THE ROAD IS LONG AND LIFE IS SHORT

YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE      

Socrates

We will be traveling soon to Thailand, and this will be our third trip to the other side of the globe.

In 2022 we explored the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands in the crystal-clear waters of Fiji while aboard the small cruise ship M.V. Fiji Princess operated by the Blue Lagoon Cruises.

We had to get there somehow.

BLUE LAGOON CRUISES 

Last year we traveled the length of Vietnam from Hanoi to HCMC with the small tour company Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) and while there flew into Siem Reap Cambodia to explore Angkor Wat.

We had to get there somehow.

OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL 

In a couple of weeks our trip to Thailand begins. Again, we are traveling with OAT, but with an extra week afterwards for sand gravity on the Sunprime Kamala Beach Resort in Phuket.

SUNPRIME KAMALA BEACH RESORT, PHUKET

Yes, we will have to get there somehow.

THE LAVALLETTE SYNDROME

If you are the type of “traveler” who will balk at a longish car ride to get to the beaches of New Jersey or will only consider the comfort of returning to the same destination time and again, like for instance, Lavallette, New Jersey, then don’t consider flying to the other side of the globe.

Not to disparage Lavallette, but there’s a big world out there beyond the Jersey shore. And, because we haven’t yet perfected our teleportation device you have to put the time in to get anywhere. I mean the last test on our dog didn't turn out well.

Teleportation device - Do NOT use

Fiji was 9.5 hours on Fiji Airways from San Francisco, with a five-hour layover there after our transcontinental flight from Philadelphia.

It took us over 24 hours to fly to Hanoi Vietnam, with stops in Minneapolis and Inchon South Korea, with several hours of layovers factored into the equation. 

On this upcoming trip to Thailand, we are doing something different, flying east. 

We will fly on American Airlines from Philadelphia to Doha, Qatar for a 12.5-hour flight. After a 4+ hour layover in Doha we board Qatar Airways for another 6.5-hour flight. We will leave Philadelphia on a Friday, and arrive in Bangkok early Sunday morning, not counting any unforeseen travel delays and will have flown over 10,000 miles.

I told you it’s a big world.

DISTANCE CALCULATOR  

IS IT WORTH IT?

Of course that’s a loaded question. Everyone has their preferences. Wasn’t it Socrates who said: “See one promontory, one mountain, one sea, one river and see all.”

Well, when it comes to traveling, we have drunk the hemlock... usually with a bourbon chaser. The road may be long, but life is short and there are so many beautiful places to visit in this vast world. And I think it's a sound observation that Lavallette is a bit different than the islands of Fiji, or the streets of Hanoi, or the temples of Cambodia.

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj