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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Nara (Day 42)
Touring the temples of Nara, Japan by bicycle, braving the packs of hungry deer and vending machine sake.
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Kyoto (Day 44)
Learned how to take a bath Japanese-style. Johnny Hillwalker to showed us Kyoto including the birthplace of Nintendo.
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Osaka (Day 45)
Major culture shock as we boarded the Regal Princess in Osaka, Japan to being our trans-Pacific journey.
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Hiroshima (Day 46)
Toured the humbling museums and memorials at Hiroshima. Reminded that history is living and inconstant.
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Pusan (Day 47)
Visiting memorials to the Korean conflict at our stop in Pusan, South Korea. Or Busan, you choose.
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Vladivostok (Day 49)
Back in the (former) USSR, specifically the Russian Far East port city of Vladivostok. Changing money and stupid whales.
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Muroran (Day 51)
Warm welcome in Muroran, Japan. A visit to Hell (Valley) in Noboribetsu and the most peculiar Jidaimura Historical Village.
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Time Check: Day 52
Fogg has crossed the 180th Meridian – officially halfway around the world. We are leaving Japan bound for Alaska.
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Dutch Harbor (Day 56)
After five days at sea, we dock at the fishing port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. We hike across the runway to explore and look for coffee.
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Seward (Day 58)
Watching the otters in Seward harbor before checking out the Alaska Sea Life Center and checking in with family.
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Glacier Bay (Day 60)
Snowed out of College Fjord, we had greater luck cruising the aptly-named Glacier Bay and learning about killer whales.
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Ketchikan (Day 61)
Watching the otters in Seward harbor before checking out the Alaska Sea Life Center and checking in with family.
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Time Check: Day 61
Day 61 of our journey around the world. We are leaving Alaska heading south to Vancouver. Fogg landed in San Francisco.
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Vancouver (Day 63)
Disembarked in Vancouver, BC after almost three weeks at sea. Enjoyed Stanley Park before our rail journey begins again tomorrow.
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Empire Builder (Days 64-65)
Across the Northern US aboard the Empire Builder including Glacier National Park and lots of Montana.