIS NEXT. SO IT IS WITH GEORGIA AND ME, THE BUCKET LIST GETS LONGER AND EACH BROCHURE RECEIVED IN THE MAIL BRINGS NEW IDEAS AND PLANS. I’VE SAID BEFORE, WE SCRAP MORE PLANS THAN WE MAKE, BUT WHEN WE MAKE THEM ...LOOK OUT.

GODS CREATIONS ARE MARVELOUS, EVEN WHEN HE USES MAN TO MAKE SOME OF THEM. GOD IS GREAT AND MY SWEETIE WAS BY MY SIDE.


THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING OUR ADVENTURE. IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, PLEASE SIGN IN AS A FOLLOWER. WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHO SHARED OUR JOURNEY.