tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13504019055503823522023-11-15T07:10:25.421-08:00year offjbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-59973985820786147062011-07-05T23:54:00.000-07:002011-07-05T23:56:40.170-07:00July 5<br /><br />We are back in porto and will hit the city after breakfast. the hostel is beautiful and the flight from munich uneventful-<br />Tomorrow we are homeward bound. Yea. Will be good to sleep in my own bed again.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-23975093935981382252011-07-04T14:25:00.000-07:002011-07-04T14:40:56.437-07:00Happy July 4th to all our american friends<br /><br />Dachau was cold, windy and drizzly, fitting for a memorial of this sort. according to the literature the german motto was repress and forget, but a group of survivors decided that there needed to be a memorial and so they rallied the troops and one was opened in the 60.s. it is a fitting memorial...horrible and interesting...not sugar coated, but real. very well done.<br />back to the residence of the king,s after...terribly ostentatious, and then beer with a british couple. he had lived in toronto as part of his studies, co-op I think, but his job was moving furniture for CBC at night. he got fired for being too noisy and took a job as a security guard. he lived in the beaches with a bunch of guys, and when they took back their beer empties the guy told them that they had to have a special events license for that much beer. we had dinner at the bar..oh my god liver.to die for.<br /><br />Today we went on a walking tour. The guide was fabulous. We learned so much about the history of munich. he was irish by the way. afterwards we went for a beer and spent a good amount of time talking to an older gentleman who was born in munich, but spent some time years ago when he was working in ottawa. he worked for a company that actually printed canadian money.<br /><br />dinner last night was so delicious that we reproduced it tonight. the liver was equally as fab. back at the hotel. we will catch the bus to memmingen and off to porto tomorrow night.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-25483809652165453722011-07-02T22:31:00.000-07:002011-07-02T22:40:43.729-07:00July 3<br /><br />Saltzburg was beautiful...just as you would imagine. all about mozart and the sound of music, which interestingly enough the germans know nothing about, or choose to ignore.<br />By the time we got back we decided to grab a bite around the hotel. we went out exploring and discovered that we are staying in the Turkish neighbourhood. Lots of great little markets and doner kebab places. that might have been our choice , but they were predominantly packed, and mostly with males. Instead we grabbed a piece of pizza, the best I have ever had, go figure, all the way to germany to get great pizza. Mine was prosciutto, arugula and parm, and after he heated it he grated on more parm and drizzled it with balsamic...yum.<br /><br />We are off to Dachau this morning. probably not the most uplifting day, but it should be interesting. I will report back.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-5499051180810636682011-07-01T21:53:00.000-07:002011-07-01T22:05:41.683-07:00July 2<br /><br />Hope everyone has recovered from a really fun Canada Day. Lunch at the beergarden was great. I had a typical german meal...pig´s knuckle, coleslaw and a dumpling. Yum. We met two fun young guys from here, but one of them spoke perfect english as he had lived in Alaska for 6 years and has dual citizenship. We asked him if he would ever go back but he said he would never leave Bavaria. We have discovered that the Bavarian´s are a little bit elitist...they think that they are a notch above the rest of the germans. inteseting. they bought us a Willi...a pear schnappes shooter with a piece of fresh pear in it. nice young men.<br /><br />The hotel is really nice. No longer pilgrims but full-fledged tourists. explored the main area of munich last night. actually a really pretty city with a kick-ass rail and subway system. we met a man from chicago here on business, he works for wrigley´s, and we spent a pleasant hour chatting politics, the economy and the like.<br /><br />The hotel has an all you can eat breakfast and it is amazing. as well as everything else that you would expect I had pickled herring with beets, crab salad, some fab cheeses and chocolates. We are off to saltzburg this morning to relive the Sound of Music. I will report backjbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-10881228155111781662011-07-01T04:50:00.000-07:002011-07-01T04:57:23.180-07:00July 1<br /><br />HAPPY CANADA DAY from munich<br /><br />We arrived here at midnight last night. Fortunately the hostel was right by the bus stop. after dropping our bags we braved the drunken souls to find a bite to eat, things had pretty well closed up so we ended up at .......................Burger King!!!!<br /><br />Off to Starnberg this morning in the drizzling rain. We have had to nix our walking plans...we just couldn.t make the whole distance in time, and there is no bus help in the middle of the way so we will stay in Munich for 4 nights and enjoy the city. We finally managed to find a hotel room so we are good to go.<br /><br />Off to lunch at the Beergarden. Will be in touch.<br /><br />We so miss the camino and our Camino friends. Take care.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-49645036911608877582011-06-30T06:05:00.000-07:002011-06-30T06:12:21.107-07:00June 30<br /><br />We are at the airport on Porto waiting for our flight to Munich. it is a beautiful new airport and after i finish mucking about here we will go and eat.<br /><br />santiago was as wonderful as i remember. we got our compestellas...i now have three....if that doesn´t fast track me i don´t know what will.<br /><br />we went back to our usual haunt for dinner. that is the third celebratory dinner that we have had there. That is more times than i have been to any particular restaurant in aurora. There were 11 of us and of course a good time was had by all. The german girls gave my ankle a healing session, and i must say it is feeling much better.<br /><br />Happy Canada day to all. The next note will be from Germany.<br /><br />Buen caminojbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-67007228770937186692011-06-29T05:33:00.000-07:002011-06-29T05:48:43.607-07:00June 29,<br /><br />We are in santiago!!!!!! Made it all the way on foot thanks to great weather and good friends. We were able to get rooms together for a good price and will go out for dinner tonight. We went to the Pilgrim mass at noon and it was great as always. it is quite a different feeling arriving from porto than st. jean. not the same emotion.<br /><br />We dined in the botanical gardens with the gang in calda de reis....bread, cheese, meat and wine. A good time was had by all. we got up at 5 the next morning to put in a 30 plus day to get us closer to santiago. The weather was cool and overcast, good walking weather, however i think that my boots are at the end of their life, and after 18 or so kilometres the banging on my feet, hips and back is rough. I got to teo and crashed for 3 hours. Today i purchased new insoles that are nice and gelly so i should be good to go again.<br /><br />After a long walk and snooze yesterday we found a really nice restaurant for dinner. Out in the middle of nowhere with tableclothes on the table, a waiter in an apron to the ground, and napkins that were served with a fork and spoon. The food was great and we had a good time.<br /><br />A day off from walking will be great as i have developed an infection from heat poisining on my ankle and it makes it a bit painful to walk. picked up some antibiotic cream today so should be as good as gold tomorrow.<br /><br />Until then greetings from Santiago.<br /><br />We aren´t pilgrims any morejbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-5567572649190593082011-06-27T09:24:00.000-07:002011-06-27T09:34:31.545-07:00June 27<br /><br />Pontevedra was a really beautiful city. we joined a gang for a great chinwag and lots of laughs. it was great to be in a pensione last night. a bath felt heavenly, and a good nights sleep without smell and snoring was a real treat. We went out for dinner late...i had octopus, a specialty of this region and it was delicious.<br /><br />We left early this morning as the albergues are really busy with spaniards doing the last 100 kilometres to get their compestela. it changes the whole flavour of the walk. The albergue is packed tonight in calda da reis. there are mattresses and bodies everywhere. Should make for an interesting sleep. it is my understanding that the young people have a better chance of a job with this on their resume. Everybody was snoozing today...it has taken a day for that hot and brutal walk to catch up with everyone. there are some natural hot springs in this city and though I don´t have the gear for the baths, i think that i will stick my feet in later.<br /><br />All in all a pretty quiet day. We only did about 23 kilometeres but my feet were aching by the end. the biggest problem....not one single cafe on the way!!!! I was in serious withdrawal. hope your weather is as good as ours.<br /><br />Buen Caminojbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-90900982434449868812011-06-26T07:16:00.000-07:002011-06-26T07:33:11.368-07:00June 26,<br /><br />well we did end up going out for dinner in Tui, a beautiful restaurant overlooking the fort in valenca, and the city of Tui. we sat on the terrace and had churrasco...a huge platter of every grilled meat imaginable, and a salad of tomatoes and lettuce straight from the garden.<br /><br />the next day it was off to redondela. What a day...the most difficult one that i have spent on the camino. thirty two kilometres in the blistering heat. it started off out of Tui pleasant enough, but when you don´t need a sweater at 6 in the morning you know that you are in trouble. Then it was hard slogging through the industrial town of Porrino, think of walking through Windsor and you get the picture. not that I have ever walked through Windsor, nor do i wish to cast disparaging thoughts, but this was one car manufacturer after another. When that was finished it was straight up a mountain, 34 degrees ,noon, and no shade anywhere. Poor rita was trying to walk under the hydro wires to get some relief. Brutal. if I had had to go an extra 15 minutes I think that i would have been sick. after a shower and a rest all was forgotten and it was dinner out with friends. Calamari and salad. we are in octopus country so I think that it might be pulpa and salad tonight. The problem with this place is that if you order even a small beer they bring you food...and good food. This afternoon it was warm chickpeas in broth with chorizo and bread. Then we ran into someone else that we know and it was tortilla, a particularly good one. but i digress.<br /><br />Today was not a long or harrowing walk from Redondela to ponteverda and the scenery was much better. We have opted for a pensione tonight to have a bath and a really good nights sleep. We will have dinner with three german camino friends and call it a night. The city is large and beautiful. 75,000 people, but it is a sunday and so things are pretty quiet. The place was packed this afternoon as a triathlon week-end was wrapping up with people from all over the world. Until the next time.<br /><br />Buen Caminojbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-43542191493357244882011-06-24T07:37:00.000-07:002011-06-24T07:50:46.632-07:00Friday June 24<div><br /></div><div>WELL THE WHOLE BULL THING was very odd. They lead a bull around town with thousands in pursuit. They have some control i guess, but when the bull dashes the whole crowd runs. Not a barrier in sight, no police or ambulance and the whole crowd drinking euro beer. There was a huge party after with a band that sounded like they were outside our romm, oh ya they were, singing until 3 am. The singer just gor flatter and flatter as the night went on. when he wrapped it up they played canned music until 5am. when we left at 6 to walk the diehards were still going strong. We did go for a nice meal however....local cheese , cured meats, and braised pork cheeks served on grilled pinapple. Yum.</div><div><br /></div><div>Short walk yesterday through the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. Vegeatation like nothing else. For dinner the sardinians put on a spread...we supplied the wine. 15 euros for 10 litres. a good time was had by all, and yes. most of it was leftover for the next gang.</div><div><br /></div><div>we are now in spain again. just like comung home. i love it. spending the night in Tui. it reminds me of quebec city. Went out for 2 beers in search of something to eat, bur after a bowl of olives, a basket of potato chips, and two glasses of nuts we were sufficiently sufficed. all for the grand sum of 6 euros. i am moving here!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>putting in a big day tomorrow so it will be an early night. Really hard to find an internet cafe, everything is wifi, and everyone is amazingly well plugged in. But we will keep on trying. In the meantime.</div><div><br /></div><div>Buen Caminol</div>jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-56107930935930929402011-06-22T09:49:00.000-07:002011-06-22T10:00:19.936-07:00June 22<br /><br />We cobbled together a great salad last night with lettuce from the garden and fresh vegetables from the market. yum. another early night for me. I had so forgotten about the achey feet, but today they are feeling stronger. Sleep is a bit elusive, what with all the snorers.<br /><br />The walk today was absolutely beautiful. it was perfect weather and most of the path was shaded. we arrived in ponte limayou have nte lima at noon today, and the albergue didn´t open until 5. Ridiculous. A really nice town, but with nowhere to leave our gear we had to hang around until opening. sorry but i can´t fix my typing problem.<br /><br />Tonight there is a big festival, and i guess the whole country shuts down tomorrow. They will let a bull loose in the street at 7 and he runs madly around town until 9. we have been warned to be very careful. some old greek custom i think. anyway i will report back. hope all is well<br /><br />buen caminojbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-41509109378522673952011-06-21T06:05:00.000-07:002011-06-21T06:20:22.181-07:00Tuesday June 21<div><br /></div><div>We made it to the aiport with tons of time to spare. economy parking is so named because it is halfway to aurora.LOL. The lineup for airtransat was horredous...I guess you get what you pay for. Anyway we made it here. They pack you in like sardines, but they did feed us, and all the children were very well behaved.</div><div>We arrived and made our way to the metro. a fabulous system...easy, organized and a guy right there to help you along. smarty pants here had decided on a new way for our first day. a bit longer, but it would cut off some time down the line. the only problem was that the way wasnot marked and i started us off at the wromg place. after walking for more than an hour and ending up back where we started there were some choice words exchanged. we persevered, however and finally made it to our destination tired, hurting and famished.</div><div>All the things that I had forgotten have been coming back. The smell of the bakeries, all the dogs and chickens, the blistering summer sun at mid-day, and the lovelt scent of the eucalyptus. trees. This path is not very well travelled, and though we have met a few pilgrims at the albergues, we have not actually passed any walking.</div><div>This morning everyone as up at the crack of dawn and on the road by 6:15. it was a long hot day, but we are here at the albergue. When I stopped to take off my sweater I left my pouch with my passports, cards and money lying on the stone fence....didn´t notice until we stopped for coffee...I had to run, and I mean run, all the way back, only 1.5 k or so, but still a pain. Fortunately it was exactly where I left it. I also left my underwear at the last place, but that is minor by comparison.</div><div>The only resataurant in town is closed so we will have to cobble together a dd inner. i the meantime.</div><div>Buen Camino</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-44793988971900326442011-06-19T05:11:00.000-07:002011-06-19T13:52:31.369-07:00June 19<div>We are off and running again, well OK walking. Tonight we hop on a flight to Porto, Portugal and start walking to santiago once again. it is a short walk, only 250 kilometres, and will take ten days. no public transit to the airport this time, we are doing it the luxurious way. Park n fly has a coupon whereby you can park for 30 days for 77 bucks, so we are going to use it.</div><div>We spent the afternoon at Mono Centre walking with friends It is a fabulous portion of the Bruce Trail, and a perfect afternoon to be outdoors. Of course we rewarded ourselves with lunch at the Mono Cliffs Inn...one of my favourite haunts. The food is amazing and the one and only server, Wayne, is one of a kind. He is fun, funny, and fabulous at what he does...to say nothing of a memory like an elephant.</div><div>Next post will be from somewhere in Portugal.</div><div>Buen Camino</div>jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-20199585218323721422010-03-13T01:37:00.000-08:002010-03-13T01:54:26.717-08:00saturday march 13<br /><br />we are back in singapore as of yesterday afternoon. it was great to see diana and jim again. diana of course put out a nice spread for a late lunch, and then invited us to a good -bye pool party for one of their neighbours. then it was off to sentosa to see the new casino complex that has recently opened. talk about culture shock...and serious gambling. we slept in a bit today, had one of diana's delicious breakfasts, and then headed back to the beach on sentosa island. everything in singapore is "go big or go home" and this was no exception. volleyball courts, paddle boats, bars, swimming and a "surfing ride", they have it all. the soon to be opened universal studios will just be the icing on the cake. this afternoon just happened to be a" 50 man hunk competion day". it was a hoot. if signed up to join singapore's longest limbo dance you got two free drinks and a loot bag. we of course signed on. turned out to be an entertaining afternoon. we are back at diana's now where she will cook a delectable meal, and have some friends drop by. they have quite the life here.<br /><br />we thoroughly enjoyed our six days on the beach in our hut. not much to report as our days consisted of reading, eating and walking the beach. we had such fun with all the young people that we met, the food was amazing, and the owners, Malcolm and Koy, a delight. i have volunteered to run the place for them, should the stress of sitting on the beach every day necessitate (?) a holiday. they said they would keep me in mind. a few more days and we are home. i can't believe that it is coming to an end.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-5914909484119269782010-03-07T22:41:00.000-08:002010-03-07T22:54:00.142-08:00monday. march 8<br /><br />we made an enquiry at our hotel in bangkok as to the cost of a taxi to the airport. 25 bucks. i don't think so, so we left ourselves lots of time and took public transportation. 90 cents to the end of the skytrain line, and another 1.25 by mini van directly to the airport, we made it in such good time that we were even able to hop on an earlier flight to phuket. sometimes things just work out.<br />we got a cab to our guesthouse on phuket. we are on phuket island but up at the north end where it is very quiet. we have a little thatched hut on the beach..paradise. we were going to move from here after a couple of days but have decided against it. the only downside is there is no internet or any other means of communication. today we came into town to do some banking, and book a flight to singapore. we are flying back to singapore on friday the 12th, and i will resume contact then. don't feel too sorry for us.LOL.<br />the only bad news. when gerry opened my backpack to get the camera out it had been stolen. they took the camera and left the case. we guess that it happened at the airport. not that the pictures were great or the camera worth much, but there go our memories.<br />we are in the town of phuket at the moment. there must be a nice area, but it isn't here. time to head back to the beach.<br />i will be in touch again from Diana's. all the best.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-82298835286372928862010-03-05T21:03:00.000-08:002010-03-05T21:14:22.321-08:00saturday march 6<br /><br />we had dinner last night at "cabbages and condoms" another one of those restaurants with a social conscience. we ate on the terrace which was all lit up with fairy lights, and had a young woman playing traditional music. for the first time since we left home the bill tacked on a service charge, then put tax on the total amount. that left a really bad taste in my mouth. then we dropped in for a beer at an american bar...met a couple of real characters living here in thailand from the states. lots of good stories.<br />this morning we headed off early to the week-end market. there is absolutely everything there. so much so that it is totally overwhelming. you have to see the animal section to believe it. the sweetest puppies ever. we spoke to an australian woman who told us that they are well cared for..we can only hope.<br />we catch a flight to phuket this evening. we have booked a little hut on the beach so may be out of communication for a few days. we'll see.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-22031673717366120472010-03-05T02:40:00.000-08:002010-03-05T02:51:22.659-08:00friday march 5<br /><br />well we made it. the 8 dollar bus got us back to bangkok from cambodia. we had to walk across the border and wait for immigration, but it all worked out in the end. when we were between countries the kids came begging. they carry their baby siblings in slings and it is really difficult to tell if these kids are alive or dead. i swear that some of them are not living any longer. anyway, the kids saw some palm sugar in my backpack, it is the cambodian equivalent of maple sugar, and they asked if they could have it. i gave them one pack and they went crazy. i insisted that they share, and they did. i just gave up the other two packs and you would have thought that they had won the lottery.<br />we are staying in another area in bankgkok, and it is great. we are on the sky train line and so are seeing a different part of the city. we went to the jim thompson house this morning. very lovely. then we spent part of the day on the river.fabulous. tomorrow we fky to phuket to spend a few days at the beach. the weather is still perfect. hope things are heating up in toronto. until tomorrow.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-73130960226783055892010-03-03T01:15:00.000-08:002010-03-03T01:27:23.087-08:00wednesday march 3<br /><br />we have spent the last two days at the temples. they are miraculous, but two solid days of stone is enough. the tuk-tuk driver and guide picked us up at 7:30. the guide was the most open and chatty person that i have met yet. we had to work hard to understand his english, but it was doable. he rhymed off the facts about the temples, but what he really wanted to hold court on, was cambodian politics and history. he was a man of many opinions and happy to share them. he is a hindu who hates buddhists, thinks tht all the monks are on the take, feels that all the border countries are trying to steal cambodia's land, particularly hates Thailand, and doesn't think that the Vietnamese shouldb e allowed to move freely into cambodia. we are tired of being bombarded by children selling us non-stop and are looking forward to getting back to Thailand.<br /><br />we tried to get a flight to Bangkok, but it was going to cost us 400 dollares plus a 50 dollar departure fee so we opted for the bus. it leaves at 7:30 tomorrow and costs 8 bucks each, no departure tax. i asked her if that included the bus. LOL. we will see. you have to walk across the border and get another bus on the other side.it might be another adventure happening. i will report back. still hot and humid here. hope all is well in canada.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-75629255804042625442010-03-01T07:15:00.000-08:002010-03-01T07:26:15.279-08:00monday march 1<br /><br />we are in siem reap. the little bit that we have seen looks quite nice.<br /><br />the restaurant that we wanted to eat at last night was closed, so we ended up at a little place by the hotel with lianne and mike. it only had about four tables and doubled as a bike shop, bike tour place, and laundromat. the guys running all these various factions also cooked, and the food was excellent. at the same time they were having a good-bye party for their friend. they were absolutely hilarious and we had a great evening. we ended up for a beer later, and of course all the kids are out hawking all sorts of goods for the tuk-tuk guys who are pimping them. lianne, being a community worker, was all into it. she was talking up the kids, their mothers and the pimps. mike was like "i am not madonna"i guess you had to be there. we ended back there for breakfast. i took a chance on a bacon and egg sadwich, i haven't seen bacon here yet, and it was delicious. then it was off to the bus to siem reap. we arrived at about 6, checked into our hotel. organized a tuk-tuk and guide for tomorrow and grabbed some dinner. we are off to the temples tomorrow. perhaps we will see angelina jolie (tomb raider) until then.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-16937385666072065802010-02-27T22:37:00.000-08:002010-02-27T22:48:57.160-08:00sunday february 28<br /><br />we are in phnom penh. there is an incredible amount of infrastructure for a country that has only really been at it for 20 years, but it is for the most part painfully poor, particularly the rural areas where there is no electricty or sanitation, only cellular service.<br /><br />we spent two days getting here by boat and bus. it was a good little trip and once again we met a good little group from all over. we spent the night in chau doc where we dined with four of our bus mates. the food was good, but you have never seen so many flies in your life. not house flies, but midges of some type, completely covering everything.<br />the trip up the mekong yesterday was hot and interesting. the rural people really use the river. they appear to be completely self-sufficient. we joined a young couple from Scotland for dinner last evening, and we are meeting them again tonight and goint to one of these reataurants run by street kids. should be fun. we had a local specialty last night...amok. it had a thai taste, and after the bland vietnamese food it was a pleasant surprise.<br /><br />today we went to the killing fields and S-21. a very depressing morning, and i think that we are in need of a 60 cent beer. the atrocities are mind-boggling.<br /><br />tomorrow we hop on a bus at noon and head up to siem reap. weare looking forward to this leg.<br />i will report back on angkor wat.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-74657182254653835022010-02-25T01:43:00.000-08:002010-02-25T02:05:32.620-08:00February 25 Thursday<br /><br />Happy Birthday Breen!!!<br /><br />I haven't been able to log on to my blog for the past three days.<br />Monday we piled into the van for 16, thank goodness there were only 9 of us, as that is all that fit. The drive was harrowing. vietnamese drive like maniacs. he who has the biggest vehicle rules the roadways. fortunately there are very few cars, but there are thousands of motocycles, and lots of bicycles, but they are completely bullied by the bigger vehicles. pedestrians are the lowest on the chain and you need eyes on the sides and back of your head. we arrived about 8pm in nha trang, checked in, grabbed a bite, and hit the sack.<br />Tuesday we spent at the beach. after driving through rice paddies, oxen, ducks and chickens goint to market, oh yes and even 2 goats on a motorcycle, nha trang was surreal. a georgous beach with beautiful huts and bars with delicious smoothies, it was like landing in another country. could have been the bahamas, the cote d'azure, or any other fabulous beach locale. the water was warm and the surf perfect. we all hooked up for dinner at the sailing club. a nice upscale beach on the water. i had soft-shelled crab.yum. we topped the night off with a pint at the australian brew pub just down the way. good times all around. pat brought up a picture of her dinner guest from the night before...a big rat right on the table top. gross.<br />wednesday we did more of the same. beach beach and more beach. we had dinner at a small fish place. decided to go cheap. a salad big enough to feed four, bar-b-cued tuna and fries, and i am talking a huge piece of tuna, and two bottled waters. 6 dollars total. amazing. at 8:30 we boarded the overnight bus to saigon and i went off to sleep. it was perfect.<br />we arrived in saigon at 7:30 this morning. checked in and went out exploring. we saw the fine art museum, 2 markets, the reunification palace and the war museum. the war museum was the best. there was an exhibition of photos taken during the war by embedded photo journalists. some we certainly remembered from magazines but lots were new to us. there was also a huge display of the birth defects as a result of chemical warfare. pretty awful stuff. after 2 hours i was propaganded out, and i am now finished with the vietnamese war, or the american war, as they call it.<br />tomorrow morning we are off on a 2 day boat and overland trip to phnom phen. nest message will be from cambodia.<br />keep well.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-5356192793350359442010-02-21T03:34:00.000-08:002010-02-21T03:51:23.309-08:00sunday february 21<br /><br />we met up with 7 others for dinner last night on the river. 3 canadians and 6 poms, as the aussies call them, brits to us. this is the group that is renting the van for the trip to na trang tomorrow. we will try to make a stop at mai li on the way there. there is a museum and a memorial there. it will be sad but hopefully worth the visit.<br />today we rented bikes and rode around the coast. the beaches are beautiful. white sand and surf as far as the eye can see. there is only one tiny section with resorts although i suppose that to will change with time.<br />all the vietnamese ride motorcyles. there are thousands of them on the road and nobody follows any of the rules. lots of people here where masks, i am guessing as the birthplace of avian flu perhaps that is what they are trying to prevent. what you see all time, however is a family of 4 on a motorbike. both parents often have helmets, but the children never do. they are often standing or riding side-saddle in their flip-flops, no helmets, but masks on. seems crazy, but it is the norm. i read in the paper yesterday that there have already been 400 fatalities on the first six days of the new year. crazy.<br />we are off to grab some dinner. we just can't decide where, we both feel like good old home food tonught, but i guess that is out of the question. we had lunch at a great little restaurant that trains street kids for the hospitality industry. it is an 18 month apprenticeship and they get hired for all the best spots. it was by far the cleanest place we have eaten in yet, and the food was wonderful.<br />off at the crack of dawn tomorrow. i expect that we won't get to na trang until about 8 tomorrow. in the meantime, hope everyone had a great week-end.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-27951983957542186652010-02-19T20:52:00.000-08:002010-02-19T21:01:50.400-08:00saturday february 20<br /><br />we arrived in hoi an yesterday at about 5. it is everything that we hoped it would be. a really lovely city. this time we took a tourist bus and got here without a hitch. the only problem was that the hotel didn't have our reservation so they sent us to one of their sister hotels for the night. better location, but not nearly as nice. today we are at the hotel that we booked and it is lovely. we went out for dinner along the river and met some great people. they are having the same travel problems as we are, due to tet, so they have decided to rent a van and driver to take them to na thrang on monday. we are in. should be a lot of fun. the sun is finally back and the weather is grand. what a difference it makes. hoi an is on the river and at night it is all lit up and stupendous. we did a bit of shopping today, gerry even lived dangerously and got a haircut.<br />we are heading back out to the streets and will meet our travelling companions for a drink at 7.<br />more hoi an news to follow.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-71138015221418173042010-02-18T04:47:00.000-08:002010-02-18T04:57:00.659-08:00thursday february 18<br /><br />we arrived in hue about 1:30 and have had a chance to visit the city and see the imperial palace. no much else going on here, and we are heading off to hoi an tomorrow afternoon. it is also a unesco world heritage sight so should be quite lovely. it has been overcast the whole time we have been in vietnam, but fortunately we have managed to escape the rain.<br />the last twenty four hours have been challenging. the train ride was an experience that Gerry absolutely refuses to re-visit. i will spare all the gory details at this time, suffice to say that it wasn't pretty. we survived however, and will live to tell the tale. it was a total of 17 hours and gerry insists that conditions in the don jail are better.<br />other than the train it has been a quiet day.<br />next report will be from hoi an. we are chasing the sun, but haven't found it quite yet.<br />hope all is well at home.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350401905550382352.post-31150458854655838222010-02-17T04:11:00.000-08:002010-02-17T04:15:38.191-08:00wednesday february 17<br /><br />we are just dropping by at the guest house to pick up our packs and head to the train station. it was a long day of walking in hanoi. the water puppet show was fabulous, dinner was excellent, and we even caught a bit of olympic hockey. the train will be 16 hours in a 6 bed hard sleeper. i will report back. in the meantime have a great few days.jbanfillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726863216310611304noreply@blogger.com0