We have this game we play as we near the end of a vacation. We try to recall all that we saw, did and ate on each day. I must admit, that it proved difficult on this trip, even though we were still in our 20s. This had truly been an Orient Escapade and gave us plenty of ideas for future trips.
Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement.
I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure.
I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.
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20 thoughts on “Analogue Adventures – Orient Escapade 1982 – Hong Kong-Tokyo-Los Angeles-Edmonton”
Yup. In Jasper right now. The wildfire burned through the power line, so no power or wi-fi for my computer. I am not WordPress tech savvy on cell phone, so apologies. The links now work. Allan
I write in a journal of what we did each day of our trips so I don’t forget. It’s also easier to remember now that I have a picture of almost everything 🙂 it’s hard for me to imagine what travel was like before cell phones/gps. I feel pretty helpless when I can’t connect to wifi traveling abroad, luckily Jon’s work phone has an international plan so we can always look up directions/restaurants on the fly.
I stopped writing the journal when digital came along. Then I had time and if I did video, I could do a brief blurb on what we were seeing. Also, not, I can use Google to augment my memory. Travelling was truly and adventure in the “good old days”. We survived well on this organized tour, but 3 years later went back to Japan on our own. Thanks for reading and commenting Lyssy. Allan
Just so you know, your “to continue reading, click here” link isn’t working.
I’m looking forward to reading about your youthful adventures! I’ve been thinking about you in Jasper and hoping that fire is under control now.
Thanks Lynette. We were in Jasper. Due to the wildfire burning the power lines, we were without power and wi-fi, so I had to post from Patty’s phone. I could not make it work with the WordPress app, but I could post. Links now fixed. As to the youthful travels, avert your eyes for my fashion faux pas. 😊😊Allan
Northwest Orient became Northwest Airlines not long after this. I joined its frequent flyer program in 1985. Northwest had a great Asian route system with a hub at NRT. It provided Fifth Freedom routes from NRT to many other countries in Asia. I’ve been very disappointed that Delta has eliminated almost all of those routes after the acquisition/merger with Northwest in 2008. Your time in Japan and Hong Kong would definitely qualify on the TOAL charts.
We never had a bad flight on this entire tour. We flew Northwest, Cathay Pacific, Thai and Singapore Airlines. In those days flying coach in the orient was like flying first class today (except for the seats). Thanks for reading John. Allan
I was only five months old when you took that trip, Allan! I am so glad I had a chance to experience analogue photography -once you load a film into a camera, the magic begins when you start clicking! Light interacts with the chemicals in the film and an image is recorded. The pictures collected in your film roll come to life when the film is processed in a photo lab.
On these trips, we truly never knew how the shot would turn out until you got home, dropped the film off and then eagerly opened the package. It was like Christmas with the good shots being the presents you wanted and the bad ones being like socks. Thanks for reading Aiva. Allan
One of my cousins was into photography many decades ago, and he used to develop his own films. We used to sit by the door and wait for photographs to develop – it was good fun, and it was very rewarding 🙂
Developing photographs from film is like Christmas Day. Sometimes you get that diamond ring and some times you just get socks. It was exciting even if you only got one perfect shot. Thanks for reading Aiva. Allan
Great to look back on a trip of so many years ago to reflect on how life has changed. By the way, the first of your ‘click here’ links is no longer working (last post as well) at least for me anyway.
Hi Marion. Agreed. You will have to pardon the fashion faux pas in this series. As to the links, we were in the mountains, when a forest fire damaged the power lines and we lost power and wifi for 3 days. I managed to post daily on my wife’s phone, but could not activate my links. This has now been fixed and as we are home, future posts should be fine. Thanks for reading. Allan
Trouble is I have all those albums on the shelves that nobody ever looks at any more. Digitising them a few years ago gave me the idea for a quick summary post. Then I thought, there is more of a story here. And here you are. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Allan
Oh lord, that journey getting home… quite the ordeal and a stark announcement that your vacation was ‘OVER’. I kinda miss the days of journals and notebooks. These days, iPhoto covers everything for us and we jot down some notes within each photo on each of the sites we visit. So I’m usually good to go with all the basics before I begin work on a blog. Again, really enjoyed this series Allan.
Spending 38 hours of awake time getting home was not fun. I can’t recall if the 8 hours in LAX was a matter of my poor planning or the fact we could not get an earlier connection home. I have no iPhoto or Google Photo reminders and I do not upload to the cloud. I have taken up making notes again, since my last trip to Jasper. Not in a pad but on my laptop. My memory ain’t what it used to be. So glad you enjoyed my nostalgia Leighton. Thanks for travelling along with us. Greece and Europe 1984 starts in a week. This time it was a cheap tour, so lots of misadventures. Cheers. Allan
Picture This 
The first link doesn’t work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup. In Jasper right now. The wildfire burned through the power line, so no power or wi-fi for my computer. I am not WordPress tech savvy on cell phone, so apologies. The links now work. Allan
LikeLike
I write in a journal of what we did each day of our trips so I don’t forget. It’s also easier to remember now that I have a picture of almost everything 🙂 it’s hard for me to imagine what travel was like before cell phones/gps. I feel pretty helpless when I can’t connect to wifi traveling abroad, luckily Jon’s work phone has an international plan so we can always look up directions/restaurants on the fly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I stopped writing the journal when digital came along. Then I had time and if I did video, I could do a brief blurb on what we were seeing. Also, not, I can use Google to augment my memory. Travelling was truly and adventure in the “good old days”. We survived well on this organized tour, but 3 years later went back to Japan on our own. Thanks for reading and commenting Lyssy. Allan
LikeLike
Just so you know, your “to continue reading, click here” link isn’t working.
I’m looking forward to reading about your youthful adventures! I’ve been thinking about you in Jasper and hoping that fire is under control now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lynette. We were in Jasper. Due to the wildfire burning the power lines, we were without power and wi-fi, so I had to post from Patty’s phone. I could not make it work with the WordPress app, but I could post. Links now fixed. As to the youthful travels, avert your eyes for my fashion faux pas. 😊😊Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Northwest Orient became Northwest Airlines not long after this. I joined its frequent flyer program in 1985. Northwest had a great Asian route system with a hub at NRT. It provided Fifth Freedom routes from NRT to many other countries in Asia. I’ve been very disappointed that Delta has eliminated almost all of those routes after the acquisition/merger with Northwest in 2008. Your time in Japan and Hong Kong would definitely qualify on the TOAL charts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We never had a bad flight on this entire tour. We flew Northwest, Cathay Pacific, Thai and Singapore Airlines. In those days flying coach in the orient was like flying first class today (except for the seats). Thanks for reading John. Allan
LikeLike
I was only five months old when you took that trip, Allan! I am so glad I had a chance to experience analogue photography -once you load a film into a camera, the magic begins when you start clicking! Light interacts with the chemicals in the film and an image is recorded. The pictures collected in your film roll come to life when the film is processed in a photo lab.
LikeLiked by 2 people
On these trips, we truly never knew how the shot would turn out until you got home, dropped the film off and then eagerly opened the package. It was like Christmas with the good shots being the presents you wanted and the bad ones being like socks. Thanks for reading Aiva. Allan
LikeLiked by 2 people
One of my cousins was into photography many decades ago, and he used to develop his own films. We used to sit by the door and wait for photographs to develop – it was good fun, and it was very rewarding 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Developing photographs from film is like Christmas Day. Sometimes you get that diamond ring and some times you just get socks. It was exciting even if you only got one perfect shot. Thanks for reading Aiva. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Coudn’t have said it better!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great to look back on a trip of so many years ago to reflect on how life has changed. By the way, the first of your ‘click here’ links is no longer working (last post as well) at least for me anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Marion. Agreed. You will have to pardon the fashion faux pas in this series. As to the links, we were in the mountains, when a forest fire damaged the power lines and we lost power and wifi for 3 days. I managed to post daily on my wife’s phone, but could not activate my links. This has now been fixed and as we are home, future posts should be fine. Thanks for reading. Allan
LikeLike
I love revisiting photographs from the past, they bring so many memories. You went back to the days before digital cameras and that’s awesome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trouble is I have all those albums on the shelves that nobody ever looks at any more. Digitising them a few years ago gave me the idea for a quick summary post. Then I thought, there is more of a story here. And here you are. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to seeing more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh lord, that journey getting home… quite the ordeal and a stark announcement that your vacation was ‘OVER’. I kinda miss the days of journals and notebooks. These days, iPhoto covers everything for us and we jot down some notes within each photo on each of the sites we visit. So I’m usually good to go with all the basics before I begin work on a blog. Again, really enjoyed this series Allan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spending 38 hours of awake time getting home was not fun. I can’t recall if the 8 hours in LAX was a matter of my poor planning or the fact we could not get an earlier connection home. I have no iPhoto or Google Photo reminders and I do not upload to the cloud. I have taken up making notes again, since my last trip to Jasper. Not in a pad but on my laptop. My memory ain’t what it used to be. So glad you enjoyed my nostalgia Leighton. Thanks for travelling along with us. Greece and Europe 1984 starts in a week. This time it was a cheap tour, so lots of misadventures. Cheers. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person