Grand Tourist 3

Peter Boer, Ellen Boer

Description

This book is about how one can, in a lifetime, experience the world as directly as possible. It is a practical matter; travel takes time and money. The earth is a big place, and one must be selective about what one sees and how one travels. For us travel has been a lifetime progression, starting with student budgets, then building on corporate travel, and progressing to less accessible locales. As we became seniors, we were more limited in physical adventure, but more able to experience upscale lodgings and to engage local experts. Each of these stages afforded its own viewpoint and enriched the experience of the accessible world. Beyond having enjoyed the great journey ourselves, we have shared it both with children and grandchildren.

Sujets

• Road Travel
• Transportation
• Lodging
• Travel
• Food

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 02 novembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664111851
• Langue: English

Extrait

GRAND TOURIST 3
 
A Lifetime of Travel
 
 
 
 
 
ELLEN AND PETER BOER
 
Copyright © 2023 by Ellen and Peter Boer. 836291
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
 
 
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6641-1183-7
 
Hardcover
978-1-6641-1184-4
 
EBook
978-1-6641-1185-1
 
 
Library of Congress Control Number:       2021921407
 
 
 
Rev. date: 11/02/2021
PREFACE
T HIS BOOK IS the second update of Grand Tourist , first published in 2013, and updated as Grand Tourist 2 in in 2017. We have since visited some forty additional countries, bringing our lifetime total to about 180 (as summarized in the Appendix). Unfortunately, after only one trip in 2020, the pandemic forced a hiatus and a host of canceled reservations. In 2021, we added some five domestic trips, but international travel remains challenging as we write this preface. As an exercise, Peter wrote a first draft of a book, Virtual Tourist , of the many countries we haven’t yet visited, often because conditions are still dangerous. Some of the more interesting are Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Nepal. And, of course, we hope to return to our favorite settings again, on the lookout for new experiences and insights.
T his book is about how one can, in a lifetime, experience the world as directly as possible. It is a practical matter; travel takes time and money. The earth is a big place, and one must be selective about what one sees and how one travels. For us travel has been a lifetime progression, starting with student budgets, later building on corporate travel, and progressing to less accessible locales. As we became seniors, we were more limited in physical adventure, but more able to experience upscale lodgings and to engage local experts. Each of these stages affords its own viewpoint and enriches the experience. Beyond having enjoyed the great journey ourselves, we have shared it both with children and grandchildren, who have now seen more than their share of the varied civilizations and locales that make this a fascinating world. While the book is unapologetically autobiographical, we have organized it to be useful to a general audience.
“The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18 th Century some South American, United States and other overseas youth joined in.” 1 Broadly speaking it was an endeavor designed to expose the traveler to enlightenment, adventure, art, and culture.
In the 21 st Century, the concept of the Grand Tour is at the same time old-fashioned and eternal. The pursuit of this goal is available to millions, while the original scope of the goal is now far too narrow. In the 18 th Century it was predictable that young scions of noble houses would soon be influential persons in their governments or in commerce. The logic was impeccable – learn what could be learned before taking on the responsibilities of big jobs. Today, there is much less predictability; young persons from diverse backgrounds regularly rise to become powerful CEO’s, investors, and politicians. The pool of potential leaders is much larger, but the logic that they should be exposed to the world before having to deal with it is even stronger.
The scope of the subject matter is vastly more challenging. Today, it is laughable that knowledge of classical antiquity, the Renaissance, French culture, and the Christian religion, constitutes an adequate education. World power is shaped by a dozen major cultures and by many minor ones. There are four major religions with a billion adherents, and all the world’s continents are known and accessible. In addition to geographic and cultural breadth, there are the additional dimensions of technology and history. Science and technology have advanced vastly since its origins in the 17 th Century. Places like the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the copper mines in Falun, Sweden, and the great plutonium factory at Hanford, Washington are very revealing. Battlefields illuminate history and really give an insight into the issues rival armies faced in the moment of decision. Gettysburg, Thermopylae, the Falaise Gap, the Normandy Beaches, and Edson’s Ridge on Guadalcanal all illustrate the importance of terrain and leadership in determining the outcome.
The workings of the world can no longer be grasped in a tour of a few months –that is the work of a lifetime. Indeed, the first global tourist was probably Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1368), an Islamic jurist, who traveled some 72,000 miles from his home in Morocco as far as China and Southeast Asia and recorded the tale. By comparison, with the advantage of jet planes we have traveled perhaps five million miles, and visited many of the same sights in the Islamic world, plus entire continents ibn Battuta did not know existed. Much can be learned from professors, reading, and the media. However, our experience is that all of these sources are highly selective and some are dangerously biased. There is nothing like seeing it for yourself and talking to real people on the scene. For us, expanding the scope of our children’s and grandchildren’s knowledge to a global context has been an educational imperative.
An additional aspect of the old Grand Tour was the collection of art, especially paintings. The works were typically crated and shipped home to decorate the walls of stately homes. Even today, there are many art shops and galleries in Paris and Rome that cater to travelers with this objective. On a lower level are souvenir-type items, some of them intrinsically beautiful and authentic, more of them tacky. The best objects are almost irresistible, but as our bookshelves filled up, we have become much more selective. However, the modern Grand Tour allows one to identify the elements of style. One option is to be eclectic, decorating one room in the manner of Renaissance Italy, another in French Rococo, and yet another with a Japanese theme – indeed royal palaces often took this approach.
There is an alternative to hauling back packages of antiques, art works, and furniture. It is to develop taste , which can be a guide to decorating and collecting. The outcome will be to choose for oneself a style that one is comfortable with and use global travel to educate oneself about the details. Ellen eventually settled on the British 18 th and early 19 th Centuries, and our furniture, paintings, and china now largely reflect that choice. Some of our actual acquisitions have been made in London or Dublin, but most from auctions or dealers in America itself.
CONTENTS
Preface
Chapter 1Reward and Risk
The Rewards of Travel
Risk
Managing the Risks
Aviation Risk
Physical Risk
Terrorism
Kidnap and Piracy
Political Instability
Chapter 2Planning
Preplanning
Guidebooks
Chapter 3Practicalities
Airlines
Hotels
Packing
Food
Languages
Currency
Cameras and diaries
Chapter 4Oceans, Seas, Rivers and Ports
Greek Isles 1973
Galapagos 1983
Turkey and the Sea Cloud 1994
Circumnavigating Arabia 1996
The Society Islands 1998
South Pacific 2014
Myanmar 2016
Western Mediterranean 1999
Baltic 2000
Antarctica 2001
Greenland and Baffin Island 2004
The Panama Canal 2004
The Aleutians and Kamchatka 2006
Alaska Cruise 2007
Svalbard and the White Sea 2007
Belize 2008
Bahamas – “Dearma’s Cruise” 2009
Black Sea 2011
Danube River 2012
Indian Ocean 2012
Malabar Coast
Maldives
Mauritius
Cuba 2016
The Amazon 1994 and 2015
Indonesia 2017
Southeast Asia – 2018
Macau – 2018
Philippines – 2018
Borneo – 2018
Sumatra – 2018
Caribbean - 2019
Barbados
Saint Lucia
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Eustatius
St. Bart’s and Guadaloupe
Antigua
A Second Panama Canal Cruise – 2020
Columbia River Cruise 2021
Chapter 5Africa
East Africa
Our First Trip in 1972
Rwanda and the Gorillas 2011
The Migration: Sasakwa 2011 and 2013
Ethiopia 2013
Southern Africa
The First Trip: South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, 1993
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, South Africa, 1996
South Africa, Zimbabwe, 1997
South Africa, Botswana, 1998
South Africa, Botswana, 1999
Bash in the Bush, 2001
Sveni and Lion Sands, 2005
The Massacre at 40K Pan, 2009
Singita 2014
South Africa and Botswana – 2018
Into the Desert: Mali, Senegal and Gambia 2006
Northern Africa
Morocco 1981-2014
Libya and Tunisia 2006
Egypt 1983, 2019
Algeria – 2019
Chapter 6Asia
China 1989
Tibet and South China, 2007
China 2016
Mongolia 2008
Turkestan 2009
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan