Seattle to Los Angeles

Leaving Seattle with a beautiful sunrise

Usually January is when we take our 'get out of DC/Winter' vacation. This year because we knew we would be in Seattle for a longer time for Christmas and the 80th Birthday surprise we decided to tag on a few extra days and instead of flying somewhere far away, we stayed in country, but we still desired a little warmth and sun! (We got some warmth but left the sun in Seattle!)

The day after my mom's birthday, we caught the train from Seattle down to California. The train left about 9AM and arrived in Santa Barbara the following day around 6PM. We have taken long distance trains in Thailand/Malaysia as well as South Africa and we have wanted to take a slower journey like this in the US for some time. We also splurged (but not really much - it's really quite affordable to get a small compartment so we each had a bed to sleep in at night. This option also included all meals for the trip. The compartment was tight (there is a larger option) but from there we could look out the window and watch America go by.

Plane fuselages lined up on rail cars outside of Boeing Field

 

It was interesting to pass through Tacoma, our former hometown.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Finally...Bangkok to Butterworth

Wednesday, July 1
Singapore’s Changi Airport lived up to all it’s hype even when we arrived at 3:15 this morning. If only all airports were this great! We were dragging a little but our spirits perked up a little when I was upgraded to business class from Singapore to Tokyo (already had been able to get business from Narita to LAX when we originally booked our tickets.) Andrea was given exit rows which we will also take any day especially since we have lost our elite status this year. (Since we used miles to do this trip this past year, we haven't been able to earn any miles and maintain any sort of elite status – of which one of the many perks is pretty much always being guaranteed to get exit seats for the tall wife.) Seriously, I don’t know why there are still people who fly and don’t keep track of their miles and earning status. Frequent flier plans aren’t what they used to be but if you can get a few little perks in today’s travel, it is worth it. Our flight from Narita is delayed for a couple hours so I am in Delta/Northwest’s swanky Sky Club watching all the activity down on the runway. There’s a post that will come at some point on the Delta/Northwest merger but right now we know there are a few people wanting to know what has happened in the past month. Since we didn’t take our computer with us as we traveled, we had very limited internet activity – but we have been keeping notes and writing some posts so hopefully in the next few days we will catch you up on some of the highlights. We’ve covered a lot of miles and the beds have started to add up again as have the array of experiences and people we have encountered. Apologies if it seems like you are just getting highlights or snapshots of the past month since we checked out of our apartment in Bangkok - you probably are! We’ll do our best...

Monday, May 25
I’ve only done this train journey from Bangkok to Butterworth/Penang in Malaysia one time before. Twenty years ago when I had to do a visa run (leave Thailand to get a new visa) my mom and I made the 24 hour journey. Back then the train wasn’t airconditioned – aircon is nice and keeps you from arriving with black soot in every orifice of your body, but it also keeps out all the sounds and smells of the country as you snake your way down through the fields and jungles of South Thailand into Malaysia.

One vignette from the train…we ended up in a carriage with a large loud tour group from another country close by Thailand. Every country has them whether Americans, Chinese, Vietnamese, you name it – a group of tourists that just don’t represent their country that well and perpetuate whatever particular negative stereotype that exists. This group – especially the men did a grand job of this, taking off their shoes and socks, putting their feet(!) up on the window (something you really don’t do in Thailand…) Needless to say they had not endeared themselves to us. At one point Andrea walked down the carriage to go to the bathroom. Upon return they all started calling (shouting) 'Photo Photo' to her clearly never having seen such a tall white woman. Andrea politely obliged them taking individual photos with each one until one man wanted to get a little close and started puckering up and moving in for a kiss. At this point Andrea drew the line! Did I say the men had all been drinking? No one was intoxicated but they were all in good spirits! They had all been passing around a communal wine glass which they were pouring their country's brand of whiskey. After Andrea returned to her seat, one man needed to do a reshoot so she gamely stood up again. Shortly thereafter another of the men brought us a packet of Ritz crackers to show their gratitude followed by another man who brought me...you know it the communal whiskey glass. Nothing offered to Andrea though! Not being a whiskey lover I did my part not to offend international and cultural relations... and prayed. And this from someone who doesn't drink from the communal communion cup at churches!

My parents went to Penang (an island just off the coast of Malaysia – still often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient) forty years ago for their honeymoon. When my mom and I went we stayed at the YMCA and twenty years later, Andrea and I ended up at their too. Great, cheap, place to stay. Wish the Y’s in the US were a little like this. We didn’t see too much of Penang as we were only there a night – we did walk all around Georgetown and you quickly realize why it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique culture and history most clearly revealed in the largest collection of intact pre-WWII buildings (over 1700) that show off the rich diversity of the people and architecture of this island.

Penang is now connected to the mainland with a 13KM bridge in addition to the regular ferries. It is not a sleepy little island any more but it still retains much of its charm. From Penang we caught a bus (about five hours) to the Cameron Highlands, the location of Chefoo School, where I went to elementary school.

(Photo to right - old temple in Penang)

(Photo below -Sign before you board the ferry to Penang - what you can't bring onboard with you - cats, dogs, birds and cows...clearly in the past there were some issues!)

Duncan

January 17 – February 5, Part 1 CPT to JNB to AMS to SEA to PDX to NRT to SIN to BKK – 4 Continents, 2 weeks

It’s been almost a month since our last post and we have covered some ground by almost every mode of transportation except being pulled by something with four legs. Here’s a brief summary.

The Premier Classe train from Capetown to Joburg was great. If you are ever in SA and want a great way to see the country in style at a really affordable cost this is it. We arrived at the Capetown train station early Saturday morning on January 17 and were welcomed into the Premier Classe lounge where we were offered tea and snacks. Our bags were whisked away to reappear in our little compartment when we boarded later. We’ll include a couple photos but basically we were waited on hand and foot for the next 26 hours as we chugged across the South African landscape. All meals were included, one course after another – we could have rolled off the train when we arrived the next morning after witnessing an amazing sunrise as only Africa can do. It was a great way to wrap up our time in a enigmatic country we have come to know a little better and love even more than when we landed two and a half months earlier. Unfortunately though the experience on the train was great, the powers that be are not doing a great job of promoting it, so there were only 19 passengers on a 20 carriage train that can hold 124 guests!



We flew to Amsterdam from Joburg on an 11 hour flight which turned out to be kind of fun as the Purser was retiring after 38 years flying for KLM. She had all her family on board and all the flight attendants and crew were helping her celebrate her last flight. Her daughter is also a purser for KLM and was also on the flight. We only had a couple hours in AMS and then on Northwest for another ten hours back to Seattle where we were picked up at the airport with a warm welcome by Andrea’s parents (which was good given that it was a little colder than we have grown accustomed to) as well as shortly thereafter by Duncan’s parents where we stayed except for two nights down in Tacoma with friends. We were really thankful for this time with our parents and all they had done for us during our travels so far.



We are also so thankful for our renters who have made our house into a lovely home for themselves AND have looked after the chickens and kept all the plants alive. No small feat! This was really encouraging and reassuring to us and a continued sign of God looking after us. Each of us were able to connect with a few of our friends and catch up on a little of what has been happening in our old stomping grounds over the past few months. Much of our time was spent taking care of business – doctor appointments, getting our taxes done and organizing and repacking for our next leg of the trip. Time flew and it got a little hectic at the end but by Feb 1 we were ready to go again.






Duncan