In Which Two People Are Inspired by a Jules Verne Adventure…
Many lifetimes ago, we took a trip. It was the benighted time at the Turn of the Century (i.e. 2001) and my Dearest Travel Companion and I undertook a journey inspired by the Jules Verne character, Phileas Fogg. Like Fogg, we sought to circumnavigate the globe – from London to London – without using airplanes. Ideally we would go – as the title of Verne’s book suggests – Around the World in Eighty Days.
The posts below are a collection of our web posts on this site during our journey and excerpts from the personal journals we kept. Since we traveled in the dark days before prevalent Wi-Fi and social media, our updates on the road were limited to whatever internet cafes we could find. Our original web postings are noted with the typewriter icon.
Interactive map with our route and shortcuts to posts
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Beijing (Day 29)
Climbing the Great Wall and a walk along the Spirit Way. Finishing the evening with hot pot – and a power outage.
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Beijing (Day 30)
Revisiting the Forbidden City with Roger Moore – 007 himself – as our guide. And an entire chicken for dinner.
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Leaving Beijing (Day 31)
Final day in Beijing including a trip to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo before boarding our train to Xian.
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Xi’An (Day 33)
Touring the Terracotta Warriors of the First Chinese Emperor …and having an unusual dinner of dumplings.
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Xi’An (Day 34)
A visit to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’An before departing for Shanghai …and inventing backstories on fellow passengers.
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Shanghai (Day 35)
Settling into China’s largest city: Shanghai. Wandered the Bund and observing the new skyscrapers in the Pudong.
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Time Check: Day 35
After thirty-five days, we are in the same country as Fogg: China. Fogg is in Hong Kong, we have just arrived in Shanghai.
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Shanghai (Day 36)
Settling into China’s largest city: Shanghai. Wandered the Bund and observing the new skyscrapers in the Pudong.
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Shanghai (Day 37)
Last day in China spent at the Shanghai Museum and a celebratory drink at the Pease Hotel before we sail to Japan.
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Leaving Shanghai (Day 38)
Sailing out of Shanghai on the ChinJif ferry bound for Kobe, Japan. Chickening out on karaoke.
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At Sea (Day 39)
Onboard the ChinJif ferry bound for Kobe, Japan. Seeing flying fish and learning about the “7 Nots”
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Himeji (Day 40) – Halfway
Halfway though the time, but not halfway there. Enjoying the stunning White Egret Castle in Himeji, Japan.
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Time Check: Day 40
The halfway point, based on the calendar. We are in Japan. Fogg changes ships in Shanghai harbor.
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Nara (Day 41)
Trying on a samurai costume at the Hyogo Museum of History before decamping to the ancient capital of Nara.
