HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!!!!!! The Dead Sea and Petra: Kathy once again joined us for her birthday where we celebrated with a ceremonial float! It was a bit surreal as the last time i had visited the Dead Sea I was on the Israeli side 40 years ago! The next day we drove to the ancient city of Petra which was carved into sandstone 2300 years ago and at its height had 30,000 citizens all dwelling in cliff caves that soared up to 300 meters above the desert floor. S...

Dubai - Stifling heat! It was like standing inside an oven. Ironically,it also turned to be the coldest part of the trip as we took a few runs at Ski Dubai - the indoor ski facility. - before taking a desert safari where we climbed and slid down giant dunes in a 4x4 SUV. It was a blend of going over cresting waves in a boat and the exhilaration at the top of a rollercoaster.

Phuket was our designated R&R after over 3 weeks of travel. We were extremely fortunate as the good folks at the JW Marriott put us in an ocean-facing suite with a its own hot tub. We quickly vowed to remain "on property" for the entire 2 1/2 day stay. Lying by the pool, running on the beach and the occasional Mai-tai at the swim-up bar provided the needed rest to tackle the rest of our trip. Rachel and Aaron also had the chance to play with a baby elepha...

We chose to visit KL after seeing Matt Lauer stand on the sky bridge of the Petronos Twin Towers during who's recent "Where in the world is Matt Lauer?" We were not disappointed. The Marriott was located about 1/2 a mile from the Towers but everything is connected by elevated walkways. Central KL is a shopping mecca and we were surprised at the size (think Tyson's Mall) and number of them. I had to get to the Towers by 0800 to be sure we would get one of the 1...

After a brief overnight in Hong Kong (where the Marriott Surprised us with 50th birthday, 25th anniversary and Arsenal cakes), we continued our journey to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City arriving mid-day Sunday. Compared to the previous cities we have visited, Saigon is noticeably smaller both in population and buildings. In fact, our corner room on the 21st floor gave us a panoramic view of downtown Saigon as as well as the Saigon River waterfront. Our guide in Saigo...