An Overview of My 5-1/2-Month 2023 Holiday to Oceania and Asia

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After I broke my shoulder on 12 JUN 2023, I guesstimated that I should have enough time to heal and undergo my physical therapy before I had to fly to San Diego to begin the 2023 chapter of “The Great Adventure” on 8 OCT 2023. It turned out my last therapy session was two days before I departed. On the way to the airport, I managed to stop and help celebrate my niece’s 70^thbirthday. It was nice to see her siblings, children, grandchildren and, yes, great-grandchildren. My friend, Gary, took me to the party on the way to the airport for my sixish flight to San Diego.

After one night in San Diego, I boarded the MS Noordam on Sunday, October 8, 2023 for a 48-day cruise to four ports in Hawaii, seven ports in the South Pacific, five ports in Australia and eight ports in New Zealand before concluding in Auckland. There, I’ll be spending about a week with friends I met in Britian last summer so “we can show you New Zealand!” From Auckland, I’ll fly to Cairns, Australia and begin a six-week clockwise trip around the eastern and southern portions of Australia (4 DEC 2023 to 23 JAN 2024). After Cairns, my first large city stop will be a full day train ride from Cairns to Brisbane. Near the end of my Brisbane stay, I’ll catch a 10-day round trip cruise to New Guinea. The cruise ends on a Thursday before I catch a Friday train to Sydney where I’ll hook up with friends I met in France and will celebrate New Year’s Eve in Sydney. My next stop, Melbourne, is home to my roommate for the 3-week tour of Europe I took last summer. I’ll stop in Adelaide for a couple of days before boarding the Indian Pacific train for a 3-day adventure to Perth with historic stops along the way.

From Perth, I’ll fly to Singapore for a short visit and board MS Westerdam for a 28-day cruise along the coast of Asia to Tokyo, including stops at Thailand; Vietnam; Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; and Busan (Pusan), South Korea; as well as several ports in southern Japan. I’ll stay aboard Westerdam (and keep the came cabin) for a 14-day cruise through several Pacific Islands, including more ports in Japan, two in Taiwan, three in Philippines with a final destination in Hong Kong. After a short visit in Hong Kong, I’ll fly to Seoul, South Koea for a 7-day land tour of South Korea. From Seoul, homeward bound.

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Comments

[Joe Cascio]

Fantastic reading Larry!