Part 01 – Over Alaska to Tokyo
So, after two months of full-time planning, compiling costs, endless reading of hotel reviews, shopping for the best flights, getting visas, checking climate data and all the rest, it was time to let go of the planning, get on a plane and go do it: our world trip. To be completely candid, I woke up the morning of our departure with a definite feeling of reluctance about this trip. I just didn’t feel like I wanted to go … it felt like it was all just too much. The scale of this trip, being away for so long, and in such strange places unlike where we have ever gone before, and doing it with no formal support like we had on the 2005 China trip where we were met at every plane with a guide and driver … we would have none of that support at all on this trip. We would have to make it all work as we went. It was daunting …
In terms of vistas from the plane, there was not that much to be seen for several hours due to a solid overcast, but later the overcast cleared for a while and we got some arctic scenery, some of it quite dramatic. Flying over the Gulf of Alaska, a big snow-covered mountain range appeared in the distance to our right, with things like Augustine Island, a totally snow-covered volcano sitting out in Cook Inlet.