Day-41: Finally Home - The Statistcs

Day-41: Friday, March 14, 2014

Beginning Location: Norfolk International Airport, Virginia

Final Location: Kitty Hawk, NC

As we had arrived in Norfolk just at midnight, technically our baggage wasn't actually delivered until the next day, albeit only about 15 minutes after midnight but still the next day. By 12:15 AM Carrie had picked us us and we were on our way to our Kitty Hawk home where we arrived at 2:00 AM Friday morning, March 14th, 2014 completing the 2014 Far East Travels.

Here are some of the statistics from the trip.

Elapsed Time (Accounting for Daylight Saving Time Shift)

• Days:      39
• Hours:     21 
• Minutes:    0

Distance Traveled

• Air Miles:                     18,743
• Sea Miles:                      7,344
• Land Miles:                    1,490
• Total Miles:                  27,577

North, East, South & West Extremes

• North:    Latitude +84.565 Degrees (84^o 34’ N)
• East:      Longitude -75.723 Degrees (075^o 43’ W)
• South:   Latitude +1.203 Degrees (01^o 12’ N)
• West:    Longitude +100.013 Degrees (100^o 01’ E)

Global Boundaries Crossed

• Arctic Circle 
• International Date Line
• Eleven (11) Time Zones

Aircraft Types Flown

• Embraer ERJ-170
• Norfolk to Chicago (United Airlines)
• Boeing B777-200
• Chicago to Singapore (United Airlines)
• ATR 72-500
• Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (Vietnam Airlines)
• Airbus A320
• Siem Reap to Saigon (Vietnam Airlines)
• Beijing to Xi'an (China Eastern Airlines)
• Airbus A321
• Xi'an to Beijing (China Eastern Airlines)
• Boeing B777-200
• Beijing to Washington DC (United Airlines)
• Bombardier CRJ200 
• Washington DC to Norfolk (United Airlines)

Ship Information

• Name: Nautica
• Owner: Oceania Cruises
• Registry: Majuro, Marshall Islands
• Class: Regatta (R Class)
• Builder: Chantiers de l"Atlantique, St, Nazaire, France
• Key Dates
• Keel Laid: March 22, 1999
• Launched: July 31, 1999
• Completed: Jan 7, 2000
• In Service: Feb 1, 2000
• Tonnage: 30,277 GT
• Length: 593 feet 10 inches
• Beam: 83 feet 6 inches
• Draught: 19 feet 6 inches
• Decks: 11 (9 accessible to passengers)
• Power: Wartsila 12V32 Diesels (Qty: 4)
• Propulsion: Twin Propellers with Bow Thrusters
• Horsepower: 13,500 kW
• Maximum Speed: 18 Knots
• Capacity:
• 684 passenger
• 386 crew
• Ship's History Note: On November 30, 2008 the MS Nautica was attacked by two Somalian pirate skiffs in the Gulf of Aden en-route from Safaga, Egypt to Salah, Oman. One of the skiffs closed to within 300 yards and fired shots at the ship. There were no injuries or damage to the ship resulting from the attack.

Countries Overflown

• United States
• Canada
• Russia
• China
• Vietnam
• Singapore
• Cambodia

Countries (9) & Major Cities (27) Visited

• United States
• Kitty Hawk
• Norfolk
• Chicago
• Washington, DC
• Singapore
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Ko Samui
• Bangkok
• Cambodia
• Sihanoukville
• Phnom Penh
• Siem Reap
• Vietnam
• Saigon
• Da Nang
• Ha Long
• China
• Hong Kong
• Macau
• Shanghai
• Dalian
• Tianjin
• Beijing
• Xi'an
• Taiwan
• Keelung
• Taipei
• Japan
• Naha (Okinawa)
• Kobe
• Hiroshima
• South Korea
• Inchon
• Seoul

Bottom Line - Total Cost of Trip

• United States Dollars - A scary number
• Cambodian Riels - A comical number

Day-40: Beijing to Kitty Hawk, Well Almost!

Day-40: Thursday, March 13, 2014

China Time Zone
Beginning Location: Beijing, China
China Time Midnight: Flying over northeastern Russia

Eastern U.S. Time Zone
Interim Location: Dulles International Airport, Virginia

East Coast U.S. Midnight: Norfolk International Airport, Virginia


Well our final day in the Far East was upon us. Fortunately we would have a relaxing schedule for the day though as a result our arrival at our Kitty Hawk home would be late.

Our travel group had three hotel departures to the Beijing airport. The first group of 12 had to awaken early to get away by 0700, basically for mid-morning flights to the U.S. and Canada. The second group was one couple that were leaving just an hour or so before us, bound for Chicago. Our group of 9 were all bound for Washington DC on United Flight #898 (non-stop PEK to IAD) departing Beijing at 1825.

So we had a leisurely wake-up and ambled down to breakfast around 0930 meeting up with other late travelers. After breakfast we hung out in our room and repacked some of the bags. We would be checking five bags, two of which are bumping up against the 70 pound weight limit, clearly we were bringing back part Asia as we didn't approach the baggage limits coming over in early February.

By 1430 we were ready to go. The hotel bell staff retrieved our bags and we met up with our guide May and our fellow travelers in the hotel lobby and soon moved on to our travel van.

It took about 90 minutes to get through the Beijing traffic and reach the airport; seemingly a little close for an international flight, though in the end all was well but the airport shoppers amongst us had very little time to spend the last few Yuan in their possession at the duty free shops.

May accompanied us into the Beijing terminal to get us through the check-in and baggage process but had to stay behind as we passed through the immigration and security screening check points.

The international terminal at Beijing was new for the 2008 Olympics. It is a beautiful structure and designed to accommodate many more passengers than it would be seeing on this day.



After a slight "where's my passport" panic we boarded our flight to the U.S. at 1745 and settled in for what would be a 13+ hour flight to Washington. We were airborne by 1830. Sunset in Beijing was observed as we departed.





As our midnight approached we were flying at 35,000 feet over northeastern Russia between Markovo and Ugolny in the Anadyrsky District near latitude 65 north and longitude 174 east headed northeast for the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The new air terminal at Ugolny, Russia, a former Russian heavy bomber base currently serves as a diversion airport for trans-Pacific polar commercial air routes.

Airport at Markovo, Russia

Airport at Ugolny, Russia

Sunrise was observed at 0115 over the Chukchi Sea north of Cape Lisburne, Alaska. At about 0130 (China) or 1330 (East Coast U.S.) we made landfall over North America just west of Barrow, Alaska.

USAF Radar Station at Cape Lisburne, Alaska

Our flight arrived as planned at 7:40 PM (U.S.), about 30 minutes early into Washington Dulles Airport. Though we were ready with our nifty "Trusted Traveler" cards it didn't really matter. When we entered our cards to be scanned, we were rejected as "trusted travelers", seems that our fingerprints didn't match up to the records on file. No matter, the immigration and customs lines were nonexistent and without delay we had transferred our baggage and moved on to our domestic flight to Norfolk, United Flight #5697 (non-stop IAD to ORF) departing Washington at 9:55 PM.

But, not so fast, weather in the Northeast would impact our travel. Seems that our incoming aircraft was delayed at Hartford due to, shall I say inclement weather, wind snow, ice, lightning, hail, thunder all wrapped up in "Winter Storm Vulcan". We hung out in one of the United lounges until it closed at 10:00 PM and then settled into seats near the departure gate for our flight, now having been delayed for something over 90 minutes, though the good news was that the flight had not been cancelled. Finally about 11:30 PM we were on board and on our way to Norfolk where we arrived just as the clock struck 12 Midnight.

So, technically tomorrow will be our final day as we will arrive home early Friday morning eastern U.S. time.

Tomorrow we'll close-out the travel reporting and summarize the travel statistics. Soon thereafter hopefully in the next several days we'll publish a final blog post with thoughts about Southeast Asia, the Far East and the trip in general.

Day-39: Beijing & The Great Wall

Day-39: Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Beginning Location: Beijing, China

Interim Location: Badaling, China (The Great Wall)

Final Location: Beijing, China

Today had a jam packed schedule, what better way to close-out a great trip than to see and experience the wonders of China. By day's end we would have experienced:

• Tiananmen Square
• The Great Wall
• A Peking Duck Dinner

With a full schedule we had eaten breakfast by 0730 and were in the hotel lobby ready to go by 8 AM. Our first stop was in the heart of Beijing, the Beijing People's Square, more commonly referred to as Tiananmen Square, the location of:

• Chairman Mao's Mausoleum
• The Forbidden City
• The National Museum of China
• The Great Hall of the People

Walking in Formation
Black Uniforms
Tourists or Security?

We didn't go in each of the buildings but had ample time to view and photograph the surroundings and the people. There was an increased level of security in the area during the visit; as it would turn out, a major government meeting was in progress with the aim of developing new ideas for the advancement of China both economically and domestically.


The location of the "tank man" stand-off was pointed out, but as one would expect there's no monument or marker celebrating the iconic act of defiance from 1989.

 As a group we had our photo taken posing in front of the photo of Chairman Mao that is prominently displayed at the entrance to the Forbidden City overlooking Tiananmen Square.

From the square, we entered the Forbidden City, home of the Emperors for centuries ending in the early part of the 20th century with the last emperor.

Our guide led us through the various gates and courtyards of the palace providing a continuous commentary on the life and times of the emperors of China.

On our way out of the city we picked up from a street vendor a stick of glazed crab apples and a stick of glazed strawberries. Can't say much for the apples but the strawberries were excellent.

From Beijing we hit the road en-route to the Great Wall stopping along the way at a restaurant aka jade shop. Well we did have lunch but the fact of the matter was that almost every couple walked out of the retail store with some sort of bag, carrying another piece of China.


After another one hour ride we arrived at Badaling, the location of one of the best preserved and restored sections of the Great Wall. Badaling is set up for tourists with restaurants, hotels, shops, etc. even has a KFC and a Subway.

Once at the wall, May picked up our tickets and we proceeded to the wall. After a brief description of the wall and its history we were free to travel the wall at our leisure. Here the group split with most of us heading up the west side while a few others started up the east side. The climb is not easy, some elevations have steps (anywhere from 4 inches to 20 inches in height. The rock surfaces are worn and broken and often slippery; otherwise there was no problem as long as steep inclines, both up and down, were within one's abilities. In the end, I went up through several of the towers before heading back to the base and then heading up part way on the east slope.

The mountainous terrain makes the wall's construction more amazing. To think that the wall is thousands of miles long, the amount of labor and effort to complete such an endeavor without even the idea of mechanical equipment is unimaginable.

The thought occurred to me that throughout the history of China there have been several of these great endeavors, the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Army of the past but in today's world, the building of thousands of condo units and ghost cities is just as remarkable. In all three examples the projects were government funded efforts that resulted in a tangible product but as importantly kept thousands if not millions of people employed.

Good Luck!

So ended our visit to the great sites and sights of China; mission accomplished, we had seen the Terra Cotta Army and now the Great Wall. We boarded the bus for the ride back into Beijing, many of us dozed off for a few minutes but were awoken as we neared the Beijing 2008 Olympic site. We made a brief photo stop to view several of the venues including the "Water Cube" and the "Bird's Nest" (web photos). 

Though China reports to have spent $15B (U.S.) on the Olympics, some outside estimates suggest that the spend was more like $50B (U.S.). When one recognizes the amount of infrastructure upgraded or built for the 2008 games the work effort is again staggering. Beijing built a new airport terminal, new highways, additional subways, tore down thousands of Hutongs, the traditional city neighborhoods and completed many other major projects to make way for the games of 2008. Generally the Chinese Olympics are viewed as having been successful but as with so much we've seen it's hard to know if what you hear is factual or a good government story.

The Dragon Hotel

Copper Wire Toys

Future Observation Towers

We made the short ride back to the hotel in another 30 minutes and had about an hour to rest and get ready for the Peking Duck dinner.

Nick with an Actual Peking Duck

By 8 PM we were seated around large circular tables again with lazy-susan centerpieces. The meal was served with many courses of vegetables, tofu, meats, soups and fruits. Finally the Peking Duck arrived and was sliced for us to enjoy. We were shown how to make a duck spring roll but none of mine looked anything like the ones made by the restaurant staff., nevertheless the taste was good. We had a birthday celebration for one of our fellow tourists. The staff brought out a huge cake with candles lit. After a round of "Happy Birthday" the dessert was served.

Upon returning to the hotel and with no other plans, two of us again headed to the Donghuamen Night Market. Tonight we were earlier and arrived before the 10 PM closing. Just as advertised, the vendor stands offered an array of food items from traditional rice, wontons, and fruit to the very exotic including a variety of insects, shell fish, snakes, lizards and meat body parts that I can only imagine.

Shrimp and Octopus

Cenitpedes & Millipedes

L to R: Scorpions, Snakes, Star Fish, Caterpillars, Grasshoppers, Sea Horses & Lizards

Fortunately or unfortunately dependent upon how you think of it the fact that we had filled our bellies at dinner either deprived us of or protected us from the opportunity to try things that we'll likely never see on an American menu.

Upon return to the hotel we again sat in the bar, closing out the cruise and land excursions with our fellow travelers. It was easy to stay up late as tomorrow would be a free day until about 2 PM when we would make ready for our flight home.