Day 1 Our flight from Seoul to Beijing was delayed by 90 minutes, landing us close to rush hour. We found the shuttle buses into the city and without exactly knowing where our hotel was I told them Tiananmen Square as our destination. Just outside the airport the road was completely shut down. 45 minutes later we finally started rolling and ours was the last stop putting us out at the height of rush hour where every taxi was occupied. We waved off several offers of a private car for 50 yuan waiting for a metered cab. The second taxi we flagged down knew where the hotel was, the entire trip including taxi and bus was 50 yuan (around $7). What a deal! I was already liking China except for the traffic. It was late after ... read more

Arrival at Inchon airport around 9:45p, after immigrations we left with my Dad who came to pick us up around 11p straight to the Army Post. Dad was lucky enough to get us a 2nd bed so both of us would have a bed that night. Unknown to us a Typhoon had just come through the day before killing a few people and dropping many large trees on post which in turn caused issues with getting a bed delivered but dad came through and we had a place to sleep. In the morning we discovered a large tree which had fallen onto the roof of our bedroom which was removed before we departed for China.... read more

Hometown, Roswell, GA. Just getting back from a 19 day trip around the Mediterranean and will post that soon but would like to post older vacations as well.... read more

Though I wished we could have spent a lot more time in Israel I was looking forward to seeing the Pyramids in Egypt. All six of us were off the boat before the buses left and had to walk out of the port over a bridge where the security detail - six or more trucks full of soldiers carrying machine guns) - to escort the tour buses to Cairo. Our passports were checked again as we left to meet our replacement tour guide Rasha and van driver (forget his name) and we left without any escort detail. Rasha does not drive and had no desire to, I see why, the lines painted on the roads were possibly for decoration as none of the drivers seem to heed them in any way: organized chaos. It was a ... read more

Ephesus, once a Greek port town on the Aegean sea now lies several kilometers inland so our tour started at the port city of Kusadasi (Bird Island). Kusadasi 25 years ago we were told was a small fishing village but with the number of tourist the city is much larger and busier. This was our second of two tours with the group of twenty. After another day at sea our tour guide Levent was originally scheduled to fly and meet us but due to a situation another guide and and his assistant met us for our tour, I can't remember his or her name. We seemed to have arrived before the other boat tours in Ephesus as we started our tour. They have multiple separated areas where tour guides can give an overview of the area ... read more