Russell doesn’t fly, as many of you already know.
Partly because he dislikes flying and airports… but also because he believes that when you fly over places, you miss everything in between.
So instead of jumping from one destination to the next, we’re slowly making our way around the world by ship, train and car — five months of travel with five cruises woven through the journey.
And yes, people often ask:
“If Russell says you see everything on the way… why doesn’t he get off the ship at every port?”
The truth is, sometimes the ship itself becomes part of the destination.
Not every stop needs to be a rushed checklist of landmarks squeezed into a few humid hours ashore. Sometimes Russell is perfectly happy staying onboard with a quiet coffee or Sicilian Kiss, air conditioning and an almost-empty deck while I head off exploring alone.
And honestly, I’m beginning to understand what he means.
This journey isn’t really about trying to ‘see everything’.
It’s about experiencing the world as we move through it… instead of simply flying over the top of it.
The Luxury of Staying Put
After the Bali experience, we docked in Phuket, Penang and Kuala Lumpur — and Russell made the very sensible decision to stay onboard.
While I headed off exploring, he happily embraced the luxury of air conditioning, quiet decks, movies and surprisingly peaceful ship activities while most passengers rushed ashore.
Part of me felt that if I’d come all this way, I needed to at least set foot on the ground and experience these places for myself. Realistically, this may be the only time I ever visit Phuket, Penang or Kuala Lumpur, and I knew I would regret staying onboard and only seeing them from the ship.
His philosophy is simple:
travel doesn’t always have to mean racing around unfamiliar cities in tropical humidity trying to “see everything” in a few short hours.
Sometimes it’s about slowing down enough to actually enjoy where you are.
Meanwhile, we are now only about five degrees north of the equator… so while Russell relaxed comfortably onboard, I headed out to discover exactly how well I cope wandering through the humidity on my own.
A Few Hours Ashore—Phuket, Penang and Kuala Lumpur
As a child, I’d seen travel brochures, watched movies and episodes of The Love Boat, and dreamt about seeing these places for myself one day.
Now, on our slow journey toward a white Christmas in Switzerland, I finally found myself stepping ashore in Phuket, Penang and Kuala Lumpur—all because Russ won’t fly.
This is why our packing needed to include swimwear as well as winter coats — temperatures here hover between 25°C and 33°C, with humidity wrapping around you the moment you step outside.
For my first solo adventure in a completely unfamiliar place, I decided on bus tours in Phuket and Kuala Lumpur. If I was only going to have a few short hours ashore, I wanted to see more than cruise terminals and souvenir shops.
Penang felt easier somehow. With no tender required, I could simply wander into town, explore the shops at my own pace, and return to the ship whenever I felt ready.
And strangely, being part of a large cruise made solo exploring feel less lonely than I expected. Familiar faces appeared everywhere, and the Princess Cruise lanyards required for disembarking became an unofficial way of recognising fellow passengers while wandering unfamiliar streets.
The Movement Becomes Part of the Story
One thing I’m beginning to understand about travelling without flying is that the movement itself becomes part of the experience.
When you fly, destinations can feel strangely disconnected — breakfast in one country, dinner in another, with very little sense of the distance between them.
Slow travel changes that.
Landscapes, temperatures and cultures shift gradually around you instead of changing all at once. Countries don’t suddenly appear through an airport window. You arrive little by little.
Life settles into a different rhythm too:
- unpacking for a few weeks at a time
- watching ports slowly come into view from the balcony,
- sea days between the busy ones,
- and waking every few mornings somewhere entirely new.
Even the transitions become memorable.
And somewhere between the movement of ships and the long train journeys still ahead, I’m beginning to understand what Russell means when he says flying makes you miss everything in between.
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