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YUP, ANOTHER GLOBAL ADVENTURE

         From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82
July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572
Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130
Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82
Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85
Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118
Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465
Jan     14       4142      15512        1151        189      712
Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398
Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194
April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37
May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 
June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95
 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411
Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 
Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124
Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59
Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23
Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28
Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140
Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175
Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 
Apr     1          439      4056         290         52        12
May    5          225      2404        151            ?        64 
June    2         216      1413          130          10        31 
July    7          320       1958        297          38         9 
        14          231       1721           292          47         8 
        21          367       2063         351          45         4
        28         260       2088         276          47       10
Aug    3         431       2336         273          53         ?
           4         311       2138          258          70         ?

  • Whoa, Japan broke its all time record for new cases on Wednesday with 249,830, followed by 231,597 yesterday.  The past week has seen a lot more than a million new cases, for the first time.  New deaths, however, remain only about the third of what it was in February.
  • #2 was South Korea with 107,849 new cases.
  • #3 was the USA with 86,309
  • The USA led in new deaths with 311, #2 Brazil 258 and #3 Germany 165.
  • Total deaths so far:
    • World  6,428,445
    • #1     U.S.  1,057,500
    • #2      Brazil  679,336
    • #3      India  526,530
    • #4      Russia  382,560
    • #5      Mexico  327,883
    • #18    South Africa 101,982
    • #30    Japan  32,819
    • #38    S. Korea  25,110
    • #89    China  5,226
    • #119  Singapore  1,528
    • #173  Iceland  179
    • #211  Diamond Princess  13
    • Falkland Islands, Marshall Islands,Tuvlu, Saint Helena and Vatican City have had no deaths.
  • Total Deaths/million population:
    • #1      Peru  6320
    • #2      Bulgaria  5471
    •           Diamond Princess 3503
    • #15    USA 3157
    • #16    Brazil 3149
    • #28    UK  2696
    • #54    Sweden  1896
    • #84    Israel  1222
    • #218  China  4
    • Interesting to note that the U.S. deaths/million population is similar to the Diamond Princess.

On the international front, Taiwan has still not been attacked by China because of Pelosi's visit.  Some words in anger, and a military scare move (see map) but her stop might well have curtailed any serious thoughts of a Taiwan war.  Hopefully.  Have you ever seen this before?  Republican Senators voicing support for Pelosi.

That $430 billion all everything bill for Democrats passed two hurdles, the Senate Parliamentarian and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, and will be passed this weekend.  Reconciliation was allowed, so only 50 votes are needed, plus the Veep's.  Sinema got some concessions, so the $430 billion sum might now be lower, but not by much.

I've been on a dozen global journeys in my life, and having booked a cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer, leaving Dubai on November 21, arriving in Singapore on December 12, I thought, what about turning that into an around the world trip?  
As a first check, where is that ship coming from to get to Dubai?  Turns out that the Explorer departs Istanbul on October 31 for another 21-day cruise, to Dubai.  But, oh, 42 days on any Regent Seven Seas ship is really expensive.  Typically, runs abut $1000/day.  A second huge problem is that it is already booked on the Istanbul to Dubai leg.  But what about a waiting list, and if a cabin becomes available, scurry to work out how to get from Hawaii to Istanbul.

A third negative, is that I only travel West around the world, as it is easier on my body.  But is there a leisurely way from Honolulu east so that we can enjoyably arrive in Istanbul around October 28 so we can spend a couple of days looking around that city?

Just for fun, then, here are some options.

  • Fly from Honolulu to Los Angeles around September 28.  Board Amtrak on September 29 to New York City. arriving on October 3.  A     roomette would cost about $1400/person, with two night time beds, free meals and access to a shower.  A bedroom is larger and more expensive.  The same trip on VIA Canada to Toronto, with the same number of days (3+) costs $8000.  Here is a link to a variety of Amtrak sleeper options.
  • Spending a few days in New York City is always an adventure.  Perhaps a broadway show, or maybe even a Major League Baseball playoff game.  We would then board     the Queen Mary 2 on October 7, arriving in Southampton on October 14.  
    • But can we get from Southampton to Venice in a few hours?  
    • The ship arrives at 0630, and the port is 80 miles from Heathrow  
    • The flight from London to Venice is 2 hours and 10 minutes long.   Then we need to get to the port, which is only a 15 minute taxi ride.   A bit of a gamble, but doable.  Yet, stressful.
    • Shame, though, not to spend any time in Venice, where I possibly had the best travel day in my life.  
    • The River Princess arrives in Amsterdam on October 28.  We can spend an extra day there and fly to Istanbul on October 30.
  • Perhaps we can find a shorter river cruise to spend a few days each in London, where this ship will arrive and Istanbul.  
  • Luckily, I found another option, which is to fly to Trieste on October 14, where the Norwegian Gem leaves on October 16, with stops in Kotor, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Dubrovnik, and returning back to Trieste on October 23.   Only $1749/person in a suite.   This will provide a few days in a nearby city, like Venice or Florence. leaving on October on October 28 for Istanbul.
  • Yet another is to fly to Ravenna on October 14, two nights there, then board the Brilliance of the Seas for a week, returning back to Ravenna, then on to Florence on October 23, plus maybe Venice. Then on to Istanbul on October 28.
  • Or, this might be the easiest of all.  Overnight in Southampton, then board the Norwegian Dawn on October 15 for a Mediterranean cruise, arriving in Rome on October 25.  Nice stops in Porto, Lisbon, Cadiz, Barcelona. St. Tropez and arriving in Civitavecchia, which is the port close to Rome.  After a few days, depart Rome on October 28 for Instanbul.
  • Anyway, after a month of leisurely travel, end up in Istanbul, then depart on the     Regent Seven Seas Explorer to Dubai on October 31, arriving on November 20 at a cost of $663/night in Concierge Class.  But, again, the whole ship is already wait-listed.
  • This same ship then leaves Dubai on November 21 for Singapore, arriving on December 12.  Our cruise provides three days there, so we will leave on December 16 for Honolulu.  Business class on All Nippon through Tokyo costs $4263, but only $2386 on Philippines Air through Manila.  We haven't made that decision yet.     
A huge problem is that, not including hotel, meals and local transport expenses not part of the cruises, this global journey would cost around $56,5000/person.  I once went around the world in first class and paid close to $50,000, so that expense is not totally unreasonable as a final splurge.  Those were 51 unbelievable days.  But in 2013 I was still living in my own apartment, so did not have that that 15C expense.  For those wondering what I did on My Ultimate Global Adventure:

So why fantasize?  Might be my final adventure.

-

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