Travels to the South Pacific

Well Ramadan is into full swing which means I'm in a country of cranky, dehydrated, hungry people who should all be banned from driving until it's over.  Therefore, it seems the perfect time to go on vacation and leave the circus behind.  Also, I have a few visitors currently en route.  One visitor is a cousin whose journey will originate in Galesburg, this is what she is in for:

• a 3 hour, 180 mile drive from Galesburg to Chicago, 
• a 3.5 hour flight, and 1750 miles to Los Angeles, 
• overnight in LA, 
• a 6,500 mile journey - and 12 hour 40 minute flight to Shanghai
• followed by a layover in Shanghai 
• a 5 hour 2,700 mile flight from Shanghai to KL
• and finally a 45 minute - 30 mile drive from the airport home

That's 11,160 miles and roughly 21 hours of flying alone - roughly three days door-to-door, she also will cross the international date line and lose a day of her life. Suffice it to say there is no easy way to get here.

Surviving that, I think they've probably earned a trip to the beach.  So we are off to Pulau Tioman an island off the east coast of Malaysia, which would be familiar to many as the filming site of Bali Hai for the classic 1958 film South Pacific.  We will enjoy three days of snorkeling and taking in the crystal clear waters of the South China Sea.  I'm hoping that will have made the journey worth it!