Wonderful!!

Author: Melodie O’Connell
Date of Trip: January 2014

In Jan. I went on my first “Around the World” trip by myself – just me! I flew from DFW to London and onto Cape Town, SA. Toured all of Cape Town including the famous Table Mountain. Two days later I boarded Oceania’s Nautica for a 30 day cruise up the coast of Africa including stops in East London, Durban and Richards Bay, SA, then onto Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya. I visited cultural and historical sites, Bantu and Zulu villages, and a safari in Kenya. We then cruised over to the Seychelles where we visited their wonderful beaches and enjoyed snorkeling and just beaching it as well as visiting downtown Mahe. We then headed over to the Maldives which was quite an experience as Male probably won’t be around by the turn of the century. It’s elevation is only 3 ft. above sea level so sandbags are a lifesaving measure there. Such a beautiful island and so modern and up to date too. Our next stop was Phuket and Penang, Thailand where we spent 2 days exploring their beautiful beaches, etc. Our last stop was Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Their “twin towers” were worth the visit as well as their wonderful pewter factory. A few dollars spent there. I ended up in Singapore for two days during which I hopped on and hopped off 3 buses which gave me a wonderful and thorough insight into this beautiful, modern country.

I then boarded another plane and headed for Sydney, Australia. I have been there many times before but this was my first time doing it alone. I had booked tickets to the opera at the famous “Sydney Opera House” and enjoyed my first opera “Carmen”. It was a wonderful production and the highlight of my trip there. Three days later I boarded my last plane and headed non stop back to DFW. It was a trip of a lifetime but hopefully won’t be my last “round the world” adventure.

Needless to say, I won’t be leaving any inheritance for my kids. At 75 I plan on doing a lot more travelling before I am through.