One Orbit: Around the World in 63 Days

© Copyright 2006 Thomas MacKrell

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1      GETTING STARTED

CHAPTER 2      IRELAND

August 22 to 31

CHAPTER 3      BELGIUM

August 31 to September 5

CHAPTER 4      THE NETHERLANDS

September 5 to 9

CHAPTER 5      GERMANY

September 9 to 10

CHAPTER 6      THE CZECH REPUBLIC

September 10 to 11

CHAPTER 7      AUSTRIA

CHAPTER 8      HUNGARY

September 13

CHAPTER 9      Romania

(Bucharest and ConstantA)

September 14 to 17

CHAPTER 10      THE UKRAINE

September 18

CHAPTER 11      RUSSIA

(MOSCOW AND SAINT PETERBURG)

September 19 to October 5

CHAPTER 12      RUSSIA

(THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY)

October 6 to 12

CHAPTER 13      RUSSIA

(ARTEM AND VLADIVOSTOK)

October 12 to 15

CHAPTER 14      KOREA AND JAPAN

October 15 to 16

CHAPTER 15      HAWAII

(OAHU)

October 16 and 17

CHAPTER 16      HAWAII

(THE BIG ISLAND)

October 18

CHAPTER 17      BACK IN OAHU

October 20 to 21

CHAPTER 18      GOING HOME

October 20 to 21

CHAPTER 19      THE ANGELS

CHAPTER 20      NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

(AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)

CHAPTER 21      BACKPACKING

(OH, MY ACHING BACK)

INTRODUCTION

Around the World? I hadn’t really thought of it like that.

Since I can remember, I’ve wanted to visit Ireland. My greatgrandfather emigrated from there, and I had a desire to see where my roots were. My great-grandfather came from County Down at the age of twenty in 1872. It was my wish to see where he grew up, and to see some of the country where some other Irish friends of mine lived. I worked with a woman, who was born in Ireland, and her stories of the land and the people always made me dream of going there one day. It was during my time in the Army in the 1960s and 1970s that the travel bug bit me. I had been to Cleveland, Harrisburg, Washington, DC prior to that, but no extensive travel. In the Army, I not only saw several states, but also Germany and Vietnam. Therefore, I was now aware of the beauty of the world outside. My first priority was always Ireland, but circumstances never allowed it. So that dream was replaced by the desire to see all fifty states. By the time I left the Army in 1973, I’d seen 24 of them, so I commenced work on the other 26. My vacations in 2001, 2002and 2003 completed that work.

After the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, my best friend, John Cresanta, took a trip to the homeland of his grandparents in Russia. His telling of the trip and the ride across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Railway and his photos inspired me to duplicate that trip. He took the train from Vladivostok on the east coast to Moscow, and then flew home. Having thought about these two trips and the amount of air travel involved (crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans twice).

I decided to combine the trips. I would fly to Ireland, then to Moscow, train across Russia and fly home. Then I began to think about other places in Europe, that I would like to see. I was stationed in Germany for two years, and it would be nice to see how it had changed. I have on-line friends in Belgium, Linda; The Netherlands, Trees (Trays); and Olga in Russia. I wanted to meet them, and they voiced a desire to meet me. I met a man from Ireland at my work. David told me if I ever got to Ireland, he would treat me to a pint of Guinness.

Therefore, in the early stages of planning it was Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Russia and Hawaii. What about Hawaii? I’d been there in 1970. However, in the past four years I had completed my dream to visit all fifty states. I was placing them on my website and all the photos (slides at that time) of Hawaii were no longer of great quality. Therefore, a revisit was in order.

I correspond with my Russian friend, Olga, through email and surface mail. She was the first to alert me to the fact that this was a trip around the world. I really hadn’t thought of it as such before. Being it was a trip around the world required some additions, adjustments and a lot more thought.

I’d wanted to see Berlin after the wall came down. I also worked with a man, Alex, from Budapest, and he told me, I should visit there one day. I’d had a fondness for Vienna since college days, when I took Art and Music Appreciation. Then some friends told me about the beautiful Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea coast in Romania. Over time, it began to take the shape of a tour of Capitols. And so it became.

By this time the trip included Ireland (Dublin and Belfast), Brussels, The Netherlands (Amsterdam and The Hague), Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and Constanta (on the Black Sea in Romania), Kievand Odessa on the Black Sea in the Ukraine, Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia, a short stop in Japan, Hawaii and home.

In the meantime, I met another friend on-line, Carol, a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. She offered to put me up for a week or so while in Moscow. She and I planned on a weekend trip to St. Petersburg and to see a ballet at the Bolshoi. I would tour Moscow and the Kremlin while she worked.

Planning my itinerary led me to believe the trip would be in the neighborhood of two months. I would retire from work at age 63, so I made it 63 days long. My trip of a lifetime. Retirement was a necessity because getting sufficient time off to accomplish this endeavor wasn’t possible while working. Forty-eight years of work was enough. I wanted to be able to enjoy traveling at an age where I still could.

As it turned out I didn’t get to see everything I’d planned on, but I did see several things I didn’t plan. I didn’t complete my research on my great-grandfather. I had some problems in the Ukraine, and my time in Korea and Japan was pretty much a bust. However, what I did see made it all worth the time and the cost.

It’s been seven months since I returned home in October of 2004. I’ve procrastinated long enough on writing this book, which also wasn’t my idea in the first place. However, friends, notably Heidi, The Professor, told me, I should put my experience into words. She’s an English Instructor at a local university, and has graciously offered to proofread and edit this book for me. Thank you, Heidi. Thank you also to my niece, Megan, who took my photos and crude images and turned them into the cover for this book.

CHAPTER 1

GETTING STARTED

Planning for my low-level orbit began in August immediately after my vacation trip in the States of 2003 ended. That trip completed my tour of the fifty states. The last three states were Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and I visited eight state capitols I’d not seen before. I realized another dream during that trip by seeing a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field for the first time, something I wanted to do for many years.

My planning research took me to hundreds of websites for airfares, sightseeing, hotels, train fares and suggestions on what to take and what not take during the last four months of 2003. I didn’t make any financial commitments until February 2004. However, I acquired a wealth of information from these sites, and from talking to some of my overseas friends.

The first purchases I made in connection with the trip were a good pair of New Balance cross training shoes, a money belt, which I inadvertently threw out, and a backpack. I needed a backpack that was light, sturdy and roomy. The one I bought was all of that, but I eventually found I over-packed it. When traveling we all tend to take too much. I was no exception, and ended up sending a few items home. The last chapter in this book lists those items I began with, discarded and added along with some suggestions.

As winter became spring, more things needed to be accomplished. I visited Mary in March. That was some trip. To see a child after 37 years is nothing short of a miracle. Then shortly after my retirement from JC Penney in July, I went to see her again, then she and her children and I went to Florida so she could meet two of her sisters. There was a lot going on in 2004. Even preparing to retire took planning and time. Hiring a Financial Planner to take care of my investments, finding a place for my cat, Baby, keeping in constant contact with Mary, arranging dates with my friends overseas, not to mention still working, and trying to build website pages for the vacation trip of 2003. I also bought a laptop and a digital camera during this period. Then I had to search for spare batteries for both. Let’s just say I stayed busy. When I returned to Erie, many loose strings had to be tied. A lot of work was still to be done.

My first real commitment was the purchase of my airline tickets that would carry me around the world. That was done in May. I wasn’t flying all the way. Between Brussels, Belgium and Vladivostok, Russia, I would travel by train across two continents. The initial flights were from Pittsburgh, PA to Toronto, Ontario to Dublin, Ireland. Then ten days later from Dublin to Brussels, Belgium. I wouldn’t fly again until I left Russia. To get to Hawaii, the best fare was through Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, both layovers. I had planned for four days in Hawaii then back to Pittsburgh, having to change planes in Minneapolis. I had ten days in Ireland, so in June I booked a self-drive tour of that country. The tour included car rental and B&Bs for each night. That combined with a 22hour layover in Seoul and the four days in Hawaii gave me 45 days to cross Europe and Asia. Got my running shoes.

Looking for train fares was a completely different project. The trains I would need to take took me though five different railway systems. So booking a Rail Pass would not work. This also would not work, because I made my plans very loose once I got to mainland Europe. I wanted the freedom to stay longer, if I wanted, or to leave earlier, if that was my choice. Consequently, train tickets were bought as needed. An interesting thing about the rail systems in Europe is that in some countries you can’tbuy a ticket at the station until an hour before the train leaves. If you want to reserve, you have to go through a travel agent in the city. Of course, this costs a little more, but at least you get a reserved ticket. I found this mostly in Eastern Europe and I think it’s a throwback to the USSR days. At least, it was the case in the former Communist Bloc nations.

By early June, I had my plane tickets, my B&B vouchers and car rental agreement, so I took the next step. I started packing. There are a thousand people on-line recommending this or that when traveling abroad. None of them is totally right and none of them is totally wrong. They all have lists based on their individual need and plans. First, I took the common and essential items, which were included in all lists. Then I added a few items from one list or another, and ended up with my list of things, I thought I would need. Well, let me tell you about the first packing. I couldn’t even get it all in the backpack, and I had sent a winter jacket on ahead to my friend in Moscow. Severe cutting back was necessary. I tossed out this and that, and finally got the weight down to under 50 pounds for the backpack, which would be manageable. I would carry the camera and batteries with my sunglasses, pens and day planner in a smaller bag. I thought about a fanny pack, and even bought one. That would have been very unsatisfactory had I ended up taking it. It would have required digging for small items in my backpack too often. Fortunately, I was gifted a Field Bag for my retirement. It was perfect. It was large enough (8x10x5 inches with three outside pockets) to hold the camera, spare batteries, my planner, reading material, crossword puzzle books, tickets, snacks, writing materials, and even had a pocket for my sunglasses. Fully packed, it was about five to eight pounds depending on what snacks I had at the time.

Retirement came on July 17. Things really started to move then, I had a bit over a month to visit Mary and take her down to Florida, then return to Erie on August 9 with twelve days remaining to get ready. Baby was left in the care of my granddaughter, Melissa, in my absence. That saga is a book in itself. I had a carrier, but getting her in it was WWIII. Then when we would stop to rest, she refused to come out. The usual outcome of every argument between a human and a cat is that the human gives in. Which I did. I let her ride the rest of the way to Mary’s house under the front seat, then all the way to Florida. Sadly, Baby was lost during one of the hurricanes striking Florida, when all had to evacuate. When I returned to Erie, I must have packed and repacked three or four times. I was testing for the best way to make a complete set of clothing easily available for changing. That just didn’t work out, and I ended up placing like items with like items. I found it best to place the larger items, like jeans and walking shorts, against the frame and socks and underwear on the outer layer with t-shirts in the middle. There was a pocket inside the bag, which held my laptop so it was pretty well protected. The side pouches outside held my slippers in one and my windbreaker and umbrella in the other.

I also arranged with my sister, Pat, to take me to the Greyhound station in Erie early on the morning of August 21. Taking the bus to Pittsburgh was a lot cheaper than flying and got me there even earlier than a plane would have. Flights from Erie are mostly for general connections and you have either to rush or wait a long time for your connecting flight. Another good thing about taking the bus was an open-ended return date on my round trip ticket. Therefore, if something happened that prevented my return on time, I would still have the use of the return ticket. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary. Pat would eventually pick me up upon my return. I’d have to call her as there were several possibilities for the return ride depending on what time I was able to get from the airport to the bus station in Pittsburgh.

By Thursday, August 19, I was ready and anxious to go. By Saturday, the day of departure, I was a bundle of nerves. Somewhere out there were several people, I’d never met before, and upon whom I woulddepend at various times during the trip. The only person I knew from before the trip was David in Ireland. More about him and his lovely wife, Mary later. Everyone else was a virtual friend from the internet. I’m going to say a few words about them now, but you will get to meet them in more detail later on. During the course of the trip I would meet up with one real life friend, and four internet friends, Linda in Belgium, Trees (pronounced Trays) in the Netherlands, Carol in Moscow, and Olga in Vladivostok. In the course of meeting some of them, I’d also meet their families and some of their friends. Of all the people I met on a personal level not one disappointed me. They were kind, courteous, and went out of their way to make me feel at home. Without exception.

I asked Pat to take a before photo when we arrived at the Greyhound station. She also took