One More in-flight Post

It may be the time difference, going back in time instead of ahead, or it may be that experience is really a better teacher than I have appreciated in traveling, or it may be better access to cognac, but this long flight (14 1/2 hours this direction with a tail wind), has so far been much easier to manage. We were just informed that dinner will be served in one hour and that we have only 8 1/2 hours to go...maybe a nap after dinner will help keep me from over-blogging.

 As difficult as some of the views of life outside our tour bus windows were, and as troubled as the economics and politics of the countries we visited are, we met many cheerful and grateful Thai, Cambodians, Vietnamese, and Hong Kongians. And we experienced some of the wonders of human creation, like the giant reclining Buddha in Bangkok, or life along the Meykong River in Thailand, or the Sanctuary of Truth in Thailand, or the dense High Rise Forest that is Hong Kong. Most of our tour guides were informative and able to share their personal stories (that had difficult (or horrible as in Cambodia) histories), with a sanguine view of their own and their country’s ability to improve living conditions for the majority of their fellow citizens. 

I did come away with a real appreciation for the threat that China poses to the political balance in Southeast Asia and the enormous challenges that the governments and citizens of all the countries we visited are facing, especially Cambodia. Based on conversations held and overheard on the ship and the excursions, I was impressed with level of interest and curiosity that many of our fellow travelers brought to the journey, as this was not a cruise to easy destinations. And these fellow travelers were not all American - I have no hard data, but I would guess that 2/3 were from the US. For some strange and welcome reason, there was very little mention of Donald Trump and the sorry state of affairs in our own country.

 Life an board the ship and the daily activities, great meals, excursions, lectures, and musical entertainment, were certainly a welcome distraction, so who could blame us for not wanting to wallow in the American political swamp. Of course we did have internet access, so we continued to read the New York Times and the Washington Post, but it all seemed somehow like a sorry sideshow to the great human drama taking place around the globe. I do however remain gravely concerned about how my country is going to shed Trumpism and recover from the damage that he is doing.