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533 days ago
Well... we're back home and the mundane chores of everyday life are in full swing. We're fighting a little culture shock, cost of living shock and a bit of depression that our big adventure is over. But nice to be home with friends and family and glad it's summer!
554 days ago
And now our big adventure is coming to an end. So sad... we are happy to returning home, to our family, friends and a new puppy, but oh so depressed that our days of freedom and wonder are over! We're spending a week here in Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte Islands visiting family. Arriving in Vancouver we experienced some culture shock and sensory overload, which is common when going to another country, but we never expected it of coming back home! Some of you will remember my first description of Delhi...how the smells of humidity, marigolds, inscence, cattle and several million people all living together accost your senses and are so overpowering but wonderful and exotic at the same time... Well after that experience, Noah and I were more accutely aware of that particular sense in every country we visited. Arriving in Vancouver we were amazed by the "smell of Canada". Something none of us would ever have noticed before! It's fresh and sweet and fresh ...
565 days ago
Don't worry everyone, we are fine... We were in Beijing at the time of the earthquake and far from the disaster. However, had we had more time to spend in China , I'm almost sure we would have been in that very area as it is very beautiful and one of the places I wanted to explore. Someone was watching out for us... We were in a taxi traveling across the city and didn't think that we felt the earthquake at all, but now looking back, I remember saying to Steve, "I think this guy's wheels are out of alignment", as the car was shaking back and forth a little. Our friend felt the hotel she was in shake and at first thought she was just getting dizzy before everyone realized what it was. Watching the rescue attempts make us cry...especially now that we have been close to that area and now that we have had a chnace to get to know the Chinese people, who are generally kind and gracious. It's so sad... Our next stop is the Queen Charlotte Islands (BC) with my dad, visiting on ...
568 days ago
We've been doing a whirlwind tour of China from bottom to top (Shenzhen to Beijing) in a week. Lots of night trains and lots of rain! What a wonderful, curious country! Talk about "Lost in Translation"! With all our travel experience we were unprepared for the total lack of English spoken in most places here. It certainly lends to the sense of adventure and we try to navigate our way around, buy tickets, find accomodation and order food that isn't chicken head, brain or feet. Thank God for our guide book with translations written in chinese characters. We do a lot of pointing and gesturing. The Chinese we've run into are friendly and do their best to help us, sometimes with frustration on both sides, but ending always with the best effort and smiles.... Shenzhen, and now Beijing with its new Olympic makeover, are so modern they make Canada look 3rd world. The cities are well organized and they do an amazing job of moving and accomodating the huge ...
581 days ago
We now find ourselves in Thailand...and we're not complaining! We are reminded why this was one of our favourite countries to visit. The people are friendly, it's beautiful and it is so easy to get around (relatively speaking) and the food is AMAZING (gaining back all the weight we lost in India). The cities are modern (with 7-11, McDonalds and Subway and everything!...sinkin' our teeth into a burger for the first time in 8 months!) but there is enough of a cultural difference to make it interesting. We spent the first few days on the gorgeous beaches of the south, enjoying the sand and surf. It was amazing to see the recovery they have made since the Tsunami and also sobering to realize that we were speaking, laughing and interacting with real survivors of this natural disaster (heard some very sad stories and once again, reminded how fortunate we are -see photos: one of our boat guides lost his 7 month old son and had many bones broken). We hit Bangkok for ...
