My trip around the world has come to an end. It was the trip of a lifetime and I will most certainly have to plan another similar trip in the near future!!

Flight Map (36,132 miles)

Photo Galleries
Singapore
Bangkok
Khao Lak
Kuala Lumpur
Istanbul
Cape Town
Victoria Falls
Chobe Chilwero Safari

Last night we started our journey home. We checked in with Lufthansa and an agent personally escorted us from the check-in desk through passport control & security using the crew lane and then walked us up to the South African First class lounge. When it was time to board she escorted us from the lounge to the gate.

The flight was very nice and I recognized a dozen of the flight attendants; a few from the pool at the Hyatt, a few from the restaurant we had lunch at, and the purser was on a tour we took earlier that day.

Upon landing in Frankfurt we headed to the First Class lounge to shower up and relax. When it is time to board they will provide us with a chauffeur to drive us to the plane!

We have a connection in Chicago and will be back in DC at 5pm. I’m heading down to Atlanta for a week for Easter so I’ll have about 10 hours at home to do laundry and rest up a bit before heading back to the airport Saturday morning.

Our Safari in Botswana has been aboloutely incredible!! In fact words cannot describe how great it has been. I already know I will have to plan another trip within the year.

Upon our arrival in Victoria Falls we were met at the airport and given a private tour of the falls by Abercromie & Kent and then transferred to the lodge. The Falls were magnificent although there was so much mist it was hard to see all of the falls.

When we arrived to the lodge we were led out to the backyard where afternoon tea was being served. After tea and a light snack we were lead to our room and then we were taken on a private evening game drive by Rodger.

Our Villa at Chobe Chilwero

As it turned out Rodger ended up being our driver for our entire stay here at Chobe Chilwero. We saw tons of animals inculding elephants, girrafes, lions, baboons, impala, buffalo, leopards, turtles, and scores of birds.

Impala Playing

Giraffe

Baby Elephant Mock Charging

Elephant Coming Back from the River

A Leopard

Lilac Breasted Roller, The Official Bird of Botswana

The African Grassland

Our Safari Veichle

Tea and Snacks Served on the Safari

The highlight of the game drives was seeing two lions hunting a heard of buffalo. Unfortunately the lions were unsucessful and one of the lions were injured in the hunt.

Lion Hunting Buffalo

Our last night (tonight) in Botswana we took a river cruise and saw hippos and alligators. Halfway through the cruise we were served drinks and light snacks. I opted for Chardonnay which was an excellent addition to the cruise.

I can’t believe our stay in Botswana and our trip around the world is almost complete. I will most certainly have to plan a similar trip in the near future!!!

Today we left Cape Town very early at 6:00am and to our surprise the airport was packed! It took a solid 20 minutes to get through the Business Class / Star Gold check-in line. They ended up delaying the flight about 25 minutes so everyone would make it. We made up the time in the air which allowed for a nice 90 minute connection.

We are now sitting aboard our flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The lodge has arranged a guide to pick us up at the airport, give us a tour of the falls, then take us to the lodge in time to go on the evening game drive!

I’m not expecting cell service at the lodge so I probably won’t be updating this blog for a few days.

Today was absolutely wonderful!! We got up this morning not knowing what we would be doing. We went downstairs and talked to the hotel concierge. We ended up booking a tour of the Winelands for tomorrow and booked a private tour of the Cape of Good Hope for the afternoon. We started off by driving about 1 hour south to the Cape of Good Hope which is the most Southwestern point on the continent of Africa and is also where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. It was such a beautiful location. We went up the the light house and the views are absolutely amazing. It was neat to think as we looked off into the Southern horizon the next landmass would be Antarctica!

Most Southwestern Point in Africa

Cape of Good Hope

Lighthouse at the Cape

View from the Lighthouse

After looking around the Cape of Good Hope we went up to Boulder Beach which is where the African Penguins hang out and nest. This is not an animal park or organized area. It is simply an area on the coast where there are lots of penguins so you can get as close to the penguins as you wish. The penguins were soooo cute! I won’t lie, I thought about slipping one or two into my backpack

Group of Penguins on Boulder Beach

The Jazz Festival begins tonight in Cape Town so we are about to go out for dinner and enjoy the sounds of the festival!

We have finally arrived South of the Equator in Cape Town, South Africa where it is now Fall!

Last night we flew Turkish Airways from Istanbul to Johannesburg and then connected to South African Airways to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The Turkish Airways flight was quite pleasant. For dinner I chose the rack of lamb which was very tender and delicious. Dessert was similar to the night before; fruit, cheeses, small chocolate cake pieces, and ice cream.

Turkish Airways A333

Upon arrival in Johannesburg we deplaned by stairs and took a bus to the terminal which was a major pain! Once we cleared customs and immigration we went upstairs to check in for the South African flight to Cape Town. The main terminal looks quite new and nice….definitely much nicer than I expected. After we checked in we went up to the South African Airways domestic lounge which had a nice African theme decor.

South African Airways Domestic Lounge

The flight to Cape Town was on a A346 aircraft which is the biggest plane South African Airways has. It featured lay flat seats which was nice to take a nap after lunch on this short two hour flight.

South African Airways A346

Really cool view from the tail mounted camera on the plane!

We checked into the Westin hotel and our room has a nice view of Table Mountain and a partial view of the harbor. The weather is very warm here and should remain warm for the duration of our stay. There is a Jazz festival taking place this weekend so it is sure to be a great weekend! We are off to spend the afternoon at the Victoria & Albert waterfront!

This morning we arrived in Istanbul. Our flight on Turkish Airlines was quite pleasant. As expected the seat was very comfortable and I was able to get over 8 hours of sleep on an 11 hour flight. Dinner was a multi-course meal. For the appitize I chose a prawn salad followed by a creamy soup. The main course was beef tenderloin which was very tender. Desert was fruit, ice cream, and cheeses.

Upon arrival in Turkey we proceeded to the Visa on Arrival window and instantly got our Visas for $20 USD a piece. There was no wait to get through customs and immigration. We went down to the “Hotels Desk” to sign up for the complimentary city tour offered to connecting passengers. Conveniently enough a luggage storage facility is located right next to the Hotels Desk so we could ditch our carry ons before the tour. As it turned out it was only us and one other family on the tour. We visited the Blue Mosque, the Islam Art Gallery, Topkapi Palace which offered stunning views of the Bosporus looking toward Asia, and the Grand Bazaar. I bought a few handcrafted Turksih items and ended up buying a new duffle bag for all the purchases  I have made throughout the trip.

Blue Mosque

Grand Bazaar

My Mom and the Bosphorus Lookıng Toward Asia

It was a perfect spring day and to my surprise many of the flowers throughout Istanbul were in bloom.

Flowers are in full bloom

We are sitting in the Turkish Premier Class lounge, all showered up, awaiting our 11:20pm flight to Johannesburg. Once we arrive in Johannesburg we will make a connection to Cape Town on South African Airways.

The past few days in Kuala Lumpur have been incredible. My cousin has taken us sightseeing and shopping everyday.

Yesterday we visited the Batu Caves which is a Hindu temple built inside a cave. To get to the cave you have to walk up 272 steps.

Batu Caves

We are now back at the Sats Premier lounge in Singapore awaiting our Turkish Airways flight to Istanbul. When we checked in for this flight we were directed to the Sats Premier check in lounge. Instead of waiting in a line and checking in at a counter you wait for an agent on a comfy couch or chair while enjoying a cold drink. Porters wheel your luggage away and check in is done at a sit down desk. It was quite nice! Tonight the flight will be on a 777 aircraft leased from Jet Airways. The seats are suite style and go completely flat so we should be able to get a good nights rest before touring Istanbul tomorrow!

Sats Premier Check-in

Sats Premier Check-in Lounge

Our stay in Khao Lak was absolutely wonderful. We spent the entire last day lounging on the beach before returning to sight seeing in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere in the world.

My Mom in the Andaman Sea

Last night we flew from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur. The flight arrived on time but the Kuala Lumpur airport is a good hour from downtown so we did not check into our room until after midnight.

I had made a reservation for a room with two beds at the Ritz Carlton. Check-in was smooth however when I got up to the room I discovered there was only one bed. I called the front desk and was told I had been upgraded to an Executive Level room. While I was appreciative of the upgrade it’s not really worth it if it means someone (me) has to sleep on the couch. Anyways, they switched us to a room with two beds and the bellman happily moved our luggage.

Ritz Carlton

Ritz Carlton

Today we met up with my cousin and his family who live in Kuala Lumpur. They took on us a great tour of Kuala Lumpur! We visited the Kuala Lumpur tower, visited the Craft Market where we bought several hand crafted items. Next we went to the National Mosque and then went to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre to do a bit of shopping. There was a Burberry sale with items up to 70% off but since it was the last day of the sale there was not a great selection. My cousin and his family are moving back to the US this summer and graciously offered to let us use some extra space in their container if we wanted to purchase some larger items so tomorrow we are going to look at some furniture.

KL Sky Tower

View from the KL Sky Tower

After a busy day we returned to my cousins apartment for a home cooked meal. We also got to see their new baby boy Alistair who was born this past winter. We were excited to be the first family members to see him!

My cousin’s wife Sei Jung, my mom, their new baby Alistair, myself, my cousin, and their daughter Aubrey

Later that night we went to the Sky Bar at the Traders Hotel which had an incredible view of the Petronas Towers. Tomorrow we are going to do more sight seeing with my cousin and his wife!

The Petronas Towers

The past few days in Khao Lak have been absolutely wonderful and completely relaxing. The beach is private and quite secluded from any other hotels (actually I’m not sure there are any other hotels within several miles). The water is quite warm and enjoyable to swim in. It makes the Caribbean Sea seem freezing cold!

Last night the hotel let guests light floating lanterns which was really neat to see. Once lit (and heated) the lanterns floated up over the oceans forming a mini constellation in the sky. It was also funny to watch people who accidentally lit their entire lanterns on fire or didn’t let them heat up enough and sent them soaring into other peoples heads.

One of the guys that lit his lantern on fire!

Today I made a day trip to the Similan Islands to go diving. The boat ride out to the islands was about 90 minutes each way but it was well worth it. This area has been ranked as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world!! I made a total of three dives at three different dive sites. The first dive was at North Point, the second dive was a Deep Six and the third dive was at Hideaway Bay. I saw a variety of fish including the clown fish! I also spotted a lobster and a moray eel.

Diving at Hideaway Bay