We are off 2010-2011

Bags are packed, house is in order, Now comes that feeling of euphoria when we head towards the unknown.  What will be the adventures of this journey?  Roaring winds in Los Angeles may be our first challenge.  That is where we catch the Hong Kong flight at midnight tonight. We arrive in Singapore at 1PM their time on the 1st of Jan. but we add a day at the international date line so I really have no idea how long it takes to get there. 
The last time we did this was 10 years ago and that trip is like a jewel of memories for us.  We went to Egypt for 11 days, To Marrakesh, New Delhi, Agra, Bombay, Bankgok, Northern Thailand, Vietnam, Kaula Lampur, and Bali.  We rode camels on a beach and elephants into the hill tribes of northern
Thailand, sailed in a falucca on the Nile, took a 4 hour road trip with a mad sikh driver in a Mercedes with freshly ironed white cotton seat covers, rode a train in India and survived.  We saw and experienced the wonders of mankind and some of the travesties.  The trip opened doors in our minds, answered questions and created new horizons.
We can only hope for as much on this trip. 

The Texas flag

We don't remember when we first started flying the Texas flag when we travelled but the old flag has a lot of battle ribbons.  Two tours in Afganistan with Brad, Greece, Italy, France, St. Croix, Mexico.  In fact we have taken it so often we do not know all the spots it has been.   In France on the remote canal everyone knew what the flag was. They would shout at us from the bridges," Texas".....this was the era of Lance Armstrong and he was making us known all over France.  Even though we pack light there will be room for it on this trip.

Prep and Packing for Round the World 2011

For months everything gets laid out in spare bedroom

Planning started a year ago and all the decisions like where to go and why are first to be addressed.  First stop is easy as Cousin Kent and Susan live in Singapore and have for years.  They picked the next port of call, Sri Lanka and he is booking that trip.  Then on to China and we are in the capable hands of our friend, Gary Nightingale.  Anyone who needs to do business in China, he is the Man.  He arranged for us to see Shanghai and Hangzhou. He will also be there with his fluent Mandarin to help along.  We have to return the favor with a trip to Italy.  Not a bad deal.  After that it was a matter of a few places we had not been and some experiences we wanted to enjoy.  Now after a year of thought and reservations and emails we are off.
The key to this trip is a special program offered by most airlines called "the around the world ticket"  We use American as it is our home carrier and it has great partner airlines.  You can book on line but calling the Round the World desk at American is much easier as they know all the complicated rules.  Direct number is 1-800-247-3247.  Because the cost of a ticket to all the places we are going is equivalent to the cost of a round trip to first stop, we enjoy this trip in first class.  We learned on our last trip that this is essential to feeling well rested and enjoying the journey as well as the destination.  Plus you can hold flights for months on end while fiddling with the itinerary.

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=9&category=1

All the rest of the planning is done online, with travel books and just talking to people who have been.

Now the one thing I get more questions about than any other.  How do you pack for this sort of trip?
VERY VERY LIGHTLY!   Everything needs to be carefully analyzed to see if it is needed.  This one is very challenging as we are going to two places that require malaria meds and mosquito prevention.  That means treating the clothes with Premetherin and lots of Deet.  Also long sleeves and long pants.  We buy special clothes that are easy to wash and dry in a minute.  These are made by Ex Offico (online) and Columbia and Magellan (buy at Academy, way cheaper).  Jeans are not an option as they are too heavy and take too long to dry hanging in the shower. We also need clothes for China where the high will be about 50.  That means one sweater, one jacket, cheap mittens and a scarf I will buy there.  One pair of warm pants and tights to wear under the lightweight pants we have.  After we leave China and cold weather they will be a present for the maids.  We will also need something sort of resort like for about three weeks of the trip so a few t-shirts and whatever fun jewelry I buy on the way to dress it up.  Belts, jewelry and scarves are great to bring back. We do not obsess about what we take.  Anything can be bought anywhere. 

type of shirt for safari

Medical...yes we need shots but we are so up to date on shots the only thing we needed was tetanus.  We keep the yellow international immunization card with our passports just in case when traveling.  The Dallas County Center for Disease Control on Stemmons is our source of knowledge.  We grab our card and head down there with a list of where we are going and they shoot us up.
We also take a few prescriptions of Cipro, prescription strength Lomotil,
Ambien, Benadryl and Neosporin.  Alcohol wipes.  Always take 2 pair of glasses.  When we get home we take the prescriptions back to the pharmacy.  Never throw away because that is how they get in the drinking water.

Our history

Our travels started in the 70's and the next 35 years we covered a lot of ground.  We spent years doing the Carribean from big cruise ships to our favorite, Yacht charters.  Often with the family or the Geisers.  When work was a high stress situation this was where we restored our sanity and recharged ourselves.  We went often to Europe, around the world to Egypt, Morrocco, to India, Thailand, Vietnam, Kaula Lampur, Bali.  A safari in Kenya and Tanzania.  All before magic digetal cameras.

We learned to scuba dive and found lots of peace and quiet under the water, floating free from care.  Also  memorable adventures like our first night dive in Granada.  Jumping off a boat into inky blackness is sooo scary.  Especially when we knew that all the weird creatures came out at night.

 WHY IS TIM ASLEEP WHEN THE CAPTAIN IS DRINKING AND THERE ARE NO LIFEVESTS?

                                                            PEACE AND RELAXATION

    The guys on our own boat http://www.yachtpromenade.com/  Website has same boat, different crew as our captain sold it right after we finished our charter.

                                                             We fly the flag

memories

As we prepare to take our great adventure around the world I am practicing blogging and going back and looking at some of the wonderful times we have had in our years of travelling.  It is fun to think of the new memories we will make in the next months.

So let us go back to 2001 and here we are at cooking school in Italy at Marco and Bunkey's Tuscan Villa.
This was the year we took our first trip around the world in February and then in May went to Tuscany and we also went to Italy in September of 2001.  With our family we were back at Bunkeys on the day before 9-11.