A Wandering Canadian

Wandering both in physical travels, and wherever my mind takes me

[awanderingcanadian]

Goodbye for now World Cup :(

For almost my entire life I’ve been a huge supporter of the World Cup. Life changes during the 4 weeks every 4 years when I sometimes watch 3 games in a single day. I’ve been fortunate to have some amazing World Cup experiences, attending in person in 1994 when I was living in California, (note the ticket price here as that’s important).

I was in Scotland in 1998, (the last time Scotland played in a World Cup), and soaked in the amazing atmosphere of the pubs, (being in a pub in Portree on the Isle of Skye when Scotland was eliminated by Morocco). I was at the British F1 at Silverstone, which was the same day as the 1998 final in France, when the rich were helicoptered out from the F1 to attend the final, while the rest of us watched on a HUGE screen in a huge tent, complete with beer garden in a rainy farmer’s field at Silverstone. In 2002 I was camping around Europe, watching the games on big screens in various campgrounds and pubs, surrounded by supporters from many European countries. In 2010, when South Africa hosted, while my cousin who lives there attended numerous games, my other cousin and I watched games together on tv while texting non-stop, (being that he lives in Scotland, and I live in Canada). My cousin in SA sent me a vuvuzela, which still occupies a place of importance in our house.

Need I go on? Obviously, I’m a fan. When it was first announced that the U.S., Mexico, and Canada were to jointly host the 2026 World Cup, (with games originally going to be held in Toronto and Edmonton), my dad and I were planning to head to Edmonton for games. When the games were moved from Edmonton to Vancouver, we were elated. I signed up to volunteer. I was so excited!

Then things started happening. First, there is the cost of tickets. Go back to my photo of my 1994 ticket, and while I don’t think that tickets should still be $25USD, (it was $40 for our quarterfinal game), I could have swallowed a 10x raise, even though my salary hasn’t gone up tenfold in that same time, but $800-$10,000/game is too much for me to shell out. I still hoped that I would be able to volunteer, and see a game or two that way. Next was the gouging of accommodation costs, but the final straw for me was the ridiculous FIFA Peace Prize. History shows that appeasement never works, and that display sickened me. That’s when I decided that this World Cup wasn’t going to be my priority, and made other plans for this time.

However, watching my prophecy come true, (teams being from staying in the U.S., people not be allowed to enter, visas and travel approvals being reversed), things that last year my friends and relatives poo-pooed me and my negativity for, is making this World Cup into even a larger farce. The corruption of FIFA is on display, but alongside is the corruption and vindictiveness, of the United States. I can no longer sit back and let it pass. So, I’m out. I don’t know that I will watch a single game, I certainly won’t be attending one. I feel terribly for the players, but this is like the 1980 Olympics, where friends of mine lost their opportunity to compete as countries withdrew. I’m not sure why that isn’t happening this time around?

I do hope though that the equally as corrupt IOC is taking note, and behind the scenes are making a Plan B for another country to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games? They may wait until the midterms, (certain to be comprised), before announcing a change of venue, but surely they’ve put the ball in motion?

For now, I wish the teams good luck. I’ll probably still check the scores. I just hope the games and scores are the story of these games, not the violence, absence of teams, officials, and fans, but again, that might be wishful thinking. Hopefully the games held in Canada and Mexico will at least be successful.

[awanderingcanadian]

The Long Goodbye

It’s been eleven days since I last posted, and that wasn’t my plan, but sometimes life throws you a curveball, and this time it was a big one. On February 27th local time, (the 28th here in Vietnam), my mother passed away. She was 91 years and 8 months old. It wasn’t particularly unexpected, as she had been heading downhill since early 2021, but although I had prepared things as much as I could, (including myself), the finality of it all still caught me off guard.

Our relationships with our parents can be complicated, and for most of my life, my relationship with my mother was world class tricky. While I always loved her, I didn’t always like her.

For the past 10 years my mum lived in a full care facility. She had early stages of dementia, and after failing to live safely on her own, even with support scheduled to come in twice a day, her lifestyle coupled with the encroaching dementia a resulted in the move. I cannot say enough about the staff where she lived. They kept her safe, and this move gave our relationship a chance to rebuild in a positive way. I feel so fortunate we had this chance, and while I am obviously devastated that she is gone, her quality of life was so terrible, that a big part of me is relieved, for both of us. I haven’t posted many photos of her over these past few years, because I don’t want to remember her that way, and I don’t think she would want that for herself either, so I’m posting ones of her in healthier times.

It was a long goodbye.

I have a tight family. Although at times, I have felt very alone here in Vietnam while all of this went down, my sisters were there with my mum, and they reached me so I could say goodbye. We have been in daily communication as they’ve done the heavy lifting this past week. My friends who are here with us have also been very supportive.

As I said, it was a long goodbye, and I know when I get home I will feel fresh grief, but I am lucky to have had the past several years to redefine us. Rest in peace Mummy. I love you xoxo

[awanderingcanadian]

Return to Vietnam!

My last memories of Vietnam are fragmented, due to the extreme stress we were under, trying to get out on March 19, 2020. It took me a while to get over the trauma of it all, and finally I felt ready to return. We started with what thus far has been my favourite place here: Hoi An. In 2020, we saw a beautiful city, famous for its lanterns and boats, but it was eerily quiet of tourists. This time it was busy, bustling, and full of life. Taking the advice of a friend, we stayed out at the beach in the little village of An Bang. It was cute, and our accommodation was clean and extremely affordable. Although much of the beach was eroded by the three typhoons to hit their coast this past autumn, it still was lovely, and only a $7CDN Grab ride into the centre of Hoi An.

We headed into Hoi An to see the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus. I’m sure this is where the Cirque de Soleil show Ka came from. It was a photography free spectacle! Afterward, we went out for an early Valentine’s Day dinner, and watch the nighttime spectacle that is Hoi An. If you’ve never been here I highly recommend a visit!

[awanderingcanadian]

Massaging My Way Through Southeast Asia!

For the past few years I’ve been dealing with hip pain and lack of lateral movement. Health professionals, even doctors/orthopaedic surgeons have referred to it as a “frozen hip”, although apparently no such thing exists. It’s been several years of various types of physiotherapy, X-rays, MRI’s, doctors, massage therapy, chiropractor visits, etc, trying to sort it out. They know what it’s not, but not what it is. With that as the background, my massage/physiotherapy team and I decided to take advantage of the access to really affordable massages here in Southeast Asia, to see if twice weekly massages might break the impasse. To say it’s been painful would be an understatement, sometimes I cry at points in the massage. I need to wait until the feeling of bruising decreases before returning for more punishment, but it does appear to be having positive effects.

The point of this post is to compare my experiences. The masseuses limited English, with my non existent Hmong, Thai, and Vietnamese have resulted in some very funny commentaries. My first massage was in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the day after our long flights to Asia. The goal was to relax my muscles after the long trip. It was super painful, with the comments, “tight, tight, tight, tight” as she went up and down my hip and leg.

Next up was Bangkok, where I had one of the most painful massages ever, but with amazing results. The women’s comments, “Pain, pain, pain, pain” were merely a variation of Siem Reap.

Onward to the lovely island of Koh Pha-gnan where I had two massages over the 8 days we were there. I walked along the beach to the message place. The first one was a dry massage, (no oil), and I can confidently say that I won’t be doing THAT again. The second one was much better. From Bangkok onward the masseuses have been manipulating my legs into ways I didn’t think was possible anymore. So uncomfortable. The second massage felt less painful than all of the previous ones, so I hoped that maybe the worst was over? Silly me.

Chiang Mai, home to some of the most well known massage schools in the world, and winner of most painful massage and best commentary, (so far anyway). This woman started with “oh pain”, moved to “you have problem”, and finished with “big pumpkin!” We’ve had some laughs over the last one! While I say it was the most painful, it also was the first time I really felt we had moved from the first layer of a solid wall, to the next layer of actual muscles being targeted. My only regret was that we only had a few days in Chiang Mai, as I would have gladly returned for another round of torture.

Bring on Khao Lat, more pain, more tears, followed by Phuket…same same, but different. I left Thailand having become familiar with having a woman crawl up my legs, kneading with her knees!

Thus far, I’ve only had two massages in Vietnam, but they’re just not the same. They’re relaxing, but I’m not feeling the painful release from my hips. Hopefully, I’ll find my Olga the painful masseuse here too!

[awanderingcanadian]

Wanderings in the Province of Phuket

We arrived into Phuket International Airport from Chiang Mai, quickly picked up our rental car, and headed north to Khao Lak. We had read there were nice beaches and it was easy to get to, however, its real claim to fame is that it was the epicentre of the damage of 2004 tsunami. There you will find a boat on display there that was found 2 kms inland from the ocean. The museum has some tragic photos of the event, but for me, what made the biggest impact was the video featuring several different people of different ages, from different countries, recounting their experiences of that day. One local boy, (he was 12 years old at the time), thought he had lost his entire family as he pedalled his bicycle home as quickly as he could, only to find his entire house was gone. He eventually found his grandmother in one of the hospitals after days of searching, but the rest of his family was gone. Imagine being 12 and experiencing that level of trauma.

We went to the local beach, but found the water far too warm for enjoyment. Two days later we tried another beach, but unless you were staying at a fancy resort, (which we weren’t), the public beaches provided no shade whatsoever, so we gave up. We spent most of our time there enjoying good meals, and spent a few evenings at a local bar that had a live band, oh, and a billiards table.

From there we headed to Old Town Phuket, where we stayed in a really nice hotel, complete with beautiful wrought iron bannisters. We also had our very first Michelin star restaurant experience, at Day and Night restaurant. Great food, and a pleasant surprise to our wallet! The only down side was being eaten alive poolside by mosquitos.

We finished out our time in Phuket province staying with family. It was wonderful to see their home and their lives here in Thailand, although we did sneak in a day at Kamala Beach, having had friends recommend it.

I even got Craig into what is billed as the “world’s biggest jewelry store”! It was actually a very interesting visit, as there is a factory there as well as a huge showroom, and we were able to watch the craftsman make the settings, (the backing and the prongs), then the setter choose what size and shape of stone to place in there. We were able to end the Thailand leg of our trip on a sparkling note!

[awanderingcanadian]

A Return to Chiang Mai

Because of our flight to Chiangmai, we left Koh Pha-Ngan and headed to Koh Samui for one night. With a one night stay, our only criteria is clean and convenient, and our hotel certainly was both of those things. In fairness, it had a beautiful pool, a lovely beachfront location, and our evening meal there was excellent, but our room was tiny, with the bathroom door about a foot lower than my husband’s head, with basic amenities. But it did the job for a one night stay.

Our flight from Koh Samui to Chiang Mai was uneventful and we arrived about 90 minutes before my cousin and her husband, who were flying in from Phuket. We used that time to sort out a baggage allowance issue with Air Asia for our next flight, in 4 days time. The customer service team was outstanding, as they appeared to have system issues changing our charge for baggage allotment from 15kgs to 20kgs, so they eventually just upped it for free! We celebrated by getting treats from the Dairy Queen at the airport, where we ran into a group of guys in their early 20’s from the Aberdeen area, (three were from Cove Bay where my cousin actually lives!) We chatted about places in Alford, (where we lived for a year back in 2017-18), and it was lovely for me to reminisce.

Jim and Lynne arrived and we headed to our two bedroom condo in Chiang Mai. Craig and I had been there for Lunar New Year in January of 2020, (when things in China were starting to cause attention, so it was interesting to go back.

Hiring a private driver and car for the day, we revisited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It’s on top of a mountain and overlooks all of Chiang Mai. I had just finished reading “Nobody’s Child” by Virginia Gurthrie, the famous whistle blower of Eptein, Maxwell, and Andrew, among others, and she wrote that she was married in that wat, so it took on new interest. It was a beautiful sunny day and the fauna was spectacular.

From there we continued on to the Sticky Waterfalls, and joined in climbing up them. A lot busier than back in 2020, it was still a lot of fun!

On our second day we walked around the walled part of Chiang Mai, and that night met a friend of my cousin’s son, who lived there, at a wonderful riverfront restaurant. He is fluent in Thai, and has lived in Chiang Mai for several years, so we let him do the ordering and had a fabulous meal.

In a blink of an eye, our time in Chiang Mai was over.

[awanderingcanadian]

Koh Pha-Ngan

Controlled chaos. That was our first impression upon landing at the Koh Samui airport and transferring to the pier and onto our ferry to Koh Pha-Ngan. We had no real information about how to get from one place to the other, so we opted not to pre-buy our ferry ticket online since we couldn’t predict timing. I hoped we could get the 11:30 ferry. Imagine our surprise to find that after leaving our rental in Bangkok at 3:45am, flying to Koh Samui, catching a taxi to the pier, on to the 8am ferry, (albeit it as the last passengers to board), we arrive at our destination accommodation all by 9:00am! We just followed along and let the people who do this for a living, do it.

Months earlier, I had stressed mightily while trying to decide which Thai island on which to spend 8 nights. We had been previously to Koh Lanta and Ko Chang, and the other islands near the Cambodian border were currently off our menu. I felt that Koh Samui was overly touristed, that my sister’s 1986, along with my two friends’ 1991 and 1992 amazing experiences there were of a more golden time, leading to a disappointing visit for us. In the end I opted for Koh Pha-Ngan.

Although famous for its full moon raves and waterfall festivals, Koh Pha-Ngan is so much more than that. We had opted not to stay in the the main town of Thong Sala, and went farther up the coast. Our resort was comprised of 30 bungalows, designed both for families and childless guests. Just steps from Haad Yao beach, surrounded with many restaurants both along the beach and roadside, and filled with the friendliest and most helpful staff, (most of whom were Burmese), this place really exceeded our expectations. The staff were lovely with the many small children, and by the end of our stay we felt we were saying goodbye to friends.

Baan Kiao resort, Koh Phangan

Baan Kiao resort welcomes you for an indulging experience. The resort is on one of Koh Phangan's most breathtaking beaches, nestled into the

While there we did one of our favourite travel things: we rented scooters. Originally for 3 days, we extended for one more to return to two beaches we particularly enjoyed. On our first day we went to Mae Hat beach, famously known for it’s small strip of white sand, (only during low tide), leading to a small island, (Ma Island). We were there at high tide, but you could still walk to the island as the water never got over shoulder height. The water was a beautiful colour and the sea was filled with so many fish! The funniest part though was that the map made it look like it was a long ride away, but it only took 15 minutes, and that included going the wrong way for a few of them!

From there we went to Paradise Waterfall, and that was a big disappointment. Maybe because we’re from British Columbia, the land of many waterfalls, or maybe because it’s partway through the dry season so there wasn’t much water, this goat trail hike sure wasn’t worth the end point. Both of these places had lots of Russian visitors. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around Russians, and it wasn’t super comfortable feeling.

Day 2 found us at Havana Beach and it was a delight! Very low key with some cute little beach restaurants we spend several hours swimming and relaxing. We left around 3:30 for Sunset Beach, although we had a hard time finding the entrance to it, and first ended up at a very busy surfing beach, which was cool in a different way.

Day 3, on the recommendation of a fellow Canadian we met on the beach, we went to Ban Cholak Lam, to take a long boat to Bottle Beach. The ride out was rough, and we were soaked by the time we arrived. We spent a few hours there, and it was nice, but honestly, it didn’t live up to expectations. That night, we went to a steak restaurant for dinner, and it did live up to its hype. Yes, it was a splurge, but it was well worth it.

We used our last day with the scooters to return to Havana and Sunset beaches, where we enjoyed another relaxing day, although I did find myself, (an an experience scooter rider), going too fast and had to take myself off to the road on a corner to get it back under control.

Our last few days on Koh Pha-Ngan were spent relaxing on our local beach, getting a massage, and I even convinced my husband to go for his first ever pedicure! We absolutely loved our time on this island, and would return again, as long as we avoid the full moon parties! If you want any information on where we stayed, please reach out, as we would highly recommend it.

[awanderingcanadian]

A Bangkok Skybar!

An experience not to be missed is going to a Bangkok skybar. When we were last here in January, 2020, we were in the midst of what was scheduled to be a year of travel, so the splurge of the skybar experience wasn’t in the budget. I was determined to remedy that this trip, however, after seeing bars advertising $75 CDN for one drink, I was unsure if I would be getting $75 worth of an experience. I eventually found a Skybar with a more affordable price, 600 baht, (about $26.50CDN), per person, and it included one drink, so we made reservations, (almost a requirement), put on our fancy duds, and off we went with our friends Terry and Jim.

First though, we went to a market for dinner. $6.00CDN for both of us. Life is all about balance, right?

Well, the view certainly didn’t disappoint.

As the sun set, and night wore on, the views kept changing, and frankly so did our bar bill! $150CDN was the final tally for the two of us, but you know what? It was worth every minute, and if you can’t splurge every now and then, for an experience of a lifetime, then what are you saving it for?

The next morning we had to be up at 3:10am for our 3:45 am pick up and ride to the airport for our 6am flight to Koh Samui, followed by a taxi and ferry ride to our next stop: Koh Pha-ngan. Who the heck booked THAT ridiculously early flight? Oh, I did! Until next time…

[awanderingcanadian]

3 Nights in Bangkok

Saying farewell to Siem Reap we boarded a short flight to Bangkok for a few days of busy city life. When we first visited Bangkok early in January of 2020, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our time there, so we figured a few more days here would be fine. We rented an Airbnb close to where our 2020 one was, (it was no longer available), and arriving into the smaller Don Mueang airport, we took a Grab, (Southeast Asia’s version of Uber), to our destination. First things first, we found a small food stall down the road by an ubiquitous 7-11, and we both had lunch for just over $5 CDN! After settling in, it was time to head down two stops on the Skytrain to meet up with long time friends for dinner. What were the odds that they, (who live about a 10 hour drive east of Vancouver), would be in Bangkok the same time we were? We kept thanking each other for making the trip over to meet up for dinner! We met up at the hilarious Cabbages and Condoms restaurant, where everything, (lamp shades, fake flowers, etc), are made from condoms. There is a serious piece to this restaurant who provides funding for women’s health initiatives, but it has a really fun atmosphere too.

After dinner, we went to a small bar, owned by my cousin’s son’s mother in law.

The next day Craig and I went to see the Marble temple, (Wat Benchamabophit).

It was really interesting. After that we rode the bus to Khaosan Road, famous for decades for it’s seedy hostels, shops, and illegal activities. While, certainly at a cursory look, it seems to have mellowed in the latter, the other two are still there. However, the highlight was catching the bus itself. We used Google maps transit help, but it still can be challenging to know which direction the bus is coming from. An absolutely lovely Thai women helped us, and told us everything we needed to know, from the fare to how many stops, including that not all buses are air conditioned so what symbol to look for! She had limited English, nowhere near as limited at my Thai, but she was so friendly and willing to help.

For dinner on our second night, Craig spotted a barbecue spot just down the road from our apartment. It quickly became one of those things that are lost in translation. Our first clue that this “barbecue” would not be like we knew it should have been that we were the only non Asian people in the place, and it was packed with people! Tables were joined together with bench style seating and every 4 seats or so there was a pit in the centre of the table. Imagine a scene of young people, wearing fire gloves, running through a crowded restaurant carrying buckets of flaming coals, that was the reality!

You then went to a bunch of refrigerator units at the back and chose your meats to barbecue on either an oil filled grill and “saucer” for a better word, or in our case, a cast iron platter. Although they advertised pork and beef, frankly it all looked the same in the trays so we just guessed our way through it. By the end, the only thing we recognized were the popsicles and ice cream for dessert, lol. We left with clothes smelling of grease, but we survived!

Our final night in Bangkok really was special, so it will get its own post. Over and out for now.

[awanderingcanadian]

Final Wats and a Floating Village!

Well, well, well. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post anything, in fact it’s been very difficult since we’re arrived in Thailand. After confirming that Tumblr wasn’t ‘down’, I then looked into it and apparently is censored in most of Thailand, for “political reasons.” So, I’m writing a document and will cut, paste, and post whenever I find that Tumblr is accessible.

Back to what’s been going on. On our last full day in Siem Reap we visited 3 smaller wats, known as the Roluos group. The first two truly were small, but the last one Bakong, had steep staircases, with huge treads, (many, many deep hip bends). At first I was hesitant to climb all of the steps but I’m so glad I did, as I really enjoyed the wat, and the views. These temples were built in the 9th century, and they are the original capital of the Khmer Empire.

While at the top of the wat, I met up with the group of school girls that you can see below in my photo. It soon became apparent that they wanted to practice their English, as they all said “hello” to me, then there was some whispering in Khmer, with someone whispering wishing their group, “How are you?”, but no one would ask me. So being the recovering teacher that I am, I asked them, “How are you?”, and they each took turns answering, “I’m very well, thank you”, before giggling and leaving. The local school is supported by Rotary International.

Eleven wats over 2.5 half days later, it was time to see a ‘floating village’. Situated on a dry season tributary of Tonlé Sap lake, (an enormous lake that is part of the Mekong River waterway), this village goes from being completely out of the water, with houses on multi levels of stilts, and accessible by road, to ‘floating’ during the rainy season. In fact, according to our guide, sometimes the lake rises so high that some houses even become submerged. The size of the lake changes dramatically based on the season, ranging from 3000 to 13,000 square kilometres! That’s just crazy.

We visited about halfway through the dry season so the lake depth was probably just over a metre, but during the rainy season, it can be 10 metres deep. Houses ranged from ramshackle, to quite nice and substantial, just like homes in regular neighbourhoods, but the roads are only seasonal. Apparently about 20 years ago, during the rainy season when the houses were cut off by road, and ‘floating”, some children accidentally started a house fire. Although surrounded by water, fire equipment couldn’t reach them and approximately one hundred homes burned.

As we watched the sun set on Tonlé Sap, sitting on our private boat, for a moment in time, all seemed right in the world.

As our tuk tuk drove us back to Siem Reap, we watched the sun set on the rice paddies. It was a perfect way to end our time here.

[awanderingcanadian]

Wats Going On: Part 2

Mainly photos of the many wats visited that I wrote about in my previous post. The first two are Banyon at Angkor Thom, famous for its carved faces.

At the end of sightseeing we went for a delicious lunch of traditional Khmer cuisine. Later that night we went to see Aspara dancers, like a barefoot ballet, with intricate hand and finger movements. Apparently dancers hands are trained from childhood to bend almost backwards!

Day two of visiting wats included a water temple, and Craig trying to reattach a head!

Oh those steep stairs. My hips and legs hurt just remembering them.

Enjoying dinner out on the tourist Mecca known as Pub Street.

[awanderingcanadian]

Siem Reap, wats going on!

Originally set for the end of March of 2020, we finally made it to Siem Reap. While Phnom Penh, the larger city and capital of the country, shows you the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, and it’s legacy is obvious in the streets, Siem Reap shows you a more ancient history with it’s centuries old wats.. Built from the 8th to 11th century, and largely in various states of ruin, these spiritual temples really are amazing to see. While guidebooks and YouTube videos often promote starting with the smaller wats and leaving the show stopper Angkor Wat for the last, we, for a couple of reasons, did it the other way. The first reason was that it was that we took the 3 day itinerary recommended by our private guide. We had corresponded with Mr. Roben via WhatsApp while we were still back home in Canada. $75USD bought us 3 days with a private tuk tuk English speaking driver, (more about the USD part later), and $62USD per person got us three days of entries into all of the wats, and access to some pretty swanky bathrooms along the way, (don’t under estimate the importance of this). Angkor Wat draws an international audience, many coming with larger tour groups, and Mr. Roben knew their schedules, so was able to choose for us the least crowded day to make the vaunted sunrise pilgrimage to Angkor Wat. The second reason was that we were able to use our jet lag to our advantage, as we were picked up at 4:45am for that sunrise shot!

After touring Angkor Wat, we headed out on the remainder of what is known as the “Small Circuit”. In addition to Angkor Wat, there is Ta Prohm, famous from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This place was amazing, a real tug of war between the structures and the jungle.

The final wat on day one was Angkor Thom, that includes Bayon. Bayon is famous for its towers that have faces carved on all four sides of each tower. Originally there were 52 faces, (one for each province of the then boundaries of Cambodia). I’ll add another post of mainly photos as I’ve reached my maximum already here.

We returned exhausted to our hotel, but…we had tickets to an Apsara dance show that evening, so after a quick nap we were on our way again. It was a great experience, and I’m so glad we powered through to see it.

Day two had us visiting the smaller wats on what is called the “Grand Circuit”. One stand out for me was Preah Neak Poan, (a water temple constructed in the 12th century. It consists of a square pool, with 4 square pools off of each side. It really was cool to see. The other was a wat with many carvings of elephants and REALLY steep stairs to the top. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of it.

Back to the USD thing. Cambodia’s official currency is the Real, but it’s virtually worthless, so Cambodia uses the USD bills, and uses their own real instead of US coins. This can be quite confusing, especially to the jet lagged brain.

Off to my second post of the wats. Stay tuned.

[awanderingcanadian]

Time Travel in the 21st Century, (or 3 countries in 24 hours)

12:55pm on Friday. That’s when we left Vancouver, Canada, and it’s the last I saw of Friday. When you’re in a plane crossing time zones, it’s like time doesn’t really exist in the same way. Saturday only lasted two and a half hours, the time we spent in the Narita airport, as we arrived into Hanoi just before midnight on Saturday. I have no idea what happened to that day, but when I mentioned it to a friend, she told me that it was the closest we would get to time travel in our lifetime. So there.

The last, and only, time we were in Hanoi was March 18th and 19th of 2020. Yes, THAT 2020. We flew in, as our flight out and onward to Mexico had been cancelled, so we were rebooking, and those new flights kept getting cancelled, so it was a very stressful time. BTW, we never did make it to our second home in Mexico on that trip, but that’s another story. However, with that as a backdrop, imagine our surprise when our airport shuttle took us to the very hotel we had stayed in back on that fateful 2020 trip. I booked both stays, but apparently I had blocked out the 2020 time.

Resplendent with its beautiful tile and wrought iron balconies, but famous in my mind for it’s full window to the bathroom, (we kept the shower curtain closed so we didn’t have to watch each other on the toilet), this hotel is a great find. With a king size bed, and a free shuttle (one way only), to or from the airport, all for just over $30 CDN, it’s a hard deal to beat. Unbeknownst to us from 2020, it also has a rooftop pool, and it’s there, watching flights arrive and depart, that you fully realize how close this hotel is to the airport. It’s not super fancy, but it’s clean, breakfast was $5.00 CDN, and the shuttle back to the airport the next day cost us a whopping $3.50ish CDN. If you’ve got an overnight in Hanoi, and need to be close to the airport, give the Paragon Noi Bai Hotel and Pool a try.

https://hotelsapp.onelink.me/fSyN/8yjbgpee

So, after a night in Hanoi, the next afternoon we headed off to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to see the famous Angkor temples, (another casualty on our 2020 dance card), but that’s for another post.

[awanderingcanadian]

Getting Ready to Bounce

Since retiring a few years ago, we've got out of winter for 6-8 weeks every year. We look forward to enjoying warmer weather, and relaxing in both new and familiar places. We happily leave our home to our wonderful house sitter.

Last year we joyfully jumped on the plane to Mexico, then onward to Belize, with our usual anticipation. Although T had just been sworn in for his second reign, and I had serious concerns. I certainly didn't expect things to change so quickly. While we were in Belize, T threatened Canada's sovereignty. It was shocking, and while I enjoyed Belize, there were many more Americans there than Canadians, so I found myself quietly worrying. When we returned home, we found a different country than the one we had left, and it was for the good. Canadians stepped up, we were firmly defiant, we voted with our wallets, our travel plans, and our habits. We embraced "elbows up", and oddly, we became people who showed our flag. Almost everyone in the country united, regardless of political affiliation. Even my Canadian conservative voting friends, and yes, I do have many of them because I strongly believe that discourse is healthy, and who wants a nation of Stepford Wives, aren't fans of T. I personally am probably a left of centre person. It's easy to be that in Canada, as we have several parties, realising that life actually exists in shades of grey, not in black and white. Are you more of a dark grey, or a light silver, or somewhere in between. And you can move your vote as things evolve, personally or politically. I'm a big fan of that.

Back to my winter trip: this year things seem even more dire, and I am of two minds as I pack up to jettison to warmer climates. Part of me knows I need to get a break from the toxic chaos running amok below us, but part of me wonders what will happen while I'm away. I'm trusting my fellow Canadians to keep us afloat, to keep staying firm. I'm trusting our government to do what's right, by calling out all of the following: illegal actions, decreased civil liberties, and fascist behaviours. But mainly, I'm hoping that I will come back to a country who still stands as the true north: strong and free.

[awanderingcanadian]

A Few Annoyances of Late

Just wanted to pop on here to air a few news items that have annoyed me of late. While as a Scottish born person, I am rejoicing at Scotland’s return to the World Cup stage, I need to point out that the World Cup is being hosted by NORTH America, NOT America. That means it’s currently being hosted by two countries where your fans can come and cheer for their team, an one autocratic country where who knows who will be allowed, who won’t, and who knows why for either decision. Yet Scottish social media sites keep posting about coming to “America” for the World Cup. It’s fairly annoying, and insulting really. Here are just a few of them:

The other piece of “news” is the US Prez’s treatment of a female reporter who dared to ask him a relevant question. While everyone is ‘outraged’ over what he called her, (and rightly so), others are saying that “Americans deserve better” in a leader. My point is simply this: do they REALLY deserve better? When not one other person on that flight stepped up to say, “Hey that’s not okay”, or even run any sort of interference? That says to me that there’s a problem with the culture of the entire country, and that the current leader is just capitalizing on what may be distasteful, but is clearly acceptable.

White House Defends Donald Trump's 'Quiet, Piggy' Snap at Female Reporter: 'You Have to Be Able to Take' It

The White House is defending Donald Trump for calling a female reporter 'Piggy' during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Friday, Nov. 1

That’s my rant for today. Over and out.

[awanderingcanadian]

My Hall of Fame Friend

Last Saturday night I headed down to celebrate the induction of my long time friend Jamie into the Greater Victoria Hall of Fame. Jamie and I first met back when I was in grade 11 and he was in grade 12, when my high school went to his for a badminton tournament. My regular tournament partner attended his high school, and she brought me over to introduce me to the rest of her high school team. Earlier that school year, my high school had hosted the BC High School Soccer championships, and I had wandered out to watch a friend play. Their opponent was Jamie's high school, and I remember seeing him play, as he was head and shoulders above everyone else on the field that day. So, when I was introduced to him months later I asked, "Do you play soccer?", which resulted in a lot of laughter from his teammates. As it turned out, he was known as 'Mr. Soccer" in his hometown.

Fast forward through decades of friendship, history, good times, even some rough times, and we are still there for each other. Jamie played in the 1986 World Cup, as one of only 2 amateurs, and being sent on to the field to mark the French great, Michel Platini. He then played professionally in Vancouver, winning league championships, before retiring. While on the national team for Canada, he traveled the world, and we all lived vicariously through him.

The 1986 World Cup team has been inducted into both the Canadian and B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, but last Saturday was Jamie's first induction as an individual. So many of those same boys from high school showed up to celebrate this milestone, as did the parents who he coached alongside when their daughters were young. It was rewarding to see what a lifetime of surrounding yourself with good people, and being a good friend, looks like.

Next weekend, Jamie is being inducted, as an individual, into the B.C. Soccer Hall of Fame. Alongside him will be the legendary Christine Sinclair along other players and clubs who have made their mark on the soccer stage.

It remains my great honour to count this man among my friends, and my great fortune to have had his friendship for so many decades. While I don't have any photos of us together in our early days, (in my defense, both film and developing it was a big expense on a high school student and later university student budget), I do have some from our 20's onwards.

Check out those acid wash jeans, in my first post university graduation home, (maybe early 1988), still complete with my parents old furniture. I remember this as the power was out for 3 days and we were freezing!

Here's to you my friend, cheers.

[awanderingcanadian]

The groom's arrival

Texas based details on the bride's sari.

The temple with the priest prior to the wedding.

Wedding rings complete with mejndi.