New Destinations

 Since my US Navy service in the Pacific, I have not spent much time in the western Pacific, except for New Zealand and the cities of Melbourne & Sidney in Australia.  To correct that, we have reservations for a cruise from Taipei to Perth.  Included are stops in Taiwan (2), the Philippines (1), Malaysia (1), Brunei (1), Indonesia (6), and Perth, Australia.  We do not stop in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Bangkok instead preferring lesser-publicized destinations.  We are tired of really big cities and their crowds, although we understand their attractions.   Also, the cruise ship is small, about 600 passengers, providing a relatively uncrowded atmosphere on board and access to smaller ports.

Looking at a globe, to fly from Denver to Taiwan is a very long flight passing near Japan.  Thus, we will include a stop near Tokyo for a few days (a stay in Japan could be a trip in itself) before continuing on to Taiwan.  The last time I was in Tokyo was 1968.

Next, we will fly to Taipei.  The Asian airlines flying this route were unfamiliar; I had to do some research to decide which airline to trust.  Anyone familiar with EVA Air?  The Taipei airport is actually 20 miles west of Taipei and our cruise will be departing from Keelung, 20+ miles NE of Taipei.  Best to show up a few days in advance for the cruise and also to see some of the sights in Taiwan.  We have a hotel and transportation arranged.  Again, this area could be the basis for an entire trip.

Learning what to see, and what excursions to sign up for (if any), at each of our twelve cruise stops took some research.  Perth is at the western end of Australia, a new destination for us; thus, we will be staying there for a few days to check it out.  When we were previously in New Zealand, we met some tourists from Adelaide, who encouraged us to visit their home area.  I booked a flight and hotel in Adelaide and reviewed area attractions, the wine country of Australia.  Most Australian airlines do not get very positive reviews from passengers (3.5/5).  We will mainly be flying Quantas with upgrades.

Our daughter asked, "Are you going to include Tasmania?"  After coming so far, of course we are.  We fly into Hobart, rent a car, and spend several days touring north to Launceston.  Expect cool weather there and more intimate accommodations.  I would have liked to spend another day, but, because the airlines are reported not be highly reliable, we fly to Melbourne for our last night in Australia.

Next, a Quantas Airline overnight business class flight to Oahu, crossing the international dateline, and we get to repeat the same day over again.  At Honolulu, we switch to a Southwest commuter flight to Maui where we have a car rental, and a stay arranged by Hilton.  Maui is our favorite Hawaiian Island; we have visited several times previously; this time it will be a five-star resort.  United Airlines has a direct flight from Maui which will bring us back to Denver.

This will likely be our last long trip with many new destinations.  Even at six weeks long, we only have time for a brief introduction to many of our stops.  We are running out of new places that highly interest us.  Instead, we expect future trips to be more focused on our favorite areas. Then, there is the health concern.... how much longer before we have a health issue?  A recent bout of food poisoning/virus while traveling made us realize how serious this can be.