Some thoughts on the road

If you include the Australia and New Zealand leg of our trip, we’ve completed more than 10 weeks of travel and have about 8 more weeks scheduled ahead of us. Both of us were glad to be home for the Holidays, but neither of us really miss the cold and snow we left behind. We do miss family and friends, but eMail and an occasional call home keeps us somewhat connected. I know Rita’s really looking forward to being back in the house and getting ready for spring gardening. Sleeping in our comfy bed will be a welcome luxury after spending nights in airplanes, trains, hostels and airport floors.

All in all – things are going okay from a travel standpoint. I’m lucky that I can still tolerate budget travel pretty well. I can sleep pretty much anywhere and don’t mind carrying loads around. I must have a tough digestive system too. Rita got really sick a couple of times from things we picked up at the market, which gave me great concern. Meanwhile, she has calmly dealt with a variety of unusual toilet situations (or, lack thereof). She’s a real trouper.

Our accommodations have typically been clean and simple, even if the carpet was tattered and there was chipped paint. When the bed has been nothing more than a hard foam pad, we made use of our small travel air mattresses. Our favorite places for value vs. price have been the Royal Hotel in Bangkok and in the Tutotel in Luxor. Both had swimming pools (the latter on the rooftop with a sunset view of the Nile river). They were priced at less than $35US per night, included large buffet breakfast and had great customer service.

Our most expensive nights were in Israel. In Jerusalem, we stayed in guest rooms at the Rosary Sisters convent. It was a much needed oasis of peace and calm in an otherwise tense and noisy city. In some ways it reminded us of home - the many times we stayed with the Benedictan’s in St. Joseph, Minnesota. We splurged a bit on a B&B off the Jesus Trail in Galilee (Shavit Family Arbel Guest House) that came complete with a comfy bed, Jacuzzi tub and heaters that finally chased away the chills we had for more than a week. They were the best nights sleep since we left home. We’ll be camping through most of Africa, so it will be a while before we see those kinds of comforts again.

Jeff