Around the World Expedition with Nat Geo

Group Photo

Bob and I joined the National Geographic Expedition “Around the World by Private Jet” from Oct 4th through Oct 27th, 2011. We would like to share our experience, and hopefully excitements, with our family and friends through this blog.

For the detailed itinerary, please refer to the link below:

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/around-the-world-jet-tour/detail

Pre-Expedition; Oct. 2, 2011

We arrived in Washington DC around noon today. The trip starts on Tuesday in Washington. We decided to spend a couple of days in DC, since we have not been here in ages.

Saturday was a busy day packing, cleaning up the house, and bringing Jester to the kennel, which was heartbreaking for me – it’s a LONG time for him to spend in the kennel. But with our experience with the cheating dog sitter last year, we did not have other choices …. Hopefully the Southboro kennel will treat him well – I spoke with the owner in advance asking her to give our boy more TLC.

Bob got 3 or 4 hours sleep last night and I got less than 1 (with the tea and diet coke I drank). We were up at 6am for the 10am flight. After we settled in the hotel, we walked to George Town looking for some food then starting our exploration. The Marriott we’re staying in is only a few blocks from George Town. It’s a pleasant walk, but the weather is unexpectedly and unseasonably cold! Then it started drizzling. We were planning to walk to the Vietnam Memorial after lunch, but I was feeling very tired. That plus the drizzling was getting heavier, so we came back to the hotel and took a big nap. After that, it was dinner in a nearby Thai restaurant and then back to the hotel. We hoped to see a movie (maybe “50/50”), but felt too lazy and tired to do that.

Tomorrow is another cold and dreary day, but we hope to go see the Vietnam Memorial and the Mall. No chance for getting into the White House – it’s a 6-month wait plus background check.

Washington DC somehow does give me the feeling of a capital – the buildings are stately, albeit a bit boring, and the streets are clean. The last time I was here was in 1984, after I took my first job with CCA and they sent me here for training after I started on the job. Shanyn came with me. The only thing I remember is she and I walked (and I limped) to a store in George Town to buy a pair of slippers for me, because the new sandals I wore made my feet bleed ….

An uneventful start and hope tomorrow brings a little more excitement.

Day 2 in DC; Oct. 3, 2011

The weather today seems to be a carbon copy of yesterday – cold and drizzling. We left the hotel around 10:30am, on foot towards the Vietnam Memorial, and the Mall. It was a pleasant walk – the rain had not started yet and we felt comfortable in our 3-in-1 jackets (can’t believe we need them this early!). We walked by the Lincoln Memorial, then the Vietnam Memorial (I think I actually came here in 1985 with Shanyn ….), then the Washington Monument, and then we visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was definitely a worthwhile visit! Even though I’ve read about the Holocaust and seen movies about it, it was still heart wrenching to see those pictures and other artifacts of human suffering and persecution! It filled me with rage and hatred for Hitler and the Nazis ….

We then walked to the Mandarin Oriental hotel, where we will be tomorrow to start our trip, for the trip registration. After that, we took off for George Town and walked by the White House. I took a few pictures in front of the White House, amongst a whole lot of China/Oriental tourists.

The drizzling became harder and harder as we walked – the hood on the 3-in-1 surely came in handy. We had an early dinner in George Town (Vietnamese food again, in a different restaurant), with the intention of seeing a movie afterwords. But the time did not work out. We took the bus back to the hotel – don’t think we’ll go out again tonight, will just vege out in front of the TV.

Tomorrow is the start of the trip. We’re looking forward to it!

Expedition Day 1: Lima, Peru; Oct. 4, 2011

The trip started early this morning: up at 5:45am, had breakfast at 6:15am, on the bus towards the airport at 7am. Everything was very well organized – the NG tour leads and the TCS staff have been doing a truly nice job. They took care of all the hassles such as luggage handling and made the logistics of traveling as painless as possible for us.

We boarded our flight Tom 9:30 at Dulles airport. We were curious and eager to see what the private jet was like, and it did live up to our expectations. It’s business class seats throughout, with service much more attentive and friendly than the normal flights. The seats do not lie down flat though. But since our flights are mainly during the day and each is no longer than 8 hours, they are sufficiently comfortable. Each of us received a list of items: an iPad and a BOSE earphone (which will stay on the plane when the trip is over), a good quality bag that folds into a small pouch, and a pouch that contains the normal needs on the flight – tooth brush, eye pad, moisturizer, etc.

The flight was 7+ hours. We got 3 lectures during the flight – one by Paula on history/culture of Peru, one by David on geography of Peru, and one by Mike on digital photography basics. The iPad contains all the lecture material, plus a number of other NG books and photos, in addition to the few well known games such Angry Birds, Sudoku, etc. The 7+ hours flight seemed to have completed before we knew it.

After landing in Lima, it took us a little while to get all our luggages. Again, the NG/TCS folks have made this as hassleless as possible – they could not control how long it took the airport staff to download all the luggages, nor could they control how Peru customs worked, but they did everything they could to smooth the process. After we went through the customs, we boarded 3 buses that took us to a museum. Because our flight was delayed at Washington (due to security check of the luggages), it was all dark when we arrived at the museum. It’s a shame that I did not get to take a picture of those huge cacti inside the museum’s courtyard – there were different kinds and shapes, very interesting. Our local guide, Fernado, was an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, interesting and nice guy. He took us through the few key parts of the museum, explaining to us the story and history of all those 25,000+ pottery pieces, making jokes, etc. The jewelry made hundreds of years ago were mainly of gold (sun) and silver (moon). Pretty amazing! Interestingly, they were worn by man, not woman. Go figure! Fernando told us about the human sacrifice, especially woman, in the Inca culture (in the old days), which was very scary and cruel!

We only had a very short time in the museum before we had to head to the hotel. Our hotel, the Miraflores Park Hotel, is by the Pacific Ocean. When our bus drove from the airport to the museum, all we saw were dirty, messy, ugly buildings and streets, which made me wonder what kind of city Lima was …. But when we drove into the Miraflores area, it was an entirely different world! Even though it was dark, we could see the beautiful buildings, fancy apartments and hotels, overlooking the ocean. No doubt this is THE most desirable area in Lima. And the hotel certainly did not disappoint us! The room and service are both 5-star.

One interesting thing: the Chinese food here is called Chifa (think Chinese Chi Fan – eat rice). We saw signs on some buildings such as “Chifa Asia”. Fernando told us that Chinese came to Peru a long long time ago to do hard labor, and that the Chinese food here is very delicious. Fernando said his grandmother was Chinese whereas his grandfather was Italian. Interesting!

Oh, we met a Chinese couple in our group – Lucy and Chris. Lucy is from Taiwan and Chris is ABC, originally from Beijing (his parents). We had some interesting chats.

A good day 1 – so far everything has lived up to our expectations. Tomorrow we’ll head to Cusco, another very early morning.

Day 2: Cusco, Peru; Oct. 5, 2011

We got up before 6am and got on the bus for the airport at 7am. For some reason the flight was delayed for half an hour or so, and we took off around 10am. This is not our private jet Tom 930. It’s a Peruvian commercial flight but it’s only for our group. We arrived at Cusco around 11:20am, and a number of vans were already waiting for us, taking us in batches to a famous cathedral. Our van is #1 and our local guy’s name is Ernesto – a local young man speaking very good English.

This cathedral was very interesting. It’s a combination of Catholic and local Inca religion which worships thunder and lightning. There are many parts in the cathedral, with many many statues, paintings, etc. Two paintings were especially interesting. One has Mary, with Jesus and probably Joseph, but Mary is pregnant. Ernesto explained that it was by a local artist who wanted to express the wish that Mary should have another child. It also reflects the fertility aspect of the Inca culture. Another painting is about the last supper – the dish in the middle of the table shows a guinea pig. Note that guinea pig is a delicacy in Peru. People here raise guinea pigs just like chickens.

After the Cathedral visit, the vans took us to our hotel, hotel Monasterio. This is a very interesting hotel – it was supposedly a palace in the beginning, then became a monastery, now a fancy hotel. It has a beautiful courtyard surrounded by the stone 3-story buildings where our rooms are. The room has brick floor, wooden doors and wooden windows. Quite charming.

We quickly put things down in our room and then went to lunch. Very good buffet lunch and attentive service. At 2:40pm, we got in the van again to see an Inca ruin. I never thought I would enjoy seeing the ruin this much, but it was truly amazing! It was the temple built with stones by the Inca people 100’s (or maybe 1000’s) of years ago. Just like the Great Wall in China – imagine the hard work that went into this …. The temple did not have any roof because it’s meant to be exposed to thunder and lightning. And the shape of the walls were supposed to represent lightning (somehow I did not quite get that part ….).

In front of the temple ruin there was a big stretch of grass land, which was an amphitheater, with hills at the opposite end. Ernesto said to this day they still hold festivals there.

There were people dressed in Inca costumes there, with LLama (or Alpaca), for people to take photos (and earn some Sol). Of course, I took photos with them. I regret that I did not take more photos with the llamas which were grazing ….

We got back to the hotel just in time for the 4:30 trip to the market square by the cathedral. We went with Lucy and Chris. Lucy and I wanted to by something made of alpaca wool (supposedly better than cashmere), but did not find anything too appealing. My very proud loot was 2 big alpaca fur hats! Bob said I look like a Q-tip in one of the hats. I love them!

We walked back to the hotel around 6pm, to catch the next activity, which was to visit a local weaving place. It was nearby the hotel. We witnessed the weaving experts, in their native costumes, weaving the famous local fabric.

Dinner was in the nice restaurant in the hotel. It was a busy day. Because of the high altitude (around 12000 feet), we got tired more easily. We both took the high altitude medicine so we’re doing fine. The hard part for me is walking up the stairs – boy, the legs hurt. Oh, today I learned some more about Chifa from Ernesto. It is Peruvianized Chinese quick food – mainly fried rice with meat and other things, very cheap, with very large quantity. The real Chinese food here is very expensive and exclusive – there are only 4 or 5 real Chinese restaurants in Lima. So, it sounds like Chifa is Chinese McDonald.

Tomorrow we’ll be up early again, to go to Machu Picchu. It’ll be a long day – up before 6am, back to the hotel after 9pm, with 2 meals on the “luxury” train. It’s good to stay 2 nights in one hotel, so we can leave some stuff behind! The 2 camera bags, plus another backpack, plus the monopod, plus coats, ugh! By the way, the weather here is rather cool and changes rapidly – one minute it’s cloudy, the next minute it starts to rain, and the third minute the sun is out.

Day 3: Machu Picchu, Peru; Oct. 6, 2011

It’s a long, tiring, but very good day!

Up before 6, in the big van at 7, heading towards the Ollataytambo village. This was an option for the more energetic ones. Those who did not take this option would board the train to Machu Picchu, and we would join them on the train somewhere in the middle.

The drive to the village was along the winding mountain road. We passed various towns or villages, which were just like the remote villages of any under-developed country. We stopped at a couple of places to take some photos before getting to the village.

The village visit was very pleasant – it reminded us somewhat of the old town of LiJiang. Our guide took us into a villager’s house where we saw the guinea pigs they were raising. Poor animals! They’re so cute but they were not aware of the cruel fate awaiting them ….

After a short visit to the village, our van took us to the train station and we joined the rest of the group. The train was really a luxury train and it was for our group only. We sat with Lucy and Chris at the table with white table cloth, watching the beautiful scenery outside and chatting. Lunch was served very soon after we boarded. It was a 3-course lunch and the service was very good. Before lunch, I followed Lucy and Chris to the very back of the train – there were 2 bar and lounge cars followed by the observation car. Standing at the observation car, you could see the roads disappearing fast behind the train. Very cool!

It was about a 2-hour train ride before we got to Machu Picchu at around 1pm. A few vans took us up the mountain to the gate. We were then divided into 4 groups, each with a guide. Most of the groups are what they call the “faster” group who would walk faster up the mountain, and the rest would walk more leisurely. We joined the faster group. But climbing those stairs was very hard for me – even though Machu Picchu was only 8000 feet, it was still pretty high especially when climbing was involved. But, we all made it to the top.

The scene of Machu Picchu was truly amazing! It was just unbelievable how they discovered such a safe place seven or eight hundred years ago, and built this ancient city, out of stones! And there were many ingenious religious and mythical and scientific inventions, such as sun dials, rock carving or monuments that symbolized Inca beliefs, etc. I am never a fan for ruins, but this one really impressed me! We spent about 3 hours walking up and down the ruins. When we were about to go down, a rainbow appeared in the mountains!

We had a high tea at 4pm, down from the top of the mountain, then the van took us down to the market by the train station at 4:30. It was fun walking through the market! My biggest regret was that bob would not let me get a 3rd alpaca fur hat! This was a much better one than the two I got yesterday, but he did not bring enough cash so I could not pay the $40 …. I’m going to regret this and blame him for it!

We boarded the train at 6pm – everyone was looking forward to getting on the train and relax. There was a nice 3-man band on the train and we have a fun party in the lounge towards the back of the train. The leading singer/guitar man was really good! It was such a fun time to see these middle-aged and/or old men/women going wild singing and dancing!

We were then served a 4-course dinner, and the train carried us back to Cusco. Then the vans took us back to the hotel – we’re back here around 9:30. A very good day! And we’re all very tired.

Tomorrow is another early start and we’ll be spending all day traveling. At the end of the day, we’ll be at Easter Island!

Day 4: Arrived at Easter Island; Oct. 7, 2011

We spent pretty much the entire day traveling, and finally arrived at the beautiful and mysterious Easter Island! Unfortunately there is no internet connection in the room, so I’m writing today’s diary in a document and hope to get it to my blog as soon as we get internet access, probably in Australia.

Here is the sequence of events today:

We got up at 5:30 to pack up the 2 suitcases and placed them outside of the door before 6:15. After breakfast, we got on the vans for the airport at 7:15. The flight to Lima was at 9am and we had very little time to spare. Again, it was a Peruvian flight just for our group. After arriving at the Lima airport, we went through the long lines of immigration and customs, then spent 2+ hours at the VIP lounge and the shopping area at the international side of the airport. Then we finally got on our Tom 930. It felt like coming back home, once we got on the plane .

It was a 5+ hour flight. We were served lunch followed by 2 lectures – one about Easter Island, the other about travel medicine. Mike the photographer also said a few words about taking pictures – he will lead 2 photo sessions (totally optional) – one for stars tomorrow and another for sunrise the day after. I’ll definitely do both.

The pilot of our jet did us a favor by circling around the island a few times so we could get some fantastic birds-eye view of the island! We saw the famous line of 30 or so Moais standing by the shore, the various craters (or calderas), and the entire island! Just beautiful!

After the plane landed, we had to wait for a few minutes for people to come on the plane to spray – the island is very strict about things to bring (or not bring, in this case) – Absolutely no fruit or any uncooked food. We were also told to leave any of the stuff we bought from the Peru local market on the plane.

After we got off the plane, the vans took us to our hotels. The group is divided into 2 or 3 hotels, because there is not one hotel that could host all of us. There used to be a better (3 or 4 star) hotel, but we were told it was damaged by the earthquake, so we had to stay in the next best hotels. The one we’re staying in is called Iorana Hotel. It’s right by the ocean, very nice view. But it is a motel level hotel and the rooms are very rudimentary. At dinner time we were chatting with another fellow group member. She told us that the other better hotel was actually vandalized, because there were problems with its ownership. It is still there, but no usable. How sad ….

Finally tomorrow we can get up at a sane hour – 7:30. I am very much looking forward to the activities tomorrow! Can’t wait to see those Moais and explore this island!

Hope I’ll get access to the internet soon so I can share the photos!

Day 5: Easter Island; Oct. 9, 2011

I’d better start recording the dates from now on because the days seem to run into each other and I’m starting to lose track. Today is Sunday, October 9, 2011, and it’s the 5th day of our trip. We had a wonderful time exploring this unique and mysterious island!

We first went to Ahu Tahai and Rano Raraku which is the quarry. We saw many Moais, some were restored while a lot were still lying on the ground. All the Moais were facing inland, watching the people. I won’t try to relate the history of these Moais since I spent most of my time taking pictures (as opposed to listening to the local geologist/guide). It was a very windy day and we had to do a bit of climbing. There were too many tourists and it was almost impossible to take a photo without some tourists in there. We saw the famous line of 15 Moais standing by the ocean. These were restored in the 1960s, after a tsunami destroyed the site. These statues were absolutely amazing.

Lunch was picnic at the beach – the only sand beach on the island. They served beef, pork, chicken, and fish that were barbecued on a fire pit, plus various non-meat dishes such as corn, vegetable, potato, etc. etc. It was quite delicious. There were only 15 minutes left after lunch, so we took a quick walk on the beach. It is quite windy and chilly, but there were plenty of kids in the water and on the beach. The sand was very fine.

After lunch, there were a couple of options. One was for Ahu Akivi, where there were 7 unique Moais who face the ocean! The other was to Ovahe La-Perouse. We took the first option. We had a local “celebrity” as our guide, Edmundo Edwards, who was the most interesting old man I’ve met! He was originally from Polynesia and came to this island in early 1960s. He told us so many interesting stories that he personally experienced. Some of the stories were so funny that we wonder if they were real. His father-in-law is actually the king of this island. He said the locals decided that they wanted a king, and because his father-in-law’s father was the king before (or something), they elected him to be the king. He jokingly said that he went to bed one night and woke up the next morning next to a princess. His father-in-law, now in his 80s, does not know what he should do as a king and is very concerned that he is not doing anything. Very funny. He will be going to the States soon to receive a Lovell Thomas award – I need to google it to find out what that award is about. He is really a legendary old man!

We’re back at the hotel before 4:30pm. The evening activities – cocktails, lecture, a performance, dinner, followed by an optional night photo shoot – won’t start until 6:15. I took the opportunity to download my pictures, while bob was snoring away.

We were going to take the night photo shoot, but the weather was really not cooperating – thick clouds that threatened to rain. We chickended out …. We also signed up for tomorrow’s sunrise photo shoot, but I don’t think we’ll take it because the weather has not been good in the morning. Mike the photographer was not optimistic about it. And the schedule would be very tight tomorrow morning, if we want to take the morning trip to see more Moais, so we probably will give up on the sunrise photo shoot, unfortunately.

Tonight’s native performance was very nice. It’s the kind of Polynesian dance I very much enjoy. Before the show, 3 local experts gave more talks about the island, its history and culture. Edmundo gave one lecture. Oh, he wrote a book in Spanish and is being translated into English by his daughter. The English version will be available next March. The book is called “When The Universe Was An Island”. I will definitely get that book.

Tomorrow will mainly be a travel day. At the end of tomorrow, we’ll be at Samoa.

Day 6: Arriving at Samoa; Oct. 10, 2011 (Monday)

If we were still on Easter Island, it would be mid-night now. But we have left the Easter Island many hours ago and we’re now sitting in the plane at the airport of Papeete, Tahiti, on our way to Samoa. The plane had to stop here to refuel, and we were about to take off, but there is a technical problem of the plane, so the plane had to turn back from the runway. Hopefully we’ll be on our way soon.

We woke up to the alarm at 6am – I was still hoping to join the sunrise photo shoot this morning. But when I looked out of the window and saw the gloomy sky and the wind, we went back to bed and slept another hour. It turned out that the photo shoot was canceled, because it rained.

After breakfast, we took the option of visiting Ahu Akahanga, a Hare Paenga village where there were un-reconstructed Moais. There were only about 10 of us, Edmundo was our guide, which made the tour more interesting. The site was by the ocean. There were pieces of Moais scattered around what was originally the altar. Edmundo showed us all around, explained how the Moais were erected, and told many stories. It was so windy and cold there, and it threatened to rain, with dark clouds above our heads. But by the time we left, the sun was coming out.

Here are some things Edmundo told us:

The natives here did human sacrifice till 1863. They believed that humans were fish for the god (and they put fish hooks on the lips of the human sacrifice), so they sacrificed humans for the god, which would in turn bless them with fish in the ocean.

A husband went out looking for food, while the wife and kid stayed back, preparing the fire. Then 2 warriors came by, killed the wife and kid and ate them. The husband came back and was determined to find the killer and revenge. He looked for a long time and did not find the killer. Then one day there was a gathering of some sort, he sat next to a warrior and he saw his wife’s nail on the warrior’s clothes, so he killed him immediately.

There was a cave in the rocks by the ocean (we saw it). Edmundo said it was still being used by locals until too many tourists came. He told us a story about a German guy, who spoke many languages including the local tong. So he came, dressed in the local costume and stayed in the cave. When tourists came, he would tell them stories. When the tourists wanted to take a photo of or with him, he would charge them. He would stay for a few months and then go back to Germany. Later he met a millionaire woman from Canada and married her. Then he came back to the Island and built a big house. But he died a month later of cancer.

We went back to the hotel, checked out and had lunch, then we took off for Orongo the caldera and Rano Kau which was the site of the bird man cult. That was a very very amazing site! It’s the first time ever that we saw a caldera – a huge basin with water and vegetation at the bottom. Rano Kau was next to it – the scenery was so impressive and I hope the photos I took could capture the gist. It was so cold and windy up there! And it started raining while we climbed, so some people even turned back. But the rain stopped after 10 minutes.

After that visit, we were taken to the airport. Before boarding the plane, Mike took a photo of the group in front of the plane. It’ll be interesting to see how it comes out.

The flight from Easter Island to Papeete was almost 6 hours. We had to stay on the plane for the refueling. It’ll be another 3.5 hours before we arrive at Samoa. Samoa is 6 hours behind Easter Island (which was 1 hour behind EDT), so if the plane was not delayed, we were supposed to arrive at Apia, Samoa at 9:30pm local time.

Whatever the problem was, it’s fixed and the plane is moving now. We’re on our way to Samoa.

Days 7 & 8: Samoa to Australia; Oct. 11 & 12; 2011 (Tues. & Wedn.)

It is Tuesday, October 11, 2011. And it’s about 3:15pm Samoa time and we’re on the plane towards the Cairns, Australia. We will cross the dateline and arrive at Cairns early afternoon of Wednesday, October 12. I’m totally confused about the time change ….

We landed in Samoa around 12:30am local time last night – we were 2 hours behind schedule due to the technical problem of the plane. It was a 5 minutes bus ride to Aggie Grey’s Resort where we all stayed. The resort staff had been waiting for us for 2 hours, and they welcomed us with guys dressed in local costumes with fire torches. They had drinks waiting for us, as well as dinner. We were led to our rooms. Then most of us went to the restaurant where they had been waiting for us with buffet dinner – the food was too tempting and we felt too guilty to not show our appreciation of the cooks and staff who had been waiting for us. And the food turned out to be very tasty, especially the roasted pig, with crispy skin!

It was very warm and humid in Samoa, but our room was air conditioned so cold that I had to turn the temperature up (it was set to 14 degrees Centigrade!). We set the alarm to 7:15am and had a good night’s sleep.

The options for this morning were to take a trip to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum, or relax in the resort. Bob started coming down with a cold (probably because of the cold wind and rain on Orongo, so he stayed in the hotel and got more sleep. I took the museum trip. I was not really that much interested in the museum, but I thought the bus ride would let me see more of the island. It turned out that I actually enjoyed the museum visit, but the parts of the island we saw did not really impress me – it was by far not as interesting as Bora Bora, Morea, or the other Polynesian islands.

I did not know who Robert Stevenson was and learned today that he was the author of such books as Treasure Island and Dr. Jackel and Mr. Hide! The museum was his residence after he moved to Samoa (from Scotland). He was of poor health all his life and died in his early 40s, in that house. He was buried, per his wish, on top of the mountain next to the house. He loved Samoa and the Samoa people, and they loved him back. The museum guide was absolutely excellent and she was the one that made the museum visit worth it. She narrated everything with such feeling and gracefulness. At the end, she sang the song that was the poem Stevenson wrote, as his wish for how he wanted to be treated when he died. It was very touching!

We got back to the resort around noon time. Bob had already put the 2 wheelie luggage out and checked out of the room as instructed. We had lunch and enjoyed a local dance performance the resort put out for us. Then it was time for the airport.

I’m really looking forward to getting to the Australia hotel, where we not only have washer and dryer in the room, but hopefully also high-speed internet! We’ve reached the end of our clean clothes – the laundry in the hotels has been way too expensive (it cost $40 to wash bob’s 3 polo shirts and 3 pairs of socks, ugh!).

Our plane landed in Cairns around 6pm local time. After the long and slow line going through immigration and customs, we got on the buses that took us to our hotel Sea Temples in about 1 hour. This hotel is pretty amazing – all the rooms are next to the swimming pool and the first floor rooms can walk directly into the pool. Our room is on the second floor, at the far end from the lobby. The room (or more accurately, rooms) is GREAT – very clean, contemporary, and spacious. It has actually 2 bedrooms and 2 bathroom, with a large open living room + dining room + kitchen. And the washer and dryer are behind a closet door in the kitchen. The slider from the living room opens to an outdoor sitting area facing the pool. Very nice! I want to come back here again to spend some more time some day! The only disappointment of the hotel is the internet. We can get on the wired internet from the room, $29 for 24 hours, and the speed is slow. In the lobby, they have coin-operated computers where you can get on the net. If the internet speed is good, I would not mind spending the $29, but I simply cannot deal with the slowness, so I’ll have to wait and hopefully when we get to Cambodia we’ll be able to get on the net. Worst case, when we get to Chengdu I should be able to.

The best surprise this evening was the special guest – a koala bear from the Cairns zoo! His name is Kai and he was held by his keeper, a lady from the zoo. We were allowed to pet him on his back, take pictures with him, but unfortunately we were not allowed to hold him. I did not bring my camera so Lucy took a picture of me stroking Kai’s back. I must come back to this place and I must hold a koala bear!

We had cocktails followed by a buffet dinner. Both food and service were good. Now we’re back to our room – I’m doing the laundry, writing my diary, and getting things ready for tomorrow. We’ll need to be up early, at 6:30am, and leave for the Great Barrier Reef at 8am.

Day 9: Great Barrier Reef, Australia; Oct. 13, 2011 (Thurs.)

Finally it’s the day to go to the Great Barrier Reef, a place we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time! We got up around 6am, to be ready for the 8am departure. I was able to logon to the public coin-operated internet computer and checked my gmail after breakfast. At 8am, we were on the bus to the marina, which was about 10 minutes drive away.

We had one diving/snorkeling boat all to ourselves. The boat was operated by Quicksilver – they had their own pontoon and diving/snorkeling spot, which was 70 kilometer away. The boat ride was about 1.5 hours. When we got there, we first got on the semi submersible which took us to view the corals and fish under water but without getting wet. A young marine specialist woman explained to us what we saw. After that, we all got back on the big boat and it was time for the water. Even though I had my swimming suit on, I really was hoping to just get in and then get out. But the young lady (who was the marine specialist) was so nice. She offered to teach me to snorkel and drag me along. So I put on the jelly suit (to prevent being stung by jelly fish) and got in the water! With my life jacket on, and with her dragging the sponge bar that I hang on to, I snorkeled for about an hour! I saw the beautiful corals and some nice fish. The most gratifying thing was that I actually snorkeled and spent an hour in the ocean! I was/am very grateful to the young lady!!

After snorkeling, everyone got back on the boat and had lunch. And then the boat turned back towards shore. It was another 1.5 hour ride. After that, I took the option to visit the wild habitat. There we saw many birds, a koala bear, kangaroos, crocs, etc. The only regret was still that I was not able to hold the koala bear! The handler was done for the day so we were not able to do that ….

Bob is fighting the cold. He went on the boat ride, but he did not go into the water, which was wise. Afterwards he came back to the hotel to sleep, without visiting the wild habitat. Hopefully he will feel better in a day or two.

For dinner, we each got a $90 voucher to eat in one of four restaurants in Port Douglas town. We joined Lucy and Chris and ate at the restaurant called Bistro 3. The food was good, but not outstanding. I wish we had some more time to look around town, but it was already too late.

So, what do I think of the Great Barrier Reef? Well, I think maybe I expected too much too high, or maybe we did not have the time to explore the various places. My overall impression is that the corals here are more beautiful than the other places we’ve been to. But as far as the fish is concerned, the Tahiti islands are much better.

Tomorrow is another long travel day – up at 6:30, leave for the airport at 8:45, then a 7+ hour flight to Cambodia. I am absolutely poop’d, so I am off to bed now.

Day 10: Arrived at Siem Reap, Cambodia; Oct. 14, 2011 (Fri.)

Ah, internet access in the hotel room!! I just copied the last few days’ diaries to the blog and will be uploading some photos later tonight.

We arrived at Siem Reap, Cambodia, around 3:30pm local time, after the 7+ hour flight from Australia. It’s another day of traveling and there’s not much to write about, but it’s always comforting to get back on that jet where we have our own seats and everything is nice.

Cambodia has some serious flooding in the recent days, and that was quite obvious as our plane got closer to the land. We could clearly see water everywhere – farm fields and houses were all in the water. Fortunately the airport runway was not flooded so we landed smoothly.

A number of small buses came to pick us up, each bus with a local guide. On the way to the hotel, we stopped to take a photo of each person, which was needed for tomorrow’s visit to Angkor Wat. What we saw on the ride from the airport to the hotel was mainly poor countryside, which reminded me of China’s poor countryside years ago …. This country and its people suffered tremendously during the Khymer Rouge era. The guide for our bus lost his father and older brother – they were both killed because they were educated, his father was a teacher and his brother was in high school, which was the reason to be killed. He was next to be killed, but the Vietnamese came and he was saved.

The hotel we’re staying in is the Grand Hotel – very very nice! I love the oriental styled rooms – hardwood floor, mahogany furniture, plus very courteous service. We will be having dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants to enjoy Cambodian food!

Had dinner in the hotel restaurant called “Le Grand” with Lucy, Chris, and 2 other couples in our group. The dinner was OK – nice to finally have some Asian food, but I think the local restaurants would probably serve better food, if we can stomach the hot and humid weather and the environment. I’m thankful for the beautiful and comfortable hotel, with internet!

Tomorrow we’ll leave for the temple at 7am, early! It’ll be a long day, so I’ll try to get a good night’s sleep.

Day 11: Siem Reap; Oct. 15, 2011 (Sat.)

This is the day at the Angkor Wat.

It rained all last night and continued this morning. We got up at 5:45am and departed at 7am for the temples, in the rain. The first place we went to was Angkor Thom, which had the Bayon Temple and Elephant Terrace. These were built in the 1200s – very impressive buildings and art work! We walked around in the rain, and took an elephant ride around the temple. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it were not for the rain – I was soaked inside out and it felt miserable :-(.

After Angkor Thom, we went to Angkor Wat, which was built in the 1100s and was a huge temple! We walked through the 2 rainbow walkways and climbed the stairs to the top of the temple where it was supposed to be heaven.

I am not a temple person but I was impressed with what we saw! The rain stopped for a little while and the humidity was killing me. Before we reached the bus, it started pouring. Ugh!

Bob sat in the bus the entire morning – he did not want to risk getting worse with his cold and ruin the Tibet visit. We originally signed up for the jungle temple for the afternoon option (that’s the one with tree roots grown all over the temple, like what Angkor Wat was before it was restored), but I’m chickening out again – we’ll do the market trip, which is supposed to be in a covered place. I feel bad not going to the jungle temple, but really don’t feel like getting soaked again (after I took a shower and got dried).

I only took some photos using my point-and-shoot camera which can handle the rain water. Did not get any worthwhile shots. Oh well ….

It turned out that the market we were supposed to go to has been flooded, so the shopping trip was only to the local artisan school where there was a shop. The shop did have some good quality Cambodian stuff such as silk scarves, wood and sandstone carvings, and various hand-made pouches, bags, cushion covers, etc. I did not find anything particularly interesting except a couple of teeshirts. We were done in less than half an hour. After coming back to the hotel, we walked to a nearby shopping center which had nothing worth buying. The shopping here really sucks.

On the ride to the artisan school, we witnessed the flooding of the main streets. It was awful! The streets were next to the river which was overflowing. The water was filthy. Our guide told us it was not safe for us to walk in the water – nobody had any desire to try.

There will be some poolside cocktails this evening followed by dinner and entertainment. If the weather holds up as it has been this afternoon, then we will get to see the performance, which I’m interested.

Our 2 big luggages need to be out of the door by 9:30pm and we won’t see them until we get to India. Tomorrow we’ll be flying to Chengdu – my homeland! I’m very excited about that!

Day 12, Cambodia to China; Oct. 16, 2011 (Sun.)

The highlight today is PANDA!

The plane took off from Siem Reap around 11am local time and we arrived in Chengdu shortly before 2pm. 10+ people from the group took the option to visit Xian instead of Tibet, so they transferred directly to Xian at the airport. 2 big buses took most of the rest of us to the panda breeding center in Chengdu, while 1 bus took a few people directly to the hotel.

We spent about 1 hour in the panda breeding center. The weather was very nice and comfortable in Chengdu, and we saw quite a few pandas moving around (as opposed to sleeping). More than 10 of us paid the 1000RMB each to hold the panda and to take photos with the panda. That definitely was the highlight!! That panda was a 13-month-old girl. They fed him tender bamboo shoots dipped in honey water, so she paid no attention to who was sitting next to her, hugging her, or stroking her. She was just chewing on those bamboo shoots!

We also saw a bunch of little panda babies – they were probably only a couple of months old at most. So cute!!

The hotel we’re staying at is the German Kempinsky Hotel – very nice! I was hoping to take Bob to JinLi, so we did not join Lucy and Chris and a few others to eat outside of the hotel. We tried to have an early dinner and then head to JinLi. But after dinner, we were both so full and so tired, so we simply walked around the hotel and then came back to our room.

I could not get to wordpress, even though I have internet access. I was told that China is blocking wordpress, which means that I won’t be able to update my blog until we get to India – I feel very disappointed.

We need to have a very early start tomorrow – up at 5am, suitcases down to the lobby at 5;45am, and buses head for the airport at 6:30am. I can hardly keep my eyes open now, so I’m heading to bed.

Day 13: Arrived in Lhasa, China; Oct. 17, 2011 (Mon.)

This has been a rather tough traveling day – we were up very early and got to the Chengdu airport around 7am. We had to board a commercial CA flight, and they did not give our group any special treatment. So we had to struggle through the crowded lines and deal with the airport confusion. Then the flight was delayed for more than 1 hour. We got to Lhasa around 11:30am. What made things for difficult for Bob and me was my 2 heavy camera bags, in addition to the 2 backpacks, plus each had to carry the 3-in-1 coat.

There were buses waiting for our group at the airport. The ride from the airport to the hotel was around 1 hour. But we had to stop at the SOS Children’s Village for a visit. It is a propaganda thing, but the group also donated money and some stuff. It is actually an orphanage – we saw 2 dozen or so toddlers who lined up to welcome us. It’s heartbreaking to think that they were abandoned by their parents …. They seem to be living a good life there. There are about 180+ kids there, ranging from age 2 to 21. There are 17 dorms, each with a dorm mother. The mother is not allowed to be married because she needs to be devoted to these children. The children spoke both Tibetan and Chinese.

The local guide for our bus was named Jigme (a strange name). He was Tibetan and spent 7 years in India before coming back and got into the touring business. He offered to answer any questions we have about Dalai Lama or anything else, as far as we’re in the car and without other Chinese guides. He was quite obviously not happy with Chinese. He left me with an uncomfortable feeling ….

We got to the St. Regis hotel close to 2pm. We quickly put things down in our room and then went to lunch. This hotel is supposed to be THE best in Lhasa and it does live up to our expectations. It is truly amazing! I love our spacious modern room, with the exception that the AC does not seem to be working, so it’s been too warm here. But everything else is definitely top notch!

We met at 3:30pm to go visit the Jokhang Temple and the Borkhar market. The temple was interesting. It feels and looks ancient, but it’s still being actively used by the Tibetans. The market is surrounding the temple – a huge market with 100’s of stands and stores, selling pretty much the same things. We were first taken to an official store where things were real, but the price was ridiculously high, so I did not get anything. Bob and I then walked around the market. I could not even find one thing that was appealing.

I’m feeling extremely sleepy and tired. After coming back to the hotel, we both took a nap. I did not really want to go to dinner, but dragged myself to it. The food was good. Quite a few people did not show up. Being tired and sleeping is one of the symptoms of high altitude. I’ve not felt this sleepy and tired. I’m going to bed now. Tomorrow morning we will go see the Potala Palace – not sure if I’ll be able to climb it, but we’ll see ….

It’s a shame that I don’t think I got one decent photo of this place, after carrying all that heavy equipment ….

Day 14: Lhasa; Oct. 18, 2011 (Tues.)

It has been a full but relatively relaxing day, despite the climb to the Potala Palace.

We got up at 7:30am (Wow, 7:30!!). After a very nice breakfast (comforting porridge and all sorts of other things), we departed for the Potala Palace at 9:15am. There were 380 or so steps to climb. We were a little concerned if we would be able to handle it, with such high altitude. But, it would be hard to live with ourselves if we came all the way here without visiting the Potala Palace. So we did it! It was difficult but manageable. We felt very good when we got to the top. The Potala Palace was truly majestic and impressive! I am not able to even attempt to capture what we saw and what the guide explained to us. There were so many chambers/rooms and I had no idea how we went from one to the other. Again, there were candles in yak oil and incense burning everywhere. There were Tibetan and other people paying respect – some put money there, others brought yak oil. There is so much to learn about Tibetan Buddhaism!

As we climbed the Palace, we were able to get a good view of the scenery. I really love the mountains! They look so beautiful under the blue sky with the white clouds.

We came back to the hotel around noon time. After a very good lunch, Chris, Lucy, Bob and I visited the presidential suite in the hotel. The view from that suite on top of the hotel was simply amazing! It has a frontal view of the Potala Palace! The owner of this hotel is from HongKong. This is also the owner’s suite. He has some extremely precious art works there. There is one Buddha piece which he bought back from some foreign country for 5 million dollars. The suite was huge. But I think the most impressive and unique thing is its view. I was told this suite costs $2000 per night. Oh, I found out that our room is what they call the “deluxe suite”, their lowest offering, which is about $500 per night.

At 2pm, we tool off to visit the Sera Monastery. The most famous thing about this monastery was its afternoon debate by the monks. The debate started at 3pm. All the monks in that monastery came into this courtyard and formed debating groups. They had different hand and body gestures to show agreement or disagreement. I noticed that it’s mainly the young monks who were passionately debating, whereas the older ones did not seem that into it. One was actually on a cellphone call.

After the monastery visit, we came back to the hotel for a short bio-break. Then a bunch of us chose to go shopping instead of visiting either the museum or the nunnery. Bob chose to take a nap so he did not get to the market with me. It’s the same market place we went to yesterday. But today I was able to find a couple of things I like. One is a yak tail – it’s something I regretted not getting during our 1998 trip back to China, and now I finally got it! Another is a shell horn, a typical Tibetan artifact, made of a big sea shell, guilded with Tibetan silver. I like it a lot.

Dinner was with a Tibetan song and dance performance. And we’re back to the room before 9pm. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to India. It’s another hard traveling day, dragging all the camera bags, backpacks, going through the airports ….

Hopefully when we get to India, I’ll be able to access wordpress and post to my blog. I am even unable to access gmail – not sure if China is blocking gmail ….

Day 15: Arrived in Agra, India; Oct. 19, 2011 (Wedn.)

It’s another day spent entirely in traveling. We left Lhasa at a decent hour, 9am, to fly to Chengdu. At the Chengdu airport, we went through security and finally boarded our own jet. Boy it felt good to be back on that plane again! Then it was a 5+ hour flight to Agra, India, where the Taj Mahal is. There is a time difference of 2.5 hour, and we got to Agra past 6pm local time and got to the hotel shortly before 8pm.

The hotel is absolutely wonderful. It’s called the Oberoi Hotel, next to the Taj Mahal – if it were daylight, we could see Taj Mahal from our private balcony! That’ll have to wait for tomorrow.

Agra seems to be a relatively poor city, aside from the millions of visitors to Taj Mahal every year. We witnessed the very dirty streets, the crowds, and the rather shabby life along the streets on the drive to the hotel. There was definitely an uncomfortable and drastic contract between the normal people’s life here and the life in this hotel ….

Our local guide, Sanjay, explained quite a bit of local things to us. For example, Indian people treat cows as sacred creatures and would not slaughter them. As a result, there are many cows roaming the streets. Since there’s not much for them to eat, they feed on the rubbish. I saw a skin-and-bones young cow rummaging through a pile of trash …. There are also wild monkeys, which are also treated as sacred by the Indian people. The hotel had a monkey bouncer, which was a monkey from the mountains which was of a different kind than the city monkeys. They put this monkey on a leash and walk around the hotel. When the other monkeys saw this monkey, they all ran away. We did not see this monkey bouncer today and was told she had a baby and has been on maternity leave for a few months ….

Most people here ride mopeds. Gasoline is rare and expensive, and there are only 2 gas stations in Agra. People with the “tuk tuk” line up for a mile to get gas – some even get up at 2 or 3 in the morning to make sure they can get the gas. We saw the LONG line out of the gas station today. The streets were dark – Sanjay told us there was a power shortage (which did not affect the hotel because the hotel has its own generator). It is quite depressing ….

There was a sunrise photo shoot at the Taj Mahal tomorrow morning and we need to get up at 5am. We definitely want to go!

I’m so glad that I can finally access my blog and gmail! India does not seem to block anything :-), thank goodness! The wifi is not free – $20 for 24 hours. But the speed is OK, except when trying to upload photos. Since we need to be up early, I won’t try to upload too many photos for the past few days – it takes a few minutes to upload one.

Day 16: The Taj Mahal; Oct. 20, 2011 (Thurs.)

It is the day of THE Taj Mahal!

We got up at 5am to leave for the sunrise shoot at Taj Mahal before 6am. We left the hotel when it was still dark. The electric car drove us in less than 5 minutes and we were among the first batch to line up outside of the gate. Sunrise is supposed to be at 6:15am. The gate opened at 6:16am. The lines are divided into men’s and women’s, because of the very strict pad-down search. It was a real physical pad-down and they were very strict about what one could and could not bring in. By the time we got in the gate, of course the sun was already up. It was hazy and the light was soft. I took the wrong lens with me – should have taken the 16-35mm, but I took the 100-400mm, plus the little NEX-5, so I was quite limited by what I had ….

Taj Mahal truly lived up to every expectation of ours, and then some! It was breath-takingly beautiful! It is absolutely worth it to make a trip to India, even if just for seeing it and nothing else. It was the tomb one of the old rulers built for his beloved wife. This wife gave birth to 14 children of his before she died. The third son eventually took control, killed his 2 older brothers and 1 younger brother, and put his father in home-prison for the last 8 years of his life.

Our sunrise Taj Mahal visited finished before 7:30. We returned to the hotel, had breakfast, then headed out again for Taj Mahal at 8:30. This time, we would go inside and the guide told us a lot more about it. I enjoyed listening to him and learned bits and pieces about the history and stories of Taj Mahal.

Even though it was only mid morning, the weather was getting quite hot, especially if we stood under the sun. But this is actually the best time to visit. In the summer, the temperature could get as high as 120+ degrees! And in July and August, with the rain and humidity, it becomes truly unbearable, even for the locals.

We finished the 2nd Taj Mahal visit before 11am. A number of us could not wait to go shopping, so the guide said we did not have to wait for the afternoon, and he could arrange cars to take us shopping, and that’s what he did. He took us to the “designated” shopping place, where they have inlaid marble tables, jewelries, scarves, etc. But the price was outrageously expensive. And the sales people were very aggressive. We did not have much time to look (after listening to the marble talk), so I decided to come back in the afternoon, while Bob would go to visit the Fort.

In the afternoon, I went back to the shopping place with a bunch of others in the group. There was another jewelry place which had a little better price. I was looking at a couple of rings, but Lucy told me the quality was not good, so I gave up. After we came back to the hotel, a couple of ladies in the group also came back from shopping – they were disgusted by the “designated” shops and the guide took them to a more reasonably priced shop where they bought beautiful scarves, etc. So Lucy and I got the guide to take us there, and we spent 2 hours there! I had a sari (I think that’s what it’s called) made for me! And got a tapestry that had an elephant on it – I really like elephants. It was fun shopping with Lucy!

All the car rides to the shops are arranged by our local guides – TCS took care of all the cost. While riding in the car and watching the life outside, I could not help feeling depressed. It was like the poor countryside in China 30+ years ago …. It really broke my heart to see the cows, buffalos, dogs, sheep, donkeys – all skin and bones, roaming the streets, eating rubbish …. It made me miss our JJ.

All the car rides to the shops are arranged by our local guides – TCS took care of all the cost. While riding in the car and watching the life outside, I could not help feeling depressed. It was like the poor countryside in China 30+ years ago …. It really broke my heart to see the cows, buffalos, dogs, sheep, donkeys – all skin and bones, roaming the streets, eating rubbish …. It made me miss our JJ.

We came back to the hotel before 6pm. Michael was giving a lecture about his work on assignment with NG. Unfortunately I had to come back to the room to pack, so I missed most of it We had dinner in the Indian restaurant in the hotel, which was good (but not great). Then we put our 2 big luggages out before 9:30pm – we won’t see them again until 3 or 4 days from now.

Tomorrow is another day of traveling – by the end of the day, we will be in Tanzania! I probably won’t have internet access for the next 3 or 4 days, so I won’t be able to post to my blog.

Day 17: Arrived in Tanzania; Oct. 21, 2011 (Fri.)

It was another full day of traveling.

We left the hotel in Agra around 7:15am to get on our jet for Tanzania. After going through the elaborate and very inefficient customs, immigration, and security checks, we got on the plane ready to take off at 9am. It was a nice day, sunny but a bit hazy, as usual. While we were waiting at the security line, Micheline told me that the last time they were delayed for 2.5 hours because the airport authority would not let the plane take off, saying the sky was too low. So she kept looking at the sky, hoping it was high enough so the same would not happen. But that turned out to be wishful thinking. Just as Micheline feared, the airport authority said the sky was too low and would not let us take off. So we were all sitting on the plane – some started chatting in groups, some were playing the iPad, others were taking a nap, while the airline management in the UK and TCS negotiated with the airport authority. The sky was not “low” – it was a perfect sunny day with some haze. But we guess it was some kind of power play – maybe we needed to bribe that airport authority ….

Any way, more than 2.5 hours later, we were allowed to take off. And 7+ hours later we arrived at the Kilimanjara airport in Tanzania. It was already dusk and we missed our originally planned game drive. Chris, Lucy, Bob and I hopped into the #3 4×4, and our driver Sultan drove us back to the Migration Camp. There were 27 of us in 5 4×4’s, plus 2 other 4×4’s for our luggages. The drive was done pretty much in the dark.

We arrived at the camp around 7:15pm and were met with warm welcome by the staff, with chilled wet towels, drinks, etc. Then we were led to our individual tents. We have tent #9. It was a bit of a walk from the lounge. Our butler carried our wheelies and took us to our tent. We were very pleased with our tent – it reminded me of the time we spent in Botswana last year. Oh boy – how I longed to come back to Africa! There’s something magical about Africa that we just absolutely love! The animals, the big sky, the fresh air ….. Everything!

We were served dinner in the dining area, under the stars. Then we came back to the tent and quickly settled in, took our showers and went to bed. I did not even write my diary – wanted to make sure I get some sleep to be ready for the morning game drive!

It is around 2pm now on Saturday, Oct 22. I’m downloading the photos I took this morning and write my diary.

Day 18: The Migration Camp, Tanzania; Oct. 22, 2011 (Sat.)

We got up at 5:30am to be ready for breakfast at 6:30am, and leaving for the morning game drive at 7:30am (it’s much later than how we did it in Botswana).

Again, the 4 of us (Lucy, Chris, Bob, and I) shared the 4×4 – it is the #4 vehicle and our driver is Charles. At first, we saw mainly wilder beasts, all sorts of the creatures of the deer family (I can never remember their names – impala, some buck, etc.), giraffes, zebras, warthogs, buffalos, etc. After being to Botswana, it was hard to get overly excited about these animals, even though we enjoyed seeing them. What we all really wanted to see were LIONs! Especially the male lion! And we got lucky! After seeing a few groups of female lions that were pretty far away, we finally saw this absolutely gorgeous male lion right in front of us!! We were all so excited – I would love to jump off the 4×4 to touch him!! I started taking pictures of him. But guess what, after a few shots, my memory card was full!!! I cannot believe I made such a stupid mistake and did not bring more cards with me (they’re back in the tent!). I want to beat myself for it!!! Talking about mistake – I brought my sandbag just for this Africa day, but I ended up leaving it in the big luggage which we won’t see until 2 days from now! Luckily I borrowed a small cushion from the camp staff.

The 4x4s used here are different from the ones we used in Botswana. The ones here are not Range Rover, but Toyota range cruiser (or something like that). They are covered on all sides, with a raised roof, where you can standup and poke your head out. My monopod is pretty useless here (nor would a tripod). I pretty much just tried to rest my lens on the roof railing of the 4×4, on top of the cushion. As much as it’s nice to sit inside a closed jeep, I think I actually prefer the open range rover, as it’s much easier to move around and take photos in different directions.

Game drive here must remain on the road – offroad is not allowed. This does limit how close we could get to the animals. As far as game viewing is concerned, I much prefer Botswana. But, this is the place to watch the wilder beasts migration. We are actually just at the beginning of the migration, which is why we see so many wilder beasts, and zebras. I would love to see the migration where the wilder beasts run in thousands (as opposed to grazing) – will have to figure out when and where we can see those. One thing I’m sure – I want to come back to Africa again!!

The morning game drive ended around noon and we had our lunch back at the camp. The afternoon game drive is at 4pm. I will be sure to bring enough memory cards this time.

It turned out that the afternoon game drive did not get us to see much more animals. We did see a few more lions including 2 males, but they were younger than the one we saw in the morning and not as handsome. People in the 4×4 before us saw a leopard, but we did not see it. In addition to the ones we saw in the morning, the only other one we saw was the hyena – saw a cute one lying on a big rock.

We returned to the camp close to 7pm. Then we have a camp fire when the 2 lead guides told us more about the tribal culture of Tanzania and answered some questions. After dinner, we quickly came back to our tent, as both of us are pretty tired, and tomorrow is another long traveling day! We’ll be up at 5:30 and leave the camp at 8:30 (wheelies need to be ready for pickup at 7am). We’ll take the little plane to Kilimanjaro and board our own jet and fly to Luxor, Egypt. For those of us going to Petra, we’ll need to board a charter flight for another 3-hour flight, followed by a 2-hour drive. We’ll get to the hotel before mid-night. It’ll be a tough day followed by another high paced Petra visit.

I’m beat. Off to bed now.

Day 19: Tanzania to Petra, Jordan; Oct. 23, 2011 (Sun.)

It’s almost mid-night now – we just checked into the hotel Movenpick by Petra, Jordan half an hour ago. It’s been a 12+ hours day of traveling.

We got up at 5:30am to pack and get ready to leave at 8:30am, but we ended up leaving at 8am, since both Lucy and Chris were ready. We beat the other folks by half an hour so we had a bit more time to look for animals. It turned out that we were lucky, as we saw a leopard, at very close range, in addition to the other usual ones, elephants, wilder beasts, impalas, gazelles, etc.

Following the short morning game drive, it was a series of flights. We boarded a 12 person small plane from the airstrip to Hilimanjaro, which took 1 hour and 5 minutes. Then we boarded our own jet for a 5+ hour flight to Luxor, Egypt. There the group split up – most of the group stayed in Luxor and will see the Valley of Kings tomorrow. 20 of us boarded another chartered jet to fly to Aqaba, Jordan. It was a 2 hour flight. After we landed in Aqaba, we were picked up by a nice big bus, which drove 2+ hours and took us to the hotel. This hotel is by the entrance to Petra.

We’ll be up at 6am tomorrow, pack up and then walk to Petra. Then in the afternoon we will fly to Luxor to join the rest of the group by the evening. We will stay in Luxor tomorrow night, and then fly to Cairo the following morning, to see the Pyramid!

Off to bed now – it’s been a long day and tomorrow is another long one.

Day 20: Petra, Jordan then Luxor, Egypt; Oct. 24, 2011 (Mon.)

It was a busy but great day!

Petra was truly amazing! A city, and tombs, and caves, and residences, carved out of the sandstones on the mountains! I cannot find the right words to describe this wonder. It was just so magical and mysterious. No wonder many movies were made here, including Indiana Jones and a few others. Our hotel was at an excellent location, right at the entrance to Petra. We left the hotel at 8am, walked through the “siq” (the narrow canyon framed by the beautifully shaped sandstones), to the “treasury”, then the valley, and then lunch at the restaurant right in the valley. After lunch, some of us rode the camels, some rode donkeys, a few chose to walk, back to the treasury. Bob and I both rode the camels. Then we walked through the siq again and all the way back to the hotel, shortly before 2pm. This is probably the best season to come here, as it is not too hot and not too cold. Even now, walking back in the sun in the early afternoon was pretty tough.

The weather was dry and it was quite dusty in Petra, especially when the horse-pulled “buggies” rushed by us. We were all covered by dust. I worry how much dust actually got into my cameras ….

I brought the Mark IV and the 16-35mm lens with me (in addition to the NEX-5). It was shooting well, but all of a sudden, the photos I took became black and white! I must have accidentally touched some button. It took me a while to change it back to colored – I really wanted to show the reddish sandstone color of the carvings, etc.

In the afternoon, we left the hotel around 2:15pm. The bus took us back to Aqaba airport (in 2+ hours), and we boarded the charter flight back to Luxor, arriving around 6pm local time (which was 7pm Petra/Jordan time). After going through immigration (again) and customs, the bus took us to the Sonesta St. George Hotel, where we would re-join the rest of the group. All of us were eager to get into a shower to wash off the dust!

The hotel was nice and the room has a very nice bathroom with very good water pressure! We now had our big bags in our room waiting for us. After everyone freshened up, we all went to the 9th floor at 8pm, where there was cocktail and a Q&A about Egypt. At around 8:45pm, we were taken to the Luxor temple by horse carriages, one for every couple/family. It was so wonderful to ride in that horse carriage! I do love seeing how the horse ran, listening to the trotting sound. There’s something about the horses that are endearing, maybe that’s why Shanyn loves horses so much.

The temple closed to the public around 9pm, and it was open just for us tonight, after 9pm. That was another magical event! This ancient, partially restored temple was magnificent! It’s a shame that I did not have the right camera – only brought the point and shoot, and took a few pretty bad photos.

After walking through the temple, we had dinner in a tent that was especially set up for us, on the ground of the temple. With a string quartet, we were served a nice dinner, followed by a big chocolate cake, which were carried over, with music playing, by 4 costumed soldiers. That was quite a fancy event!

Tomorrow we’ll be up early again (5:30am), to leave at 7am to fly (in our own jet) to Cairo and to the Pyramid! Can’t wait!

Better go to bed now! I did not bother to get the internet here, as there was no time for me to do much. Will try to get on the net in our last stop. But I was able to get work emails on my blackberry, and I quickly glanced through the emails to see if there’s anything urgent. It seems that Verizon wireless works well in Luxor. Interesting.

Day 21: Luxor to Cairo, then to Marrakech, Morocco; Oct. 25, 2011 (Tues.)

It’s another jam packed but nice day, and now it’s past midnight in Marrakech, Morocco. The day went like this:

Up at 5:30am. Got all the checkin luggages out of our hotel room door at 6am. After breakfast, we got on the bus(es) at 7:30, to head for our jet at the Luxor airport. After approximately an 1-hour flight, we were in Cairo. 4 big buses took us 80 or so people to the Pyramids in Giza, which is part of Cairo. The drive took about 1 hour 20 minutes, Egyptian time (our guide especially emphasized “Egyptian hour and Egyptian 20 minutes”, because of the traffic).

Then we were at the Pyramids, finally!! It was one of the key items on our bucket list and we were so happy to see them! Unfortunately we only had about 1 hour to walk around and take pictures, and no time to go inside. The buses stopped at 2 different spots to let us take photos of the 3 pyramids, then again at the Sphinx. We had lunch at the nice restaurant right next to the Sphinx.

The drive to and from the Pyramids allowed us to get a glimpse of Cairo. We saw the area called “new Cairo” where nice and expensive buildings are being erected. We also so the getto area, quite a large area, which was a depressing sight …. The area close to the Pyramids was quite messy and dirty – the trash floating in the channel was horrible. The guide told us that a lot of the government employees, such as teachers, have very low salary and they could not support their family with it (around $100 a month). So many would get a second job – they would go into work and show up for a few minutes, then leave to pursue their 2nd job. Meat costs $20 or $30 a pound, so people can only afford to eat meat once or twice a month.

Around the Pyramids, there were many many people selling things. Our guide warned us to never talk with them. Do not get on their camels – you would not know how much it would cost you to get on or off. These people were very persistent – they follow you, nudge you, putting things in front of your face …. The T-shirts would start at $10 for one. Then when nobody bought it, they would yell “3 for $10”, or “4 for $10”. Life is apparently quite tough here. Tourism is one of the main source of income, but it has been affected in the recent years.

Our buses left the Pyramids/Sphinx at 2pm and headed back to the airport. We boarded our jet and arrived in Marakech, Morocco 5+ hours later. It would have been a shorter flight if Lybia did not have the “no flight zone”.

Morocco is 2 hours behind, so it would have been after 2am now if we were still in Egypt. We got to the hotel past 8pm local time. We had dinner at the Moroccan restaurant. The hotel is called La Mamounia and is one of the best here and most unique. It used to be a palace, then converted to a hotel and then renovated with all the modern facilities. We had to be especially warned about its complicated lighting system in the room. The room is very very nice! It’s a bit small especially now we have all our pieces of luggage with us, but that’s OK. Tomorrow we won’t be up too early, and we will tour a few important sights of the city in the morning. Marrakech is apparently one of the hidden gems and it’s a world heritage site.

We’re supposed to have free internet access, but I could not get on and am too tired to figure it out. Will try to do it tomorrow.

It’s Shanyn’s birthday today! I called but she did not pick up, so I could only leave a vmsg. We’ll be seeing her in a few days.

This is the last stop of this world tour – can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks!!

Day 22: Marakech, Morocco; Oct. 26, 2011 (Wedn.)

This is the last day of our trip (not counting the final traveling day). We got up quite late, around 8am, and had to rush through breakfast to catch the bus for the morning activities leaving at 9am.

Our local guide first took us to a former Islamic boarding school for religious doctrine. The architecture was amazing. I really like the coloring and the intricate carvings. The Islamic religion is very mysterious and fascinating to me. I actually enjoyed walking through the courtyards and rooms. We then walked through the Souk, the parts where people were actually making the various things. We saw the artisans section where people were selling the raw hides (from goats and sheep), making the metal artifacts, etc. We saw shops after shops that sold leather goods, and all the other stuff. I wish we could stop to do some shopping, but that was for the afternoon. After walking through the Souk, we saw the tower of the oldest mosque in Marakech, and we drove by the major current mosque which would only allow Muslims, so we just took a few pictures from the outside.

We came back to the hotel before 12:30 for lunch. The lunch buffet was truly fantastic! There were so many delicious choices, better than any of the buffets I’ve been to! I really wish I had my stomach and appetite 20 years ago!

For the afternoon, we chose the option for shopping in the Souk followed by the Djemaa El Fna Square. In the morning, I saw some gorgeous pad locks at the lock maker’s, and I wanted to get one for Caleb – he’d have fun using that key opening the big lock. And I wanted to get some of those red leather slippers. Shopping in the Souk was not an easy thing. It was like a maze and there were so many sections with shops after shops. And it’s a stressful game of bargaining – it’s more stressful because the sellers were quite aggressive, plus we had no idea of the quality or authenticity of the merchandize. Our guide was nice enough to take bob and me back to the lock maker’s section and I spent $75 to buy a nice hand-made pad lock. I think I overpaid, but the old man would not back down. So I asked him to add another big key. The key I wanted turned out to be the key to his shop’s lock. But he did not have any other key I liked, so he agreed to give me that key. I think Caleb would love that key and lock!

The shopping trip was quite short. We then came to the square around 4:15. That’s when the snake charmers and other shops started to open in the square. I paid 5 dollar local money and took a few photos of the cobra – it was pretty scarey to see how the snake charmer played those poisonous snakes!

We came back to the hotel before 5:30. Then it was packing time – we have the good-bye dinner tonight starting 7pm, and we needed to get the big bags by our door by 9:30pm. I finished packing, took a shower, and had a few minutes to spare before heading down to the ballroom for the cocktail and dinner.

It was a very nice farewell dinner! Great food. Then Michael showed the video he made of this trip – he did such a fantastic job! Most of the scenes from his photos were scenes I saw as well, but now I see the difference between my own eyes and the eyes of a good photographer! It was so sweet to look back to our first destination Peru and all the way through Egypt – he still had a little more to add.

At the cocktail time, Joe (one of our group members) presented to the airline crew our gratitude to them (everyone donated around $100 to make the tip). After dinner, David the NG geographer did a nice speech re-capturing the significant events of our trip – the highest mountains, the longest rivers, the oldest temple, etc.

Tomorrow’s schedule is quite brutal – we need to get our wheelies to the lobby by 5:15am and will leave the hotel for the airport at 6:15am! This means we’ll be up at 4am! Definitely need to head to bed as soon as possible! Bob just went down to the casino – he wanted to try his hands on the black jack there, for an hour.

This wonderful trip is coming to an end. On the one hand, I really hate to see it end – would love to stay on for a few more days; but on the other hand, we’re looking forward to going home – can’t wait to pick up JJ and see how happy he is to see us!

NG and TCS/Starquest did a fantastic job, truly! They did everything they could to make the travel logistics as painless as possible. From arranging the luggages, hotel rooms, transportations, luxurious train and bus rides, to filling our all the custom/immigration cards – they did it all! Most of the places we went to would require complex (and painful) logistics if we were to handle them on our own. They made it enjoyable. And they are so smart to arrange the totally fantastic events at the end – renting out the entire Luxor temple just for our group and having the dinner there last night, followed by the absolutely luxurious hotel in Marakech and the dinner. They know how to make this trip end with a big bang!

I would highly recommend this trip for anyone who is interested in these places! It is not a leisure trip for sure, as the schedule is tight for so many places. Unless you make people sleep on the plane every night (which would not be comfortable even if they made all seats first class), there’s no other way to do it. It is indeed the trip of a lifetime for us! We’re very glad that we did it. Such is the sentiment of everyone in the group that we’ve spoken to.

Day 23: Going Home; Oct. 27, 2011 (Thurs.)

All good things will come to an end. So is our trip ….

This day was spent in going home. We got up at 4am, brought the “wheelies” to the lobby at 5:15am, had breakfast, and left the hotel at 6:15am, bright and early!

Breakfast was kind of funny. Because of the fact that our group needed to have breakfast so early, so the hotel probably got the non-regular restaurant staff to help. We thought the people that were taking the orders and bringing the food must be the porters or from elsewhere of the hotel, as they were running around like crazy, with very little efficiency. Some of us left without waiting to get the breakfast orders and just had the bread and croissants (really good ones for that).

We had to go through immigration and customs leaving Morocco. Then our jet had to land in Azores, Portugal, to recheckin the luggage, because that’s the closest TSA approved airport on our way back to the US. It was 3 hours to Azores, then another 7 hours back to Dulles.

The flight was uneventful. The crew made us feel comfortable as usual and the time went by quite fast. We landed in Dulles before 3pm EDT. On the last flight, many people walked through the plane to say goodbye to each other – it was quite a farewell! After we got off the plane at the Dulles airport, we had to wait for quite a while for TSA to check all the bags. Once the luggages appeared on the conveyer belt, all the team members started going their own way.

The trip has truly ended. We are all left with a very fond memory of the amazing places we’ve visited and the wonderful trip.