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Archive for April, 2007

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Southern Thailand

Monday, April 30th, 2007

Feb 28 – March 6


We had enjoyed the company of our new friends in Chiang Mai so much that we decided to get together for a celebratory dinner before we all went our separate ways. It was so nice to have adults to talk to (besides each other) and the kids loved their company too. After dinner, we took the kids back to the guesthouse to put them to bed and Claude was having such a good time that I told him I would stay with the kids so he could go out with the gang. I must say, it was nice to be the one feeling good the next morning while the rest of them nursed hangovers over breakfast. Since we were all heading back to Bangkok anyway, we decided to take the overnight train with Candice and Mary. The kids thought it was quite an adventure to have a sleepover on the train and had fun colouring and drawing pictures with Candice and Mary.

After we put the kids to bed we played cards until the unsmiling train matron came and told us we had to go to bed (at 9PM!). [read on]

Our Hilltribe Trek

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Feb 26-28

There were two things that we had wanted to do in Chiang Mai. One was to take a Thai cooking course and the second was to do a hilltribe trek. Thanks to the state of our gastrointestinal tracts, neither Claude nor I were remotely interested in cooking or eating spicy Thai food. However, we were determined to see the hilltribes and had booked a three-day trek as soon as we arrived in Chiang Mai. We had debated between the classic 3-day trek which included an elephant ride and a bamboo raft trip and the more expensive eco-trek to a remote area in the hills where we would walk more and learn jungle survival skills (no elephants or rafting). Normally we would have chosen the eco-trek, but we thought the kids would enjoy the elephant ride and rafting more. In the end, it was probably a good thing that we chose the classic trek, because, in my weakened state, I wouldn’t have survived the eco-trek. On the third day after I got sick, I was still feeling very weak and nauseated, but our trip was already booked and the thought of spending three days alone at the guesthouse while Claude and the kids got fresh air and exercise did not appeal to me. So I sucked it up, took a couple of Imodium, said a prayer that the worst was over and we joined our group. [read on]

Trains, Toilets and Tuktuks

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007
Feb 22-25 After our less than inspiring introduction to Thailand, we decided to get out of Bangkok as quickly as possible. The next morning we got up early and caught the train to Chiang Mai, a small beautiful city in ... [Continue reading this entry]

And on to Thailand

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007
Feb 20-21 Even though we only spent a week in Cambodia, we were incredibly affected by its poignant history and remarkable people, not to mention the incredible temples of Angkor. In retrospect, we should have planned to spend more time ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Legend of Aki Ra

Saturday, April 14th, 2007
For us, one of the highlights of our visit to Siem Reap had nothing to do with temples. I had read about a small private museum just outside Siem Reap, called the Cambodian Landmine Museum, not to be confused ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Temples of Angkor

Saturday, April 14th, 2007
While the rest of Cambodia is still struggling to pull itself out of economic depression, Siem Reap is booming, thanks to the presence of the temples of Angkor on its doorstep. Since the onset of peace ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Fast Boat to Siem Reap

Saturday, April 14th, 2007
One of our primary reasons for visiting Cambodia was to see the temples of Angkor, the most famous being Angkor Wat, reputed to be the largest religious structure in the world. To get there, we decided ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Ghosts of Cambodia

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
Feb 14-21 As I sit here in Phnom Penh International Airport I wanted to capture my thoughts and feelings about the last week we spent in Cambodia. This won’t be one of my usual lighthearted tales of where we’ve been ... [Continue reading this entry]

Singapore

Sunday, April 8th, 2007
Feb 11-13 After Bali, Singapore was like returning to a North American city, with its glitzy high-rises, ultra-clean streets and expensive shopping malls. We arrived just one week before Chinese New Year and the city, especially Chinatown, was all dressed ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bali IV (Amed to Seminyak)

Sunday, April 8th, 2007
Feb 6-10 On our last morning in Amed, I went for a couple of dives on the USAT Liberty, an American ship that had been sunk in WWII, and it turned out to be the best diving of the trip thus ... [Continue reading this entry]