2009 December 25 ----- As evening approached, we arrived in Luang Prabang. We said goodbye to our travel companions of the last few days and settled into Philaylack Guest House (recommended by a couple of Aussie ladies in Nong Khiaw) then went for Christmas Dinner at the Coconut Sunset Restaurant. The name is as it... Continue Reading →
Laos – Road to Nong Khiaw
2009 December 24 ----- We left Luang Nam Tha on 24 December – Christmas Eve. We shared a private minivan with a Belgium family, for the sake of speed and comfort. Did I mention we were in Laos? What you think and what you get are not the same thing. Our 12 seat minivan that... Continue Reading →
Laos – Luang Nam Tha
2009 December 21 ----- We began our journey into Laos on 20 Dec. It was kind of like crossing from Alberta to Saskatchewan; you KNOW you crossed the border without ever seeing a road sign. The poor roads suddenly became worse, the rubbish in the streets more prevalent, and the buildings more shabby. We were... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Chiang Mai – Monk Chat & Tour
2009 December 19 ----- Thursday: Panom toured us around all day. We thought we had a nice time at the Monk Chat in Chiang Mai, well we spent all day on a Monk Chat with Panom. He first took us to his Temple where he was a resident monk for 10 years. His friend, who... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Chiang Mai – Elephants, Snakes & Tigers
2009 December ----- Monday: The hosts gave us 2 mountain bikes and a map. We rode about 6 Km to the tiger farm. We got to pet some and pat their bellies (which they love). One of the tigers must have felt Ed’s natural aversion to cats because it started to hiss at him. There... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Mai Rim
Tin Thai Ngarm Lodge 2009 December ----- We are staying in Shangri-La!! My last entry said we were going for Thai language lessons, and we did. That turned out to be very useful. She taught us some basic words and phrases that will be very useful going forward. Hello, Thank you, not a problem, see... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Chiang Mai
2009 December 15 ----- One of the things that Irene was looking forward to most about this whole trip was taking a cooking class (or two.... maybe three.....:) ) We were picked up at our guesthouse at 9:00 am in a Chiang Mai style taxi - a truck with a covered box and benches on... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Sukhotai
2009 December 12 ----- We took a 7 hour bus ride to Sukothai on Tuesday. We had made a reservation at TR Guesthouse on-line the night before and they had given us a confirmation number as well as a telephone number to call when we arrived so they could pick us up from the bus.... Continue Reading →
Thailand – Bangkok
2009 December ----- 2 December 2009 First of all, we are here, we are fine, and the weather is nice. Our journey was not without a hitch, however. Irene's backpack didn't quite make it. It got left in Vancouver. We filed a missing baggage claim and were assured that it would arrive on the next flight,... Continue Reading →
Egypt – Cairo
2009 March ----- I've been back from Egypt for over a week now and am amazed at how I could live without wrist watch, cell phone (any phone), daily access to computer, radio, TV for nearly a month - all the so-called conveniences - and was quite relaxed and happy and now to have access... Continue Reading →