December 2014

(First of three parts)

Intrigued by the round marble table with its intricate designs, my wife, Flory, and I sat on the marble stools surrounding it and twirled the attached lazy Susan. We decided to buy the table and stools and have them shipped from China to Seattle. It was November, in the year 2000.

 19-day, 18-night voyage from ARGENTINA to ANTARCTICA aboard expedition ship MS Fram, Oct. 30-Nov. 17, 2015, and Feb. 25-March 15, 2016. Hikes on uneven terrain require moderate fitness level. Highlights: Sail from Buenos Aires to Falkland Islands, home to cara­cara, penguins/South Georgia, home to albatross, Grytviken whaling station/Antarctic Peninsula/through Drake Passage to Ushuaia, Argentina. In 2015, $8,622-$16,459 ppdo or $9,148-$17,475 single. In 2016, $14,582-$25,471 ppdo or $18,475-$27,040 single. Hurtigruten, Inc.

Learn new photo techniques on a 5-day, 4-night photo tour aboard the 70-foot schooner Passing Cloud in British Columbia, CANADA, April 21-25, 2015. Highlights: Starts and ends in Ucluelet/Barkley Sound/Broken Group Islands, home to black bears, otters, whales, tide pools, towering trees. Max. group size, six. Land, CAD2,600 (near $2,315) ppdo plus 5% GST. Outer Shores Expeditions (360 B Harbour Rd., Victoria, B.C., V9A 3S1, Canada; toll free in US/Canada, 855/714-7233, www.outershores.ca).

10 days, 9 nights. Tented camp pitched at each location. Full mobile kitchen with chef. Highlights: Hotel night in Entebbe/drive to Budongo Forest to walk in chimpanzee sanctuary/boat trip in Murchison Falls National Park/game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park home to zebras, giraffes, lions, elephants/Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Land, $3,640. Bahr El Jebel Safaris (Calle Benito Juarez 35, Alamos, Sonora 85760, Mexico; phone +52 647 428 1493, www.bahr-el-jebel-safaris.com).

18 days, 17 nights. Highlights: In Bangkok, THAILAND, Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha/cooking class at coconut farm village/in Luang Prabang, LAOS, Wat Xieng Thong temple/Pak Ou Caves/in Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA, Killing Fields/near Siem Reap, Angkor Wat temples/in Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM, Bê´n Thành Market, Cu Chi Tunnels. Land/internal air, $2,695-$3,795 ppdo. (Extra cost for international air.) No single supp. Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/955-1925, www.oattravel.com).

 9-day, 8-night cruise on Yangtze River to Chongqing, CHINA. Highlights: Board Victoria Sophia in Shanghai/in Nanjing, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum/in Chizhou, Mountain of Nine Lotuses/in Wuhan, the commercial, pedestrian-only Han Street/Three Gorges Dam/in Fengdu, Ghost City on Mingshan Hill or village of families relocated due to dam. $1,040 ppdo or $1,820 single, Superior Suite, or $2,360 ppdo or $4,719 single, Executive Suite. Travel Indochina (Westminster, CO; 800/342-1957, www.travelindochina.com).

 12 days, 11 nights on GREECE’s largest island, April 24-May 6, 2015. Highlights: In Heraklion, Minoan Palace of Knossos/in Phaistos, view Mt. Ida/Roman ruins of Gortyn/on Akrotiri Peninsula, monastery of Gouvemeto/in Venetian city of Rethymno, stay in 16th-century palazzo/wine tastings. Land, £3,295 (near $5,302) ppdo. Single supp., £475 ($764). Peter Sommer Travels (Chippenham House, 102 Monnow St., Monmouth, NP25 3EQ, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1600 888 220 or, in US/Canada, 855/443-3027, www.petersommer.com).

 9-day, 8-night private luxury train trip, May 4-12, 2015. Highlights: Depart Venice, ITALY/tours of Ljubljana, SLOVENIA, and Zagreb, CROATIA/in SERBIA, Tito’s Memorial/in BULGARIA, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, fourth-century Thracian tomb/in ROMANIA, 14th-century Bran Castle/in Budapest, HUNGARY, Royal Palace, St. Matthias Church. Land, $9,795 per person, double occupancy (ppdo) or $15,295 single, Heritage Class, or $15,395 ppdo or $23,995 single, Deluxe Class. Society of International Railway Travelers (Louisville, KY; 800/478-4881, www.irtsociety.com)