In Vancouver

What can I say about Day 2? Thank goodness it is done.

I have never wanted to be back in Canada in my whole life. And now being back in Edmonton can't come soon enough.

And this mini blog is now wrapped up.

Thanks for the support, everyone.

Day 1 in Bangkok

This first day was pretty eventful I would say. I didn't go out in Bangkok to try and do touristy things but just stuck to what was around Chan's place.

Chan, Nuck (his wife), Windy (daughter), and Rintoo (son) came back to their home around 11AM. The two kids are so opposite. Windy is 9, mild mannered, very polite, respectful, and acts older than her age. She is very intelligent. She knows 4 languages, plays 2 instruments, swims and plays hockey, and is at the top of her class. Rintoo is 4 and very rambunctious, jumping on anything he can, constantly running around, and never listening to his parents. He accident my threw Wind's phone is the pond we were at, but Windy didn't get mad at him or anything. The two of them are a fun combination.

We went out for supper to have real Thai food. Here's an interesting fact: coconut rice is not Thai at all! I asked two separate people and they has to ask me to explain what I meant. However, their desserts are all coconut based! Yum!

After supper we played a couple of fair type games as a market had been set up in the outdoor mall due to it being Thai New Years. I also poured water over some Buddhist statues which is supposed to guarantee the person a spot in heaven!

My Dad is doing well, but rests a lot. Tomorrow we go to his apartment to retrieve all his belongings. I'm sure that will be interesting.

Hope everyone is Canada is doing well.

Pictures: coconut cream/milk based dessert, fish for supper, Rintoo and Windy (Chan's kids), flowers that Rintoo kept picking for me 

Coincidence?

I don't think this was just a coincidence.

When I was walking to my seat for the 13 hour flight, I realized that this plane was huge. There was easily 300+ people on this flight. I found my seat at the back of the plane and sat next to a girl named Nuch. She was doing her MBA in Victoria and was going home to Thailand for a couple of weeks. And, we were catching the same flight to Bangkok! Here's the thing though. I'm sure that isn't that unusual because I bet the timing worked the best with the timing of the one flight landing and the other taking off. The unusual part was that on this flight to Bangkok, she was sitting directly in front of me. Our whole section had empty seats but there were about 2 other sections filled with people, but we somehow ended up next to each other again. It was nice to have a friend on the flights and have someone to tell me about Bangkok and wait with me while Chan picked me up at the airport. Some things are just too unlikely and work out too well to be a coincidence.

Traveling to Bangkok complete.

Time To Try Some True Thai!

The beginning of this trip starts in the middle of it all.

Flights booked less than 3 days ago. Travel insurance, Thai Baht, visa stuff that wasn't needed, a semi plan. It's pretty amazing that I have had support from family, friends, and work to do this needed trip.

I usually plan trips for months before anything comes to fruition. Having to plan an abroad trip in under 3 days was definitely more on the stressful side, but now that I'm in Vancouver, I feel relaxed. Of course, my Broham and Dad's friend helped make this happen.

This trip will be unlike one I have ever taken. I have not done any research as to what I'll do there for the 2  days. The flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong will be a whopping 13 hours, which I have never experienced. I wonder how much sleeping I can do to kill some of that time! What an adventure this will be and it will be great to see my Dad in a country he loves.

For now, all I think about is the present as everything feels too surreal. So I will wander Van. Intl. Airport with my yellow  backpack which has assisted me to Machu Picchu, accompanied me during my Env. Health program, and now acts as my sole piece of luggage holding everything I'll need on this trip. Next on my list to do in the airport: walk the duty free with their sparkly black floors which make me feel like a movie star, get some food that will be safe to eat once I'm in Hong Kong, and make sure I know how to use a Thai toilet.

Here is food for thought: if I were to stay in Bangkok which is 13 hours ahead, will I actually have lived 13 hours less when compared to other Thai people, when using age as the measurement?

--> I think so, right?

Pictures: Ben and I right before I take off to catch my first flight, movie star walk way, and my trusty backpack. 

I'm back!

It is odd being back. I can't say I like being back or dislike it.

Having my room, different clothing and being able to exercise is nice but going on this trip made me realize that there are a lot of important ppl in Edmonton that I care about. Too bad I couldn't bring everyone on my trip, then it would have been perfect!

I know that there will be more trips and this one was so much fun and a great experience that I was glad to share with so many ppl. I'm going to miss the food (esp the bread), exploring and the care freeness of traveling but there is something about being back home that makes being back ok. There's a lot to look forward to and it's been a fun 3.5 weeks even though it only felt like an hr since I left. Anyways, that was definitely a fun and successful trip!

Thanks for reading my blog. Hopefully I'll have another travel blog in the near future.

Picture: From Kaylee :)

The last leg of the trip

Once in London, Devonne and I traveled to her dorm without too much trouble. She definitely has a knack for direction and figuring out how to get places, which I was super grateful for during the trip. We had a shower which was super refreshing and after a few phone calls we headed for supper.  The evening with Devonne went by fast, just like my whole trip,  so before I knew it we were heading to see my aunt.

My aunt picked us up from the station and we went back to her place where we chatted, watched some of Margaret Thatcher's funeral and visited with my cousins. We also had tea. English tea is delicious. I can never make it taste right. The last time I had tea that tasted that good was when my grandma made it. I had fish and chips for lunch. It doesn't taste the same in Canada either. So, sitting in my Aunt's family room drinking tea and eating fish and chips brought back the memories from when I was there 8 years ago. I felt so comfortable and relaxed. I felt like I was home.

After Devonne left, we decided to go to a pub where I had a couple of drinks and then we headed back to my Aunt's place where we had supper. It was really nice telling stories and having lots of good laughs. The saying "Home is where the heart is" sounds sort of cheesy, but I felt like I was at home because I was with family.  I wouldn't have wanted to end the trip any other way, except maybr staying longer with my Aunt.

All good things come to an end, and this ended too fast. The next day my cousin, David, took me to the airport and I boarded the plane back to Canada. 

Lisboa

The last fullbday in Portugal found Devonne and I checking out as much of Lisbon as we could.

It did not take us long to get away from the touristy streets and to find buildings and people depicting a story. The buildings in Lisbon,  from what I saw, were a bit more run down, but more beautiful and moving than the areas I have seen in my whole trip. I felt like there was more of a story here than any other place I had been to. The buildings reminded me of sn elderly person- cute and quaint but gone and lived through a lot. It would be interesting to know about Lisbon and about Portugal for that matter.

Devonne and I decided to take a peak at St. Jorge's Castle but decided not to go into it as we wanted to head to Belem. The security guard at tbe castle told us nobody walked to Belem from where we were but we decided there was nothing to lose and so much to gain to do the 7.5 km/ 1.5 hr jaunt through Lisbon. It was a nice day and got to feel more of the Portugese culture through this walk.

We finally reached Belem and snapped photos of this and other places. Knowing a bit of history before seeing these places would have been a good thing for me to do, but alas I did not, and will have to Wikipedia stuff when I'm back home. We caught the train back as we were pretty tired from all the walking we had done. Going to a cafe and having coffee and a nata pastry while reading our books was relaxing and the perfect way to end our afternoon in Lisbon. Of course we dined on delicious Portugese food, octopus rice, before heading back to the hostel to pack our bags so we could head out the next day.

I just scratched the surface of Portugal but hopefully I can experience more of it one day.