Usually I do a Travel Preview post in early January. I skipped the preview in January 2018 because I suspected my “travel year” would shift…and it did. Thus, this travel preview covers 2018-2019, roughly mid-year to mid-year.
That’s not to say that I’ve been homebound. In January we flew down to Ft. Myers, FL for a long weekend touring Sanibel Island, checking out Thomas Edison’s winter retreat, and notching my 49th aquarium at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota (my 50th came last month in Copenhagen). February was spent doing local trips, mostly Abraham Lincoln oriented. March I drove down to Newport News for the annual “Battle of Hampton Roads” weekend. April I made an unplanned trip to Massachusetts when my Dad went into the hospital, as well as a quick drive to Fredericksburg for a CPRC conference. In May I did Part 1 of my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” tour through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. And then there were scads of local Lincoln Group of DC-related events, including a Lincoln-Douglas-Douglass debate at the National Archives (check the link for this once-in-a-lifetime event).
But now the fun begins. In early July Ru took a year off from her job with the goal of exploring more of the world. We began by flying to Copenhagen in late June and spent two weeks cruising around the Baltic Sea on a relatively intimate yacht of only 200 passengers, many of whom we came to know quite well. Stops included the Danish island of Bornholm, the Polish city of Gdansk (where the end of communist USSR began), the Curonian peninsula of Lithuania, the gorgeous old Estonian city of Tallinn, and then spent two days (ironically, the 4th of July) in St. Petersburg, Russia. From there we stopped in Finland’s capital Helsinki (where I had been several times when I lived in Brussels) and the oddly confusing but beautiful Finnish/Swedish Mariehamn in the Aland Islands (technically they belong to Finland, but speak Swedish, and have an autonomous government; you figure it out). The end in Stockholm was bitter-sweet.
Two days back from that trip, Ru flew to Beijing for a month, with side trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, I did Part 2 of my Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour, this time a 2905+ mile drive to, from, and around Illinois. My three main goals were to see: 1) the seven Lincoln-Douglas debate sites (plus a live debate between Lincoln [George Buss] and Douglas [Tim Connors]); 2) Rock Island, where a famous Lincoln court case involving a steamboat and a railroad bridge took place; and 3) the Illinois and Michigan Canal area, a key internal improvement project promoted by Lincoln. All these are research for my forthcoming book. Along the way I stopped in tons of tiny towns boasting some connection to Lincoln, all with the requisite Lincoln statue.
Next up is a road trip to Massachusetts and Maine to visit family in August, a September road trip from Crater Lake in Oregon to Glacier National Park in Montana, a trip to Gettysburg for the annual Lincoln Forum meeting followed by another road trip to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. We’ll likely squeeze in some shorter trips to New York City, Chicago, Charleston (SC), Richmond, and other locations that don’t take too much planning.
Immediately after Thanksgiving we’ll fly to Hong Kong to board the sister of our Baltic yacht, which will take us around several Philippine islands, then to the two parts of Malaysia on Borneo, a day in Brunei, then end in Singapore. Since we’ve now both been to Hong Kong (separately), we’ll focus a few days of extra time on Singapore and probably a trip up to Kuala Lumpur. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to Indonesia while we’re there.
Into 2019 the plans are still fuzzy, but in the works are possible trips to Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Rio, Machu Picchu, Costa Rica, and more. One relatively sure thing is a month in Paris – the plan is to rent an apartment in the spring so I can do research on a yet another book in the works, with side trips to Brussels, Lyon, Lille, and perhaps other European locales. A friend just mentioned that her family is going to Iceland next month, and since Iceland is on my “must-see” list, it’s a good bet we’ll try to get there in 2019. We also had to pass on a September trip to Petra, so I’m hopeful we can squeeze that visit in within the next year or two along with Egypt, Israel, and environs. And then there is the long-awaited African safari we’ll try to coordinate with my brother and his wife.
I’ve been to over 50 countries (depending on how you count), but there are still so many places I want to see. So many cultures, so little time (and money).
Of course, I’m also working on several books and I’ve yet to figure out how to write productively while traveling. I did have a productive writing and editing day on the Baltic trip during our one day at sea (i.e., not in a port). The December trip is longer and includes four individual days at sea, so there is some hope. But I’m going to have to be more efficient with my writing time (including the time used to write this preview).
Which is what I’ll do right now, as soon as the washer repairman finishes diagnosing my temperamental machine. At least I got this post written while he worked.
Go to the main blog and scroll up and down to see posts on the Baltic, Chasing Abraham Lincoln, and other trips as they happen (or happened). Or keyword search at the top of the page for specific locations and evens. You should also go to Ru’s blog to see how she is documenting her year of discovery.
David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
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Impressed with all of this. I also appreciate that Ru has taken time off… something I encouraged my husband to do last year, and to great effect. Some of the best times were spent in more-or-less one place for several weeks. It was nice to be able to get a feel for a place and the local culture. And it also allowed for a few adventures.
Curious about the Philippine islands tour. And I’d love to hear an honest assessment of the Baltic tour. Happy travels!
One thing we’re not known for is spending a lot of time in one place, certainly not several weeks. We tend to keep moving, which is good for hitting many different places but not so much for getting into depth in any one. In contrast, this little yacht cruise does give us a chance to meet and get to know a smaller group of fellow travelers (for better or worse). As Diane Rehm pointed out (she was on board and led three discussion events), 197 of the 200 passengers looked like me, though much wealthier (and generally older). The other three were Asian women (Chinese, Korean, Singaporean). Not a lot of diversity on board, but I did meet some interesting people and had some interesting discussions.
The Baltics were nice. I’ve spent time recently in Copenhagen and Stockholm so mostly I ignored them on this trip. In Helsinki I played tour guide and saw a few places I missed when I went there for work in the past. It was my first time in all the other places so I tried to absorb as much as possible. In a lot of ways they were typical European, including St. Petersburg, with big churches and squares and cobblestones, but each had their own nuances (e.g., Gdansk’s shipyards and shades of Lech Walesa). Biking around Aland was fun, as was the trip down the Curonian peninsula, because the other stops were mostly city and it was nice to get out into the country a bit. Getting through passport control in St. Petersburg was interesting – 5+ minutes to investigate my papers, not to mention the woman picking up my tour ticket in frustration and leaving her booth to check with someone else to see if I was legit enough to enter the country. A few anxious moments there.
In the Philippines we’ll stop at Hundred Islands, spend two days in Manila, then hop around to three additional islands to get a flavor of the country. A friend of mine had spent some time there and promised to give me some tips. On Borneo we’re hoping to get into the rain forest (details still being worked out), plus Brunei will be the first fully Muslim-governed country I’ve visited, so I’ll be interested to see what it’s like.
Thanks for the response. Interesting qualitative analysis regarding the people on the cruise. I’m wondering if it’s characteristic of the particular route, or of such cruises in general. I think a big advantage of the small cruises is that you’re not being accosted with the mass-tourist experience at every port. Biking around Aland sounds great to me. As for St. Petersburg, sounds like you’re just not associated with the right influence peddlers. 😉
I had to look up Hundred Islands. Beautiful area… apparently relatively unspoiled. My friend in the Philippines lives on a small island between Cebu and Leyte. I guess some of the coastal areas around Cebu are considered good for scuba and snorkeling. The character of the Philippines varies greatly from region to region.
Borneo is another place I’d like to see. Sarawak has recently acquired a reputation for being something of an ex-pat haven in the way ChaingMai was when I lived there. Don’t know much about Brunei other than what I’ve read. Seems like a fairly peaceful and reasonably developed country.
The big hotel ships (2000-4000 people) cater to lower income people and families. Windstar caters to wealthier people who are generally older and less interested in rubbing knees with younger children and people “below their lifestyle.” It’s kind of snobby in that way, but the smaller size of the boat means it costs more per person so there’s some self-selection involved. I liked it because I got to talk with people of generally high education and life achievement. Frankly, there were some incredibly fascinating people on board, and with Diane Rehm being there it stimulated some high level discussions (I was actually surprised at how many people agreed with her point of view considering the demographics of the passengers). Tours were generally smaller (I think there were 15 of us biking).
BTW, despite being in the Baltic Sea, almost everyone on board was American, with a few Canadians and Australians. Of the three Asians, two have been living in the US for 21-40 years, and the third for that time in Australia, so diversity was not a strong point.
I’m looking forward to the Philippines trip for its diversity. I don’t have any friends living there (that I know of), but know several people either from there or visited who mirror your variability from island to island comment. Snorkeling should definitely be on the shore trip itinerary. In Malaysian-Borneo I’m looking to get into the wilds, and in Brunei experience the Muslim culture.
Alas, before that I have to put a couple thousand more miles on my car driving to Maine and at last a thousand more in a rental car wiggling between Crater Lake and Glacier National Parks. It’s going to be busy year.
You might be surprised that among most of those whom I know here, I’d probably have the most disagreement with Diane Rehm. However, it also sounds like I might also be considered among the riff-et-raff on such a cruise. 😉
Island jungles in a Muslim country… I used to know an American woman and her husband who were working at a petroleum faculty north of the city of Medan on Sumatra. She had some interesting stories…
With regard to staying in one place for awhile… during the year my husband took off, we rented a place in Taipei right across the street from Daan Park (Rido Hotel, which people either love or hate… I love the place). At any rate, we stayed there for three weeks, then stayed another week in Kaohsiung (where I went over the top at the Ambassador for our anniversary). We both love Taiwan, and it was great to be able to explore like someone who lives there for an entire month. After a week in Hong Kong (over the New Year), we spent most of the next month wandering central Honshu (Japan) where we’ve made the acquaintance of a knowledgeable, if not rather colorful local mountain guide.
Sometimes, I think it’s good to slow down and perhaps see less, but more closely. We didn’t end up with a lot of passport stamps during the trip. But I can tell you where to get the best back-street noodles or roof-top beer in Taipei, where to experience the most awesome commuter station in Kaohsiung, or where to meet a winking goddess in Tainan, or where to eat with the local Filipino population in Hong Kong, or where to enjoy an uncrowded Japanese hot-spring with a significant other.
Actually, I’m not surprised. 🙂
I wouldn’t mind hearing those Sumatra stories. Some day over a beer perhaps.
Your “stay in one place” idea sounds great. I’ve never been good at sitting for very long, which is probably why I hopped jobs so often. Plus there are so many places I still want to see in the world. That said, I probably could use some time in one place for a while so I can absorb myself in it and learn more. I sort of have that planned for next spring when the idea is to rent an apartment in Paris for research purposes. Even then, however, I’ll definitely have to hop over to Brussels to continue research, hit Lille to see an art museum I’ve always wanted to go to, and Lyon to catch up with a friend (or two if the second one works out his situation and moves back there). That will at least give me some time to get to know Paris, though in all honesty I’ve been there a half a dozen times already. Not to mention it’s Paris, not some place really unique.
I’ll be sure to get your advice when I finally get to Taiwan (and out of the Taipei airport).