Expedition Amenities

Expedition Amenities –
As we fly from Australia to Cambodia I’ll summarize some of the services we’ve been experiencing on the trip. While this is truly an expedition and not a vacation I don’t think it could be much better organized or luxurious.
Baggage – we don’t worry about it. Depending on the country our bags are waiting for us when we get through immigration and we take them through customs and leave them on the other side. When we get to our hotel our bags are in our room already. Several countries have allowed group customs both in and out so we don’t have to touch our bags at all. The strangest entry requirement we’ve experienced has been in Samoa and again in Australia – after landing the plane is sprayed inside with a disinfectant – the crew gives us damp washcloths to hold over our faces but assure us that the spray is not harmful to humans.
All immigration forms are filled out for us except for our signature and in a couple of cases a few questions that the staff cannot do for us.
When we board the plane we go directly to our assigned seats and frequently find a gift on the arm rest – such things as: folding bags for souvenirs, polo shirts, National Geographic hats, key chains from the country we’re leaving, etc.
Once we’re seated hot towels are handed out for those who want them. Drinks are served (anything from champagne to orange juice) and glasses collected again before takeoff. Once airborne, depending on the time, printed menus are passed out and the chef goes over the options for the next meal. Orders are taken, and before dinner drinks and canapés are served. When our first tray arrives our tray table is covered with a black napkin as a tablecloth before the tray is placed on it. The tray has a rectangular salad plate front center, cloth napkin on the right with the silverware inside, a cheese plate on the left and a dessert on the back left. Wine and water glasses, salt & pepper shakers, sometimes a favor, etc. are on the tray too. The entrée is served later and is always hot. The food is delicious although Tim is ready for a peanut butter sandwich!
During lunch (we’ve just had 1 or 2 dinners on board) we also usually listen to a lecture by one of the staff. Today it was the National Geographic photographer, Jim Richardson, talking about how to film the local culture to really understand the daily life of the people. That was followed by a NG film on Angkor Wat showing the history and the discovery by western man of the city. Other “lectures” have included Johan Reinhard talking about high-altitude archaeology, usually with pictures of his expeditions. We’ve also listened to a history of the National Geographic Society, geography quizzes, the doctor reminding us about when to take the malaria meds, what to expect at high altitudes, etc., etc. All pretty interesting stuff and much of it helpful for where we’re headed next.
Have we mentioned for those of you interested in the plane that this is just the 3rd flight with new leather seats, TV screens, etc. All of the bathrooms on the plane have linen hand towels and fresh flowers for each flight. In our center arm rest there are two plugs for us to charge all of our laptops, phones, Ipods, etc. We don’t have wi-fi on the plane and we’ve had problems connecting in a number of places. I think, thanks to Rob and Jil sending instructions, that I now can post more pictures and not take so much time.
After lunch coffee, tea, hot chocolate and liquors are served. No wonder most of the group is asleep right now!
After this flight to Cambodia our assigned seats change. We’ve been in row 14 on the left of the plane and we will be moved to row 5 on the right side. The crew moves all of our belongings after we leave the plane today. The idea is to move folks around so they get to know more of their fellow travelers. Plus, we’ve been over the wing so I’ll be glad to get in front of the wing for the last half of the trip.
When we disembark there is usually separate immigration and customs lines for our group and our local tour folks are waiting for us as we come out of customs. We go directly to our buses and usually see something before going to our hotel. That way the baggage is in the rooms and the hospitality table set up. We get our room keys from the NG staff; have welcoming juices, etc. available and a chance to go to our rooms for a few minutes at least.
We haven’t gone into a room yet where there hasn’t been a welcoming gift along with the daily schedule for the next day. In Samoa there were flowers on our bed with tipi mats and colorful skirt lengths for us both. Other items have included a CD of local music, silver picture frames, a stone bowl and local art, etc. Good thing we were given extra souvenir bags! We’re leaving all of those items and our own purchases (not much so far) on the plane so we don’t have to worry about customs or having more items in our room than we can handle.
The rooms have all been great. The last two nights in Australia we had a 2 bedroom apartment (very modern) with washer & dryer – much appreciated – and our front patio sloped directly into a lagoon pool. Tim swam the first night but after we both snorkeled yesterday we didn’t go in last night.
Oh – a couple of other things we didn’t know until we left D.C. As we enter each country we are given about $10 in local currency – twice in woven/cloth bags from the country and other times in envelopes. There are also always 2 stamped postcards in our room and any cards we buy ourselves are just handed to the staff and they add postage and mail them. Last night was our first “dine around” – we could choose one of 4 restaurants in Port Douglas and were bused from the hotel and given vouchers for about $65 U.S. each for our dinner. It was a nice change from hotels dinners and more than adequate for a very nice meal.
Hopefully you get the idea of how we’re living. Everything is first class plus. Most of us, however, are having trouble remembering what day it is and we’re all confused about what time it is back home now that we’ve crossed the International Date Line. We know we’re a day ahead of you but figuring out your time is tricky.
Hope this gives you a feel for how we’re spending our non-sightseeing time. Today when we land in Siem Reap we’ve chosen to go with the part of the group that will go to the market. We’re expecting real culture shock for the rest of the trip as we haven’t been in Asian, African or Middle-Eastern cultures before.
Oh – and there has been an itinerary change for us. Once we arrive in China we’ll go to Xi’an for 2 nights and then to Chengdu to meet the rest of the group for 1 night. The original itinerary had us spending a night in Chengdu, then to Xi’an for a night and back to Chengdu for another night. When we got to D.C. we were told they realized that didn’t make much sense so they changed it around – sounds much better to us.
Thanks for all your comments on the blog – we’re not trying to respond to them but want you to know it’s nice to hear from you.
Lynda and Tim