As the trip draws to a close, I have some reflections and general ideas that I wanted to write about. I've alluded to some of these ideas in some of the posts but this is just pulling these ideas together.
TV - It is amazing to us that we could go almost four weeks without watching TV - except for a couple of World Cup games in bars along the way. TV becomes such a part of life, or maybe a way of life, that we take it for granted. It was kind of nice not being "burdened" by it.
Internet - Like TV, the Internet is a way of life. All of our hotels had free Internet, and many of the airports did as well. However, out on the streets, in strange cities where they speak strange languages, not having the Internet is a real hardship. Did we get by, certainly, but there were times that it really would have come in handy. Although getting lost and walking down streets when we were unsure where they led, did provide a sense of adventure! We also carried paper maps of each city that we visited and referred to the map a lot. It usually didn't have the detail that we could have used. The Hotel Amira, in Istanbul, gave us a WiFi hotspot to take with us when we walked around.
Travel Agents - For our honeymoon, 44 years ago, we engaged a travel agent to secure the airplane tickets, hotels, rental car, etc. This time, we were our own travel agents - but we had great help called TripAdvisor, Expedia, Kayak, all of the airline and hotel websites, and email. The TripAdvisor recommendations were spot on - every hotel exceeded my expectations (Joani didn't know any of these arrangements - surprise!). Kayak and Expedia helped us get our total airfare to one-fourth of the first estimate. The airline and hotel websites really helped to fill in the blanks. And email allowed us to communicate, sometimes multiple times, with the airlines and hotels to make sure that our arrangements were perfect - and they were.
FaceTime - When we are home, we are always FaceTiming with Ryley, Jason, and our granddaughters. When we planned this trip we wondered now effective FaceTime would be, given the free hotel networks that we would be using. It turns out that there was no problem whatsoever. Even in Bali, which is on the other side of the world, FaceTime was great. Our hotel in Istanbul gave us a hotspot to carry with us so we could have Internet in the streets. Thus on our cruise on the Bosporus we also did FaceTime. That was a kick - for us, but it was midnight for Ryley and Jason. Sometimes technology does get in the way!
People - For as long as we have been traveling together, and that's in excess of 44 years, we have always found people to be nice, agreeable, helpful, and they just go out of their way to please. When we would take out our paper map, in whatever city we were in, people on the street would stop and ask if we needed help, and in most cases, in English. At every hotel, the people behind the desk were only too happy to suggest restaurants or tour guides, etc. And in every city, unfortunately, we did see the Ugly American. Not as many as we used to – but then again, we didn’t see as many Americans traveling as we used to!
Walking - We walked and walked and walked. It is amazing how, when we travel, walking is the preferred mode of transportation! At some point, my Fitbit stopped working, but I really don't need to know how far we walked - we just know that we walked. Walking also is a much slower way of getting involved in the environment that you are visiting. On a tour bus or a taxi, the speed is really out of your control. On your feet, you have ultimate control. Walk, walk, walk!
Water - When I grew up in New York City there was no real bottled water, unless you counted Seltzer. But New York water was pure and clean and fresh - sounds like a laundry detergent commercial! Living in Arizona, the water really is terrible, so I drink only bottled water. I could drink the tap water, but ugh! Whenever we travel, I only drink bottled water. I only brush my teeth with bottled water. In the shower I clench my teeth and my lips very tightly so that when I wash my hair I do not get shower water into my mouth, and if any does I spit, spit, spit it out.
As we travel to all of these third world countries, it is apparent that bottled water is an absolute necessity - not just for us, but for the people who live there as well. They obviously can purify it, because that is what comes in the bottles. They just can't deliver it to the houses in water pipes without it getting contaminated in some fashion. If they drink the bad water they get sick. If we drink the bad water, not only do we get sick, but we lose precious time from our vacation. Montezuma's Revenge or Bali Belly are no fun.
Beach - A beach is a beach, is a beach! It makes no difference whether you face the sunset or it is at your back, whenever you are on a beach, it is a good day. On this trip we spent time at the beach in Tel Aviv, Barcelona, and in Sanur, Bali. On none of those beaches were we disturbed by people hawking their wares. The beach in Tel Aviv was one of the most crowded that we have ever seen, but it was clean and fun. The beaches in the Western Hemisphere could take a lesson.
Kids traveling - We saw a lot of young kids traveling with their parents. In most cases, these were well-behaved kids who obviously travel regularly. It didn't matter what language they spoke or what country we were in, the commonality was that most kids had an iPhone or iPad in their hands and they were very engaged in whatever they were doing. Thus they were not running around or making a lot of noise.
Thank you - When we travel we enjoy going to counties where English is not the primary language. You can always find someone who speaks English, but sometimes you have to look hard. Whenever we get to a county the first thing I ask is, "How do you say 'Thank You'?" We find that this goes a long way toward being able to communicate with the people that we came to see and experience.
Best - People have already started to ask us, "What was your favorite city?" "What was the best airline?" "Where was the best food?" There is no one answer to any of these questions. Every city was different, and every city was special. Every airline had pros and cons, but we never had a bad flight, and they were invariably on time. The food was outstanding and astounding wherever we went. We don't need to have a "best" to know that we enjoyed it all.
Flight Attendants - One of the things that stood out, from our first international flight on Jet Airways, to our last on China Airlines, was the pride that the flight attendants seemed to take being a flight attendant. The uniforms were crisp and well-tailored. They either changed clothes or accessorized with vests or aprons or sweaters during the flights. Their hair was never out of place and very much in concert with the uniforms. I got the feeling that being a flight attendant is viewed, by them, as a special job and they strut their stuff. Most of them speak multiple languages, or at least someone on their team speaks a different language so they can almost always communicate as a team if they can figure out the language that a passenger is speaking. They are most gracious and try to provide the best possible service.
Suggestions - Traveling is an adventure. Some of the excitement comes from discovering places with your travel partner. When people ask me for suggestions, I am happy to provide them. And we had a number of people give us suggestions for this trip. But in reality, discovering it for yourself is so much more rewarding. Thus if you ask me, I will give you suggestions, but I will not just expound for the sake of inflating my ego.
World Cup - The World Cup is the World Series. There, I've said it - sacrilege! In previous years, we have seen the World Cup while peering into a bar window in Sausalito, California; we have seen the Women's World Cup in a bar in Santa, Fe, New Mexico; and on this trip we saw the World Cup finals at 3:00 in the morning in a bar in Sanur, Bali, Indonesia. In each case, the crowd was multi-multi-national. There is no other sporting event - not even the Olympic Games, which so envelop so many people at the same time, regardless of their country or their pocketbook. What a kick! What a pun! That was my goooooooooalllllllll!!!!!!!!
Religion - We experienced many of the world's great religions on this trip. Most of the people in Barcelona were Catholic, in Israel they were Jewish, in Istanbul they were Muslim, and in Bali they were Hindu. The buildings and shrines that represent these religions are so beautiful and so sacred. It is sad that so many bad things happen, all over world, based on religious persecution or fanaticism. While I am not religious, it seems to me that a religious person should understand that whoever God is, or whenever God is, he or she, in all religions, is a merciful, peaceful entity. I cannot understand all of the pain and suffering and deaths that happen in the name of religion. And not just today, but for thousands of years. How sad!
Taxis - Other than walking, once we were in a city, we used taxis as our mode of transportation. In some cases it was spelled Taksi, but it sounded like Taxi. In many cases, while there was a meter, you had to check with the driver so you could agree on a price. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, it seemed like every taxi driver would say, "I'll give you a fair price of xx Sheckels. I would say, "No, please use the meter." "No problem," they would say. And every time the meter would be cheaper than the "fair" price that they quoted - every time!
Languages - In the 44 years that we have been traveling together, we have seen some things change. For example, you rarely see a squatty-potty anymore. On the other hand, some things never change. While the locals all seem to speak their language, plus some semblance of English, I can't say that the opposite is true. Even my Spanish, after studying it for two years in Junior High School, two years in High School, and two years in college, you a would think I could converse. Oh, I can get by, but barely. I should have been more motivated to learn the language, as we live in a global society that is shrinking everyday.
Blogging - I didn't realize how much fun blogging the trip would be - it was also a lot of work. We began the trip with three cameras: a large Canon with a 12x zoom, a pocket Canon with a 4x zoom, and my iPhone. We typically carried the cameras for the first day or so, then the large Canon would be left in the hotel safe, then after a week or so, we left the small Canon in the safe and just trusted the iPhone camera. Would we have gotten better pictures with the better zoom - yes. Would the weight of the camera been intrusive to us enjoying our walks - absolutely. The purpose of the trip is to experience it – not to photograph it!
Love and Respect - We have talked, a number of times during this trip, about how well we travel together. After 44 years, we certainly love each other and that helps us get along, but maybe more important than love is the mutual respect that we have for each other. It is not just the heart that lets us have fun together, but also the brain. We are always looking out for each other and bending over backwards to compromise or accede to the other person's needs, desires, or ideas. If you haven't tried it - give it a shot!
Amazing Race - This trip reminded us of The Amazing Race - the best show on TV. We even had some of the same experiences or, at least, similar ones. At the end of the last episode, when the winner is finally crowned, Phil says something like, "39 days, 14 countries, 24,000 miles, and you Fred and Ethel, are the winners of one million dollars and the Amazing Race." So here goes the Share and Share Alike version, "30 days, 8 countries, 14 cities or towns, 25363 miles, 55 hours and 20 minutes in the air, 13 hours and 45 minutes in layovers, and you, Mark and Joani, just had an amazing experience.
Thanks to all of our readers for sharing it with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment