It actually all started with my divorce. Don’t worry, this isn’t about that. Instead, it's about why I decided to take a short trip by myself but ended up booking the trip of a lifetime.
“Am I crazy....?”
As I was saying, I got divorced last year. And after we sold the house and went our separate ways, I decided I really wanted to take a trip just for myself, and it would probably be by myself. My entire life, I’ve had someone there with me. It felt like I was in a relationship since I first started dating until I was 55 years old. I didn’t know how to be by myself and I wasn’t feeling like I’d really learned to appreciate myself either. Anyway, that was why I even started thinking about taking a trip in the first place.
That said, I do love to travel. I love going to different countries and seeing other cultures. I love learning about the history of various parts of the world and seeing the art and architecture of civilizations so much older than what we have here in the United States. Sometimes traveling reminds me how fortunate I am to be an American citizen, and sometimes it reminds me how extraordinary other countries are in their own right.
I am not a sit on the beach for a week kind of traveler (although I have done that and appreciate the shear luxury of it). No, typically, when I travel, it’s with a schedule and a list of all the places I want to see. I want to see the touristy places and the off-the-beaten-path places. Touristy places are usually popular for a reason: They are amazingly beautiful or historically important or both. I also like to experience the culture and people of a place. I want to eat their food, walk the streets of their neighborhoods, and even visit their homes if given the opportunity. What I’m not doing is spending a lot of time in a hotel, or in any one place for that matter. I am moving.
My younger sister, Lynda, is a lot like me. She loves to travel, and she wants to see it all. And I think we both get our wanderlust from our dad, who started our voyage when we were kids with camping trips and road trips, and as we became adults, to places farther afield. Over the years, the three of us have taken some incredible trips together. We spent a couple of weeks in South Africa, both in the city and on safari. We rented a camper and drove around Alaska taking pictures, fishing for salmon, and whale watching. We spent a month in China, Tibet, and Cambodia
(with my mom too), learning about the history and culture of the countries and visiting their most iconic sites.
However, there were a couple of trips I didn’t go on, that I later really regretted. Specifically there were two: A 7 day rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and a 10 day cruise on the Nile seeing all the magnificent sites of ancient Egypt. It is this regret that has since shaped my decision making process. Now, when faced with the question of, “Should I really be taking a month off to go to China on a trip I honestly can’t afford?” or “Am I crazy for even considering taking a 45 day cruise?” the answer comes in the shape of two more questions, “Will I regret not going?” and “Will I regret going?” So much easier.
It was this trip to China that actually even allowed me to consider this new adventure. Because, let’s face it, who can you travel, eat, sleep, and live with for 30 days that you still want to be talking to at the end of the trip? For most people, this is a pretty short list. I know for me it is anyway. But even after being constantly together, Lynda and I were not only still talking, but maybe even more appreciative of each other. There are always concessions when you are traveling with a companion, but when you have someone who is mostly on the same page as you, the concessions tend to be small and few.
Ok, so back to the beginning. I decided I wanted to take a trip. I was thinking Barcelona or Paris, both places I’d been before, but really loved and wanted to see more of. Then one day last September, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I saw it. You know what I’m talking about. One of those click bait ads that tell you you can fly to Amsterdam and stay for 5 nights for only $299. Except this one wasn’t to Amsterdam and it wasn’t for 5 nights. This ad was selling a 45 day cruise from Singapore to London. Of course I clicked. I wanted to see the itinerary. One of my secret amusements (not so secret now) is checking out tour itineraries, critiquing them, and figuring out how many new countries I could add to my collection. It’s always fun to pretend I’m considering taking the trip, when in reality I’m not. I spend a few minutes imagining it, then I move on. Well, the itinerary on this cruise was REALLY good. Like 14 new countries good. And lots of bucket list destinations. No surprise, the ad priced rooms were all gone, so already the bait and switch was on. But the itinerary! I knew just the person who could appreciate what a fun trip this would be, if a person were ever to seriously consider it. Which I wasn’t. Really. But I had to share it with Lynda, as I knew she would get a kick out of it too. So I sent off an email with a link to the sight. “We should do this, haha.” Her reply, “We really should!”
Over the next month we circled around the trip. Then one day she called me up. “I put a deposit on a room for the cruise.” What!?!? Are we really going to do this? She then explained that the deposit was fully refundable minus $50 and we had until the middle of January to cancel. This way, if we did decide to do it, our room and price would be locked in. Ok, I can live with that. Good thinking.
So we started checking out flights. I mean, if the price of basically 2 one-way tickets (to Singapore/from London) was prohibitive, it wasn’t going to happen. Then one day Lynda sent me an email link. Total price on United $785. We booked the non-refundable plane tickets that day. And just like that, we had essentially committed ourselves to a 45 day trip around the world. It isn’t Paris, and it isn’t by myself, but it does include Barcelona, and I expect this will be oh so much better.
Our Itinerary:
Las Vegas
Singapore
Singapore
Cruising Malacca Straits
Penang, Malaysia
Phuket, Thailand
At Sea
At Sea
At Sea
Colombo, Sri Lanka
At Sea
Cochin, India (Overland to Taj Mahal)
Goa, India
Mumbai, India
At Sea
At Sea
At Sea
Salalah, Oman
At Sea
At Sea
At Sea
At Sea
Luxor, Egypt
Petra, Jordan
At Sea
Transit the Suez Canal
Jerusalem, Israel
At Sea
Santorini, Greece
Mykonos, Greece
Athens, Greece
At Sea
Valletta, Malta
Messina, Sicily, Italy
Cruising Strait of Messina
Naples Italy
Rome, Italy
At Sea
Barcelona, Spain
At Sea
Gibraltar, BCC
Casablanca & Marrakech, Morocco
At Sea
Lisbon, Portugal
At Sea
At Sea
London, UK
Las Vegas
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