Too many topics, too little time

Favorite island in the South Pacific? Place to stop in Europe?.

Let's see whether the blog works in reverse…

At the end of July I must give a talk in Sydney, Australia.  The plan is to fly west around the world.  It would be possible to stop somewhere in the South Pacific, perhaps most easily in Fiji.  On the way back I am planning to stop in Western Australia and then St. Petersburg, Russia.

The questions:

1) best place to stop in the South Pacific for a few days?  Is there a great place to sit in a hotel and snorkel from the beach in Fiji?

2) interesting place to stop in mid-August between Perth, Australia and Russia?

Constraints:  (a) I have an Israeli stamp in my U.S. passport from my recent trip to Tel Aviv and therefore would be denied entry to almost any Muslim country; (b) I want to take reasonably direct flights (and therefore Africa seems to be out of the question; you can't get there except by connecting through Europe or Dubai (which might be a problem with that Israeli passport stamp)).

Please put your suggestions in the comments or email if you prefer.

Thanks!

[Philip Greenspun Weblog]
stop in bombay

it is a nice stop, and don't assume that you would be denied entrance based on an isreali stamp… though you very well might…