George H.W. Bush headlines new Travel Program journey

Beijing's Forbidden CIty, present and past. The Emory Travel Program is hosting a new trip to Asia in March that includes not only visits to China, Japan Korea and Taiwan, but features a lecture (in Beijing) by former President George H.W. Bush. The city is not unfamiliar to Bush and wife Barbara (who also will be on the Travel Program journey), as seen below.

Emory already has one former U.S. president on its faculty. Now, through a new trip offered by the Emory Travel Program, alumni will have the opportunity to meet and learn from a second.
           
“Rising Global Powers: China and East Asia” is a 17-day excursion that will take travelers to China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan; and accompanying them for part of that trip will be the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush.
           
Rising Global Powers was recently added to the Emory Travel Program’s schedule for 2008. It will take place March 3–20, and guests will travel aboard the 388-passenger Silver Whisper to ports of call that include Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, and Nagasaki.
           
Former President Bush will be part of the program from March 7–11; and joining him will be his wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush. The former president will deliver a keynote address in Beijing on Friday, March 7, and be the guest of honor at a gala reception and dinner that night in Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Bush will be one of the study leaders providing lectures and discussions during the cruise to from Beijing to Shanghai, March 9–10.
           
In addition to the Bushes, the journey will include historians and scholars of Asia, travelers from America’s leading academic institutions and museums, and other high-profile figures from governments past, including William Perry, Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton from 1994–97.
           
“We are honored to have been asked to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Allie Hill, director of the Emory Travel Program. “Not only will our travelers be in the company of a former U.S. President, they will have behind-the-scenes access to Asia’s rising global powers. It’s an experience that is impossible to match.”
           
The Silver Whisper features all suites, most with private verandas, and world-class cuisine and service. The vessel is part of the Silversea fleet, which has been rated the World’s Best Small Ship Cruise Linefor six consecutive years by Condé Nast Traveler, and Best of the Best Cruise Lineby the Robb Report. Suites are expansive with the highest ratio of space-per-guest of any cruise fleet. The line is also renowned for its signature personalized service.
           
Not only will travelers get to experience this luxury vessel, they can enjoy private shore excursions at historic sites; and meet local dignitaries and business executives for unique perspectives on Asia’s past and present.
           
Space on this trip is limited. For more information including costs (pricing starts at $15,595, per person based on double occupancy, plus airfare) email alumnitravel@emory.edu or call Allie Hill at 404.727.6479. Click here to explore all of the Emory Travel Program's destinations for 2008.—Eric Rangus