Tokyoairporter.com Review

Recently, I did a Globus tour of Japan. I'd never toured Japan before and while I was looking forward to visiting it for the first time, I was a bit daunted by it as well. Their language is hugely different from English and, their culture is very different too. Still, one of the great things about Globus is your tour director is with you from the start of the tour till it's end. The tour director knows the language, the culture and their way around. So, I felt at ease until I got a notice from Globus that there wasn't going to be anyone to meet me at Tokyo Narita Airport and, I'd have to take a bus (ticket provided) from the airport to the Tokyo Hilton where my tour group would stay for the first two nights of the tour. (Globus claimed this was the most efficient way to get their travelers from the airport to the hotel.) So, for my first 2 hours in Japan, I was going to be on my own trying to make my way to my hotel. Crap!

That's when I got the idea of using a private car and driver. As some of my readers may remember, I used one in Stockholm, Sweden to get me from the airport to their cruise ship terminal for my Baltic cruise on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas. By hiring a car and driver, someone would be waiting for me at the airport who knew their way around and would be able to get me to my hotel.

I checked various companies. Viator gave me a price of $394 which was the highest I found. Another company I requested a quote from told me $340 with an extra $35 for an English speaker. Tokyoairporter.com came in at the cheapest with a flat price of 19,000 yen which with the current exchange rate broke out to about $160. Twice during the quote request and when I confirmed my request reservation, I said the driver must speak English. I haven't forgotten my misadventure in Cartagena, Colombia and, I didn't want to subject my travel friend Harvey who was going on the tour with me to that.

Tokyoairporter.com requests prepayment via Paypal which surprised me. Also, they will hit you with a 7.2% charge if you use a credit card. As I was determined to use one, that brought the price up to roughly $180.

On April 5, 2016, after flying over 14 hours non-stop from Washington Dulles International, I arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport. To my dismay, they had a HUGE line to get through customs. It ended up taking me over an hour and a half to get through the line. My travel friend and I both wondered if our driver would still be waiting for us when we finally got our suitcases and exited the arrival area. To our delight, there was a driver with my last name on her sign.

We quickly realized our driver's understanding of English was iffy at best. Still, she seemed to know what she was doing. She directed us outside to a vehicle parking lot where she indicated we should wait while she got the vehicle. The vehicle turned out to be a mini-van which was fine with us. The lady apparently had been told somehow where we were to go and plugged it into her Japanese Global Positioning System i.e. GPS. Then, we took off for our hotel.

Along the way, we passed one of the buses we might've have taken otherwise so, Tokyoairporter.com is a faster way to get to downtown Tokyo. The driver knew what she was doing and took us directly to the Hilton. I think we got there in roughly an hour. While I wasn't pleased about her apparent lack of understanding of English, she did a fine job and got us where we had to go. My friend and I tipped her $5 each and thanked her as best we could.

Overall, I was very pleased with Tokyoairporter.com. They're cheaper than other services but, they're competent and give good service. I'd definitely use them again and would recommend them if you need a car and driver to take you to your hotel from the airport in Tokyo. Happy travels all!

MyGlobus Website

I don't know if I've previously mentioned Globus's relatively new website where folks traveling with them can book optional excursions in advance. The website is: https://my.globusjourneys.com/. The service is like the service cruise ship lines offer. You can book and pay in advance various optional excursions that Globus will be offering on your tour with them. Example: on my tour (Journey Through The Holy Land With Jordan), Globus will be offering an excursion called Roman Race Show at the Dead Sea. I believe it's where you sit in a real Roman amphitheater and watch a Roman chariot race as well as fake gladiatorial combats. It should be pretty neat. The MyGlobus website enables me to pay for this excursion in advance so, I don't have a charge bill after I return from my tour. It can be nice in that way.

However, there are some drawbacks to Globus's program. For starters, you must book and pay for any excursions you want to take on this website by 10 days before your tour. Also, should you realize you need to cancel, you must cancel by 10 days before your tour. Otherwise, you won't get any of your money back. Lastly, should you decide while on tour you don't want to do the excursion, you can't cancel and get a refund. The only way you'll only get a refund at that time is if the excursion cancels for some reason.

Should you decide to pre-book on the MyGlobus website, Globus advises you to print a copy of your receipt. Your tour director should know what excursions you'll have paid for but, it doesn't hurt to have a copy proving you booked and paid for them. Also, not all excursions listed on the MyGlobus website may be able to be pre-booked. I had this happen with my tour. The website lists a tour called Little Petra but for unknown reasons, it wouldn't let me book it. Depending on availability, I may be able to book it during the tour.

If you decide you don't want to book excursions with the MyGlobus website, you'll still be able depending on availability to book excursions with the tour director during the tour. There are 2 real advantages to booking on the website. First, you're able to pay in advance for more of things you'll do on the trip so you avoid having to carry the cash to pay for them or a nasty charge card bill when you get home. Second, you are guaranteed a place on the excursion. I don't remember any excursions I've been on with Globus that have sold out but, it doesn't hurt to have your name on the list. However, you should be certain that you want to do the excursion. If you're in doubt, I'd recommend you hold off till you're on your tour. That way, you won't lose any money if you decide you don't want to do the excursion. Happy Travels All!

Globus Travel Documents

I received my Globus travel documents this Monday. The documents are very important as they tell me exactly what Globus will provide during the tour. They list what meals, excursions and hotels are included in the tour price. They are a legal document that Globus is bound to honor. If a particular item isn't in the documents, Globus doesn't have to provide it. That is why it is very important to review the documents for any errors. If you find any, you need to contact the person or agency you booked the tour with immediately to get the error corrected. In my case, I pre-paid for 3 optional excursions on the tour. I saw the documents didn't show this. I contacted my travel agent and, he told me to print a copy of the excursion receipt so I can show the Globus tour director that I did pay for the excursions and if they're cancelled, I'll be due a refund. The documents are important too in that they tell you where you'll be on a certain date. This is important in case anyone needs to reach you. If you send them a copy of the documents, they'll know what hotel you'll be staying at so they can reach you there. Lastly, the documents show what airport transfers and an extra nights you may have booked. The transfers are important because they tell you if someone from Globus will be there to meet you or if you're on your own to get to your hotel. The extra nights are important as these are vouchers that you'll give to your hotel so Globus will pay them. Also, it confirms your extra hotel reservations. I'll be staying an extra night in Tel Aviv, Israel at the beginning of the tour so I can recover from the long travel time. I'll be traveling around 23 hours from the time I arrive at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWIA) to catch my connection to Toronto, Canada and fly on to Tel Aviv. I haven't forgotten the time I fly from BWIA to Newark International and on to Copenhagen. I had to try to stay up the whole day till 4:30 in the afternoon when we had our first tour meeting. By the time the meeting happened, I was dead beat tired and actually fell asleep repeatedly during the meeting. Because of this, when I did my tour/river cruise of Egypt, I went a day early and, it worked out really well. When the tour kicked off in Egypt, I was well rested and ready to start seeing the wonders of the country. It should be the same with my trip to Israel and Jordan. If you're going to be traveling a long time to go on a Globus tour, I'd strongly recommend you book an extra pre-tour night so, you'll be in good shape when the tour kicks off. That way, you won't miss anything at the first group meeting. Cheers all.

Israel Trip Update

All looked good to go for my May trip to Israel and Jordan until the beginning of this week. That's why I found out I need a visa to get into Jordan. Like Egypt, Jordan makes it really easy to get a tourist visa. You arrive at the Amman Airport, pay $20 (I believe) and, you get your single entry visa. However, that's where Globus mucked things up. Israel and Jordan were involved what I believe was the 6 Day War where Jordan lost the West Bank. Jordan apparently maintains that the West Bank still belongs to them. There is a crossing from Israel to Jordan called the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge. As far as I was able to learn, at all other entry points into Jordan, you can buy a visa to enter Jordan. The exception is the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge because of the West Bank issue. As luck would have it, that is the entry point that Globus uses for my Jordan tour extension. :-( Why they have to enter Jordan there, I don't know. But, I do know I was very miffed when I found out. However, I am glad I found out NOW vice going to Israel, doing the tour, leaving to go to Jordan and finding out I couldn't get a visa to enter the country. Then, Jordan's visa rules made things more complicated. You can get an on-line visa with Jordan HOWEVER, you can't get that until you're within 30 days of your trip to Jordan. Sorry, I'm not going to wait till 30 days or less to get my visa. I want it now in my hands so I know there isn't going to be a problem getting in when I leave in May. This tour costs too much (over $6,000!) to take any chances on last minute screw ups. The alternative is to get a 6 month multiple entry visa which costs $97! OUCH!!!!! Keep in mind, that doesn't include the cost of using a visa service to get the thing unless I want to travel to Washington D.C. and visit the Jordanian embassy myself (not thrilled with that idea). So, I'm looking into cancelling my May trip to Israel and Jordan. As luck would have it, I'd discussed future travel plans for next year around the same months and, my friend Harvey and I had agreed that he would do his Russia tour (no thanks) and, I would do my Bermuda and Boston (no thanks on Harvey's part) Royal Caribbean cruise. We'll just move these up a year. This has the added advantage for me in that I'll go Emerald with Royal Caribbean's frequent cruiser program (Crown & Anchor Society) and, I'll go Diamond in November with the back-to-back Greek Islands cruises. Also, I'd like to visit my Dad after the May cruise. I vowed I would try to make it home more often after the unexpected death of my step-mom Kay. I still haven't forgotten that. We'll see what works out. Stay tuned.

Nazca Plain Drawings

One of the most fascinating mysteries of Peru are the famous Nazca plain drawings. The drawings can only be fully seen from up in the air. Some of the drawings stretch for miles. While there are a number of trapezoids (shown above) and lines, there are also drawings of a hummingbird (shown above), spider, monkey, dog, whale and an owl/space man as well as others. The drawings were hacked out of the parched soil and because the area gets very little rain, they've endured for centuries. The last accepted theory that I heard as why the drawings were made was that they were appeals or offerings to the mountain gods. The ancient Nazcans believed it was the mountain gods that provided the needed water that they used to grow their crops. All the water in the region came from the mountains.

These pictures were taken in an airplane I flew on out of Pisac, Peru. The plane flew to the Nazca Plain and descended to 1,800 feet. The aircrew would bank left then right so passengers on both sides of the airplane could get pictures of the various drawings. Due to the tight banking, the airplane ride could be one exciting ride. Still, it was well worth it as it was really something to see these famous mysterious drawings. This was part of my Legacy of the Incas Globus tour which I did in January 2011.

Globus Legacy of the Incas Tour

With the conclusion of my recent cruise on the Navigator of the Seas, I've started preparing for my future Globus tour of Peru. The tour is called Legacy of the Incas and lasts 10 days in Peru. We cover a lot of territory. We start in Lima, drive to Ica where we board a flight to see the Nazca Plain drawings from the air, take a boat ride to the Ballestas Islands, drive back to Lima, fly to Cuzco, drive to the Sacred Valley, take a train to and from Machu Picchu, drive back to Cuzco where we fly to Juliaca and drive to Lake Titicaca, visit Taquile Island and the Uros Islands, drive back to Juliaca, fly back to Lima and finish with a farewell dinner. That is a brief summary of travel and some of the things I'll get to do during the tour.

One item I was very interested in was the Internet access at the various hotels I'll be staying at. I'd like to be able to post current updates on the trip like I did on my recent cruise. To my delight, I found out every hotel I'll be staying offers free Wifi access. Because of that, I plan to take my laptop on the trip so I can post updates. For any readers I have, you'll get to read of my adventures in Peru shortly after they happen and possibly see some pictures I'll take during the tour. So, stay tuned for future adventures. In approximately 60 days or so, I'll be departing again for my first trip to South America.

Future Travel

While I've been slogging away at work and counting the days till I go on my long awaited trip to Ireland, I've also been working on other future travel plans. Some have been set in motion while others are still in the consideration phase. The one that has been set in motion is where I'll be doing a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. As I mentioned before on this blog, I don't care to go for a long spell again between trips. The trips help me deal with the stress at work plus, they make it worth putting in the long hours there. My next major trip will be to Peru which in January 2011 which is over 8 months away. That's a long time and, I decided to look for a short trip to tide me over till I went on that adventure. To my surprise, I found a nice deal with Royal Caribbean. They were offering a 5 day cruise balcony cabin for $588 per person. As I like having my own room/cabin, that meant $1,176 not including tax, gratuities and airfare. I thought that was very reasonable. Plus, the cruise visited places I've never been to before. I'll get to visit Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. Royal Caribbean has seriously awesome excursion out of Cozumel where you get to visit the Mayan city of Tulum. I was so pleased with this cruise that I booked it and paid for it fully. So, this is one travel plan that is a definite go.

The travel plan that is in the consideration phase is a Globus tour of Japan. Why Japan? Because of the fascinating history and culture. You have the legendary samurai and the battles that led to the creation of the Japanese Shogunate. I read James Clavell's novel Shogun and was enthralled by it even though it was a SERIOUS read (over 1,200 pages). Culture wise, you have the beautiful gardens which are places of reflection and calm unlike western gardens. Also, there is really cool bullet trains (I like trains) and the airs of the orient. There are the fascinating temples and Torii gates. I think it would be something to do a tour of Japan. The downsides I can see are the long flight to get there and the cost. A tour of Japan will likely be one of the most expensive tours I'll ever do. Still, it would be something to see the land of the rising sun. Hopefully, I can make it happen next year. We'll see. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Ireland Tour Update

To my surprise, it seems Globus was on the ball and realized there was a conflict with my airplane reservations. Apparently, they realized there was no way I was going to make my connecting flight to Baltimore from JFK. To my relief, they didn't move me to a later flight that left JFK which would've caused a 4 hour layover on my way back. Delta decided to have me fly to Dublin from Atlanta instead. I'l gladly take Atlanta over JFK. I know I won't have any problems with my flights arriving or departing from there. The only down side to flying out of Atlanta is I'll have an 8 hour flight vice 7 to Dublin. Also, I wasn't able to get the extra night in Dublin before the tour started that I wanted. Apparently, I waited too long and, Globus released any extra hotel rooms they had with the Dublin hotel. I suspect I'll be one tired puppy for the group's first dinner. Lastly, I found out that the tour I'm on is for all effective purposes sold out. According to my travel agent, there is 1 seat left on the tour for the dates I'm going. I'm delighted the tour will be going. I've never forgotten when Globus cancelled the first tour I signed up for with them. However, we are going to have one packed bus. A full tour means 40 plus people on it. I'll be curious to what kind of mix we get. On the Canada tour I did, we had some Aussies, some Kiwis, some Brits, a few Canadians to my surprise and 2 couples from the Dominican Republic as well as a bunch of Yanks. People from other countries can make the tour kinda cool. It's interesting to hear of their experiences. If we do have some Aussies, I won't envy how long they'll have to fly to get to Ireland. I suspect they would have to fly something like 20 hours at least. It's over 10 hours flying from Sydney to Los Angeles alone. They will be really tired. We'll see. I'm hoping that I'll be able to enjoy some Victoria Bitter in Ireland. I first tried it in Australia and, it is a great brew. Sadly, we can't get it in the U.S. It would be great to knock back a few pints of VB. That's all for this update. Cheers all!

Oh Crap!

As my future trip to Ireland gets closer, I've been checking on things concerning it. Today, I checked on the flights I'll be taking. To my shock, I found out Delta moved the flight I'll be taking to Dublin 3 hours. That means, I'll have a 4 hour plus layover in New York JFK Airport. That sucks! It gets worse coming back. Because they moved the departing flight to Dublin 3 hours, they had to move the returning flight 3 hours. So, I find I now have 1 hour to get through customs at JFK and catch my connecting flight home when I return to the states. I don't think that's going to work. I'm pretty sure Globus will have to change my flight reservations. If all that news wasn't annoying enough, I found out my flight from JFK to Dublin will be 6 hours 55 minutes airtime. 7 hours is a long flight. Hm. Maybe, I should see about flying over a day early so I don't fall asleep at my tour's first group dinner. I checked into that and, it would cost $195 not including tax. I can handle that. It would be nice to have an extra day in Dublin. The tour doesn't spend boat loads of time there any way so, it wouldn't hurt to see more of that city. Now, I have to wait to find out from my travel agent what is going to have flights wise as well as will Globus penalize me if I add a day at the beginning of the tour. We'll see. Hopefully, I can and, I'll get to spend more time in Ireland. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Arlington National Cemetary

Yesterday, I visited Arlington National Cemetary. I first visited in during my July Globus Historic U.S. East tour. While there, I failed to get some decent photos so I decided to go back and try again. My Garmin GPS proved priceless in finding the place. Thanks to that, I was able to drive there in about 35 minutes. The first thing I did once I got there was take some pictures fo the USMC War Memorial. The memorial is located just outside the cemetary. It is a very impressive memorial. It features bronze statues of 5 Marines and 1 Navy medic raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. The flag raising immortalized the Marines. It is a magnificent memorial.

Inside the cemetary are countless rows of white marble crosses marking the graves of soldiers, sailors, marines and coasties who have died in service to their country. Many veterans ask that when they die, they be buried at Arlington. You can see why if you ever visit the place. I know when I die, I want to be buried there.

One thing I didn't get to do when I visited with Globus was see the Tombs of the Unknowns. We had a lot of things to see in D.C. and a limited amount of time. The Tombs of the Unknowns are the remains of military members who were killed in World War I, II, the Korean War and Vietnam and couldn't be identified. On the main tomb at the end of the epitaph, it says "known only to God." That is how it is for the these unknown troops who gave the final measure of service to their country. A lone sentry patrols the tombs standing guard, day and night. Immaculately uniformed, they march back and forth guarding the tombs. I found it a moving sight.

My last stop was to see President John F. Kennedy's gravesite. Few men have spoken such inspirational words as he did. I still think it tragic how he died. With him, I can't help but wonder how things might've been if he had lived. Next to him is his wife Jackie Onassis who epitomized class and style of the time. Close by are his 2 brothers Robert and Ted. Robert is another one you have to wonder what if. Why did he have to die?

I left Arlington in somber reflection. In my opinion, there isn't any more sacred ground in the entire United States. It is filled with the remains of those who placed their country above themselves and some gave their lives for it. It is the burial place of many of its military heroes. It is a deeply moving reminder of the price this country has had to pay to stay free.

Home Again

I made it home last night. The Globus Canada tour I was on finished Sunday. Globus had the tour finish with a bang by having the group go to Niagara Falls and a farewell dinner at the CN tower. Niagara Falls were very impressive. They are the biggest falls I've ever seen. Globus included a ride of the Maid of the Mist boat which takes you right up to the falls. The boat ride was a lot of fun. After the boat ride, I made my quickest trip to the U.S. when I dashed across the border so I could get a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from the U.S. Niagara Falls Hard Rock Cafe. Then, I dashed back to Canada to get the Canada shirt. The dinner at the CN tower was top knotch. However, I was saddened as the tour was over. We had a nice group.

Monday, I made my way home. I'd heard flights were being delayed into and out of New York. To my relief, I got out of Toronto all right. However, I got stuck in New York JFK Airport for 4 hours! When our plane arrived at Baltimore Washington Airport (BWIA), we got stuck on the tarmac for 40 minutes. Another plane had taken our spot and, they had to move the other plane so we could park. I ended getting home around 11 p.m. Aargh!

Thankfully, I gave myself a couple days to recover and catch up on stuff. I need to buy groceries, pay various bills and hand out presents I bought on the trip. However, I've already contacted my travel agent Joel Mills to see about my next tour. That one will be a while as there isn't any place I'm real anxious to see during the winter. A cruise would be nice but, I absolutely want my own cabin and, they charge double for that. I may do a trip home during the winter. I promised my Dad I would try to make it home more often. Come summer, I'm determined to see Ireland. That trip would be a 2 weeker. There is lots to see there. One nice thing about Ireland is it's not super far flying wise. Joel said Globus should release its summer Ireland tour dates soon so, I should be able to figure when I want to go and put a deposit down. Once I do that, I'll counting the days till I get to go to Ireland. Cheers all!

Farewell

I'm a bit sad at the moment. I just got back from the tour's farewell dinner. I know I only knew the people in our group for 7 days tops but, I'm still very saddened to have to say good-bye to them. They were another great Globus group. The groups are one of the things I like so much about Globus. You meet such great people. It can be a trip. Today, we played Get Acquainted Bingo. You have 25 blocks like a regular bingo board. You have to fill them in with names of people on the tour AND, you have to be able to identify them. The second part is the hard part. I had to go over the names on my card again and again to make sure I could identify them. I made a point of talking to those people so I could better remember their names. Those same people were rooting me on when we played Get Acquainted Bingo. To my delight, I won. Because I'd gotten to know them, I was very sad when it was time to say good-bye. I know I'll be going on a second Globus tour in just 2 days but, I'll still miss the people I met on this one. I knew them if only for a short while. Thankfully, our tour director did get a group photo so I'll be remembering them for a while. May they all have safe journies home and may I one day be blessed enough to get to meet them again. Cheers all!

Harper's Ferry & Gettysburg

Yesterday, I got to see Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. I confess Harper's Ferry didn't excite me as much as Gettysburg. There isn't a whole lot to see at Harper's Ferry. They do have the original fire station that John Brown managed to get himself and the others in his group trapped in before they were captured. The town also has some nice old buildings. Still, the old town of Harper's Ferry isn't that impressive. Interestingly, the entire old town is a national park. The people of Harper's Ferry moved out of it due to the severe flooding the location is subject to. The had a flood marker on one of the walls of an old building that showed how high the flooding got at times. I was shocked. That had one flood where the water rose over 15 feet from their banks. It was hard to believe considering how shallow the rivers were the day I visited.

From Harper's Ferry, we made our way to Gettysburg. Gettysburg is the site of one of the turning points of the American Civil War. I watched the movie Gods and Generals which tells of the battle. It is an incredible story of epic valor, incredible incompetence, brilliance on the part of a few and sheer luck. Globus used a local guide by the name of Gary Kross. He was extremely knowledgeable about the entire battlefield. He could tell you exactly where certain units fought and how many casualties they suffered. He told us of a Brigadier General Green who is largely forgotten but, who was critical in preventing Lee and his forces from taking Culp Hill. Culp Hill was one of 2 anchors of the Union troops lines. If it had fallen, it would've been disastrous. Green had his men build a long wooden barrier which helped protect them from fire from oncoming Confederate troops. The troops initially complained about building the barrier but, they were very grateful for it when the Confederate forces attacked. It was crucial in enabling them to hold off forces that outnumbered them 4 to 1!

I got to see the places where the forces of Pickett's charge emerged to attack. I could imagine the 12,000 men as they formed up. Their attack wasn't an actual charge. It was a march. If they had actually charged, they wouldn't have had the strength left for when they struck the Union forces. As it was, they had to march 1 mile through shot and shell. 120 Union cannon blasted at them the entire way. Also, they had to climb over 2 fences to get to waiting Union forces. It truly must have been an unbelievable sight. The courage those men showed was epic.

I could spent more time at the battlefield and museum but, we had a set dinner appointment to go to. Perhaps, I'll return to Gettysburg and learn more about it. It is an incredible story. Cheers all!

Adventure Begins

After waiting what seemed like ages, my latest adventures began yesterday. I caught a regional Amtrak train from BWI Amtrak station and arrived at Union Station, Washington D.C. It was hard to believe I was on a real tour in D.C. It's not a place I would imagine taking a Globus tour. I've visited D.C. a number of times on my own. Still, that's where the tour starts. It does have one big plus. It was easy to get to and cheap to. This is the first tour where I didn't have some long and expensive flight.

After arriving at Union Station, I met my friend Harvey. I haven't seen him since the Egypt trip. He looked in good shape and spirits. We proceeded to where you can catch a cab and took one to the tour hotel the Capital Hilton. I found out the hotel has been a center of a lot of political activities. It has had a number of inaugural balls, important meetings between politicians and some presidents have favored it. Richard Nixon supposedly would walk down to it on occasion.

After checking in, I got to meet our tour guide Hilary. She struck me as a very nice lady with a pleasant personality. She was waiting in the hotel lobby and checking off very tour members as they arrived. I found out there will be 39 in our group which is a good number. Due to the shortness of our tour, Hilary had to get people to say which dinner they wanted for our dinners in Colonial Williamsburg, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. Also, she told me how things would work at the first group meeting at 6 p.m. Lastly, she was able to direct Harvey and I to a street where there were a number of sandwich shops. Later, we found a Potbelly's which sell pricey but good sandwiches. Those would hit the spot.

The group meeting was interesting. There are 6 Aussie couples in our tour as well as 3 or 4 families. This is the first tour I've been on that will have kids. There are also a number of single ladies though none of them were lookers as far as I could tell. I got to meet a couple of them and, they were nice ladies. One asked where I worked. I told her and, I got the impression she wasn't impressed with the Postal Service. Oh well.

After the group meeting, I called it a night. I was up early yesterday morning and, it had been a somewhat long day. I still found it hard to believe my latest Globus adventures had begun. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers all!

Documents

I received my travel documents for my upcoming tours with Globus. It was something to look at them. The tours are really going to happen. I'll get to play the world traveller again. It should be a blast. Plus, it'll be great to get away from the Post Office. I've been working lots of hours and, it's taking its toll. I earned overtime this week and, I'll do it again next week. The money will be nice but, I'm going to enjoy more the travel it pays for.

I'll be curious to see what kind of groups we get on these tours. All the tours I've taken previously were 12 or 13 days. The U.S. tour will be just 7 days. Globus markets it for people who have never done an escorted tour before so, I may get to see a bunch of newbies. That'll be interesting. The U.S. tour should still be good. It has lots of neat things to see and experience. Colonial Williamsburg is great and, Richmond is nice. It'll be something to see the Gettysburg battlefield. I read Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels. Plus, I watched the movie Gods and Generals. During the tour, the group will get to see a famous Lincoln re-enactor perform. Presumbly, he'll do the Gettysburg Address. That should be good. Lincoln's speech is outstanding.

The Canada tour should be equally good. I'll finally get to see Niagara Falls and, it'll be something to wander the streets of Old Quebec City. I'll get to see plenty of historic Canada during the trip. At the end of the tour, we have our farewell dinner at the CN Tower which should be pretty cool. The Canada tour will be interesting also in that it's sold out. We should have the largest group I've ever travelled with (something like 50 people). I hope the seats on the bus are decently spaced. I hate having my knees pressed into the seat ahead (I have long legs). We'll see. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Egypt Travel Stories

Recently, I finished my travel stories on Egypt for the http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/ website. I wanted to let people know what to expect on the Avalon Waterways Grand Tour of Egypt. The Globus tour website gives nice basic information but, it doesn't go into great detail about some of the sights and, it isn't impartial. While I like Globus, I won't hesitate to say if something stinks in my opinion. If I like something, I'll say why I like it and maybe give examples. One thing I did on my Egypt stories was praised the tour guide Sami Hassan. He really was outstanding. Why was he outstanding? I showed a number of examples where he watched out for his group. A vendor tried to gouge us at the Alabaster Mosque and, Sami wouldn't let him get away with it. He told everyone not to buy the booties we had to buy so we wouldn't have to take our shoes off when we went inside the mosque. Another time he told me of something that would help settle my stomach when I caught some unknown bug during the tour. His remedy worked (coffee and lime juice) but, it tasted god awful. I was really sorry to say good-bye to Sami at the end of the tour. He was always cheerful and, he knew so much about Egypt. If I ever visit Egypt again, I hope to have him as my tour guide again.

After posting my stories, I had to wait for the site editors to rate them. I don't know why they do or what their criteria is. It can be a little frustrating at times. I confess I like getting a high standard rating on my stories but, I don't know what THEY think makes and high standard story. For some reason, they didn't like my Luxor story but, they loved my stories on Edfu and lunacy on the Nile. I wondered how they were going to like those as I said point blank I wasn't impressed with the horse drawn carriages in Edfu. They looked very rickety. I believe one bunch in our group had a wheel come off their carriage enroute to the Edfu Temple! In regards to lunacy on the Nile, I told of the crazy salesmen who tried to sell stuff to people on our cruise ship from ROWBOATS. It was ridiculous. The salesmen were real characters. Still, I guess they make money doing it. I doubt any in our group could have driven a better bargain than they could. They've been doing it all their lives. Plus, their living depends on it.

Overall, I was delighted that most of my stories got high standard ratings. Also, I'm glad I got them done before I start my next adventures with Globus. I'm impatiently counting the days down till I get to go on the back-to-back tours I'll get to do with them. I can't wait to go. I'm big time burned out at the Post Office. I'll earn overtime this week and next. I think out of the last 12 weeks I've worked at the Post Office, I've earned overtime 9 of them. The money is great but, it really wears you out. I'll be glad to get away from there and do some exciting travel again. Stay tuned for some interesting travel stories. Cheers all!

Travel Update

Slowly (all too slowly) but surely, the tours I signed up for are getting here. I found out last week that the Globus Canada tour I'll be taking is sold out. That means there will likely be 50 people on the tour. WO! That may end up being the largest group I'll have ever done with Globus. Hopefully, it'll be a nice one. We'll see. In a couple weeks, I should get my travel documents. I can't wait to get those. They make the tour seem more real. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Quiet

It's been quiet at my end of the woods. I haven't been doing anything exciting because I've been trying to save the money so I can pay off the scooter I'm in the process of buying. I paid $1,100 on that this past Tuesday. I still owe $1,070. I should have that paid off later this month. I'll be glad to finally get the thing and see what it's like to ride it. I found out that scooters can depreciate just like cars can. If I do decide to trade the thing in down the line for a bigger better scooter, I can expect to lose around $550 in depreciation in the first year (about a 1/4 of its initial value). Crap! Also, to my surprise, there is a value book put out on scooters by NADA. I found out about that from a friend at the Post Office. I didn't know there was such a thing. Scooters are sublisted under motorcycles in the book.

The Post Office continues to be filled with drama. For some reason, upper management has repeatedly visited the Post Office where I work. They seem to be looking for every little possible error. This is annoying as I have enough to worry about with trying to deliver the mail correctly and in time. It's anybody's guess what is going to happen to the Postal Service itself. The upper management folks keep saying we're going to run out of money. They say we're not bringing in enough. That's possible. I have definitely seen a drop in mail volume. Part of it is technology and part of it is the piss poor economy. I repeatedly receive notices from my credit union asking wouldn't I like to go to paperless statements. They even offer to put in for a drawing for a cash prize. I decline in part because of my job at the Post Office and in part because I like receiving a hard copy from them. I'm especially leery of going paperless with bills as it is very easy to forget an email notifying me of an upcoming payment. It's harder for me if I have something in paper I can see reminding me. The bad economy makes me leery of spending the money I earn. Especially, when I'm sure what is going to happen with my job at the Post Office.

I continue to slog away at my stories about my Egypt trip for the Globus exchange travel stories website. To my surprise, my last story which was about the day excursion to Alexandria received a superior rating. I liked that. I suspect I got that because I did some research which I included in the story like when Alexandria was created by Alexander the Great and some of the gods that had been worshipped at the Serapeum (temple complex) in Alexandria. I'm working on my next one about our visit to Saqqara and Old Memphis.

I finally finished off the boneless wings I bought from Cluck-U. I found them good. I'm pretty certain they weren't wings at all but, breasts coated like buffalo wings. While they were more expensive then the regular wings, you do get a LOT more meat with them. I thought the honey hickory flavor was good. I'd like to try the Caribbean jerk flavor and see if that is any good. We'll see on that.

Lastly, I've decided I'm going risk it (see previous comment about job insecurity) and order a new laptop at the end of this month from Dell. My current one is running fine but, it is getting old and the warranty is going to expire on this month. That scares me. I don't want any computer problems which I'd have to pay for. While I haven't had any major ones with my current Dell laptop, I'd like to play it safe and have a computer that is something goes wrong with it, they HAVE to fix it and pick up the tab. I haven't forgotten how expensive ($400) it was to replace the motherboard on my first laptop (a Sager). I plan to go with Dell again as the laptop I bought from them has had so few problems and their tech support has been great when there were glitches. I feel they're reliable. Also, Dell is offering a nice deal on certain models where I can get 12 months interest free credit. I'm certain I can pay the new laptop off in 12 months. I'll be excited to get the new laptop as it'll be a neat new toy I can play with. One thing I have found true is that as I've gotten older, my toys have gotten more expensive. Oh well.

That's all from my end of the woods. I think you can see why I'm not posting much. There isn't anything terribly exciting to blog about. I will have some neat future adventures to blog about in mid-summer. That's when I go on back-to-back tours with Globus. I can't wait to do that. I'm counting the days. I hope all is well with you reader of my blog. Take care and God bless.

Made It

I arrived in Cairo this morning. The flight was long as expected. Egyptair was surprisingly decent. The main meal they offered was pretty good plus, they offered a choice of beef, chicken or fish.

Avalon Waterways came through too. There was a 2-man team waiting at the arrivals section at the Cairo airport. The first man showed me where to get my visa and got me quickly in line so I could get through immigration quickly. Note: Getting my Egyptian visa turned out to be ridiculously easy at the airport. I definitely wouldn't bother getting it at the Egyptian consulate in the states.

The second man helped me get my suitcase and directed me to where the driver was. He also contacted the tour guide who met with me later. The tour guide was fantastic. Because of him, I'll get to see the boat museum next to the pyramids tomorrow and the royal mummy section of the Egyptian museum of antiquities. It should be a serious blast.

Lastly, my room at the Mena House Oberoi absolutely rocks. I can look out my bedroom window and see Cheops pyramid. It's unreal.

So, my Egyptian adventure is going well. Stay tuned for further updates as I can post them. Cheers all!

Documents

I received my travel documents from Globus earlier this week. I've been waiting excitedly for them. I'm definitely ready to go on my upcoming trip to Egypt. It should be really awesome. The temples, tombs and history are fascinating. Plus, I'll get to cruise on the Nile River for 3 days. The only down side to the trip will be the long flights to and from Cairo. The flight from New York JFK to Cairo will be 10 hours 45 minutes alone. Plus, I know the flight will be delayed getting out of JFK. I think all flights out of there are now a days.

A different kind of travel bag came with the documents. The Nile Tour/Cruise is run by Globus affiliate Avalon Waterways. Their bag was blue and looked more like a messenger type bag. One pleasant surprise was the guide to the Nile that came with the documents as well as tips for cruising on the boat. I'll be curious to see how cruising on Avalon's boat differs from cruising with Royal Caribbean. Hopefully, Avalon won't try to milk me like Royal Caribbean did. If nothing else, I'll be on the boat 3 days which isn't too bad. It's sort of like an introduction to river cruises.

That's all to tell for now. Stay tuned for further updates. Cheers all!