After 326 days of travel,
17 countries,
(England, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Vanuatu and China)
76,700 Kilometres traveled (and that's traveling 'as the crow flies' not the winding roads),
89 different beds,
and 29 books read,
I have made it back to Canada.
I have met lawyers, doctors, teachers, restaurant managers, founders of laughing clubs, journalists doing secret stories, traveling seniors and photographers. Kevin talked to me about farming in Manitoba and Pontus was my Swedish expert. I met a group of young people from Rwanda that made me feel young and happy; and an amazing Canadian women who left Canada to start a preschool in Ruhengeri, Rwanda.
I've said many times in this blog that its the people you meet along the journey that makes this whole experience memorable. This year I have traveled with Anne from Canada, Kevin and Dominic, also from Canada, Jonathan from Germany, Lukas from Austria, Kate from Australia, Aidan from England, Pontus from Sweden, Ian from Germany, Sonya from Russia, Michiel and Celein from Holland and in northern Vietnam Hannah and Joe from England.
I feel a little bit like I'm accepting an award but there are many people that have opened their homes to me and included me in their lives, families, fed me and gave me free accommodation. Venters in Johannesburg; Walters and Nedfts in Capetown; Rowes in Nelsprit; My Zimbabwe Family; Cathy and family in Rwanda; Rajam and family in India; Tuckers in Singapore; Clisdells and Chidgeys in Australia and finally Lukas and Xin Xin in Beijing.
Highlights and Strange Happenings
• I was a trillionaire in Zimbabwe and still couldn't really buy much
• I got questioned by a Zimbabwe Customs official. I had claimed 'solar panels and welding rods' on my receipts. He wanted to know why a tourist was buying 'solar panels and welding rods', good question really
• A taxi driver in Tanzania wanted me to back him in setting up a toilet paper business
• I looked after a hotel for a short time in Zanzibar while the guy went to prayers at the mosque
• Camped in the middle of the Serengeti National Park surrounded my lions and elephants, sleeping alone in only a tent and NO FENCE
• I went on a 'Free Rose' demonstration in Rwanda and according to the radio they were glad to have "Canada's support"
• Rafted and swam 32 km of the Nile
• Took one trip from Uganda to Rwanda that included a dugout canoe, a taxi, a car with seven people, and two separate motorcycles... all in the same day
• I ordered a 'cheese burger' of a menu in Varanasi, India, expecting a normal cheese burger... silly me... I got two pieces of bread with a piece of deep fried cheese
• On one day in India, I watched kids playing cricket, went to a Bollywood movie shoot, and had chai tea with three Indian Police officers
• Saw some very drunk pigs in Dalat, Vietnam
• Took a taxi in Beijing that broke down, then took another taxi where the driver kept explaining a story to me about a screwdriver, which he kept waving at me, all of this in Chinese
• Hiked nine kilometres of the Great Wall of China
I've posted a few pictures from China on FB:
Here are the links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=263490&id=763065018&l=06f3f0c3e7
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=263494&id=763065018&l=183d576214
It has been an incredible eleven month trip around this wonder world that we live in, can't wait to do it all again.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Australia and Vanautu Pictures
Here is a link to a some pictures from the past few weeks:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=256327&id=763065018&l=f3a27994e2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=256327&id=763065018&l=f3a27994e2
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Australia and Vanuatu
I can't believe that it has been over three weeks since I've posted here. I feel like I've seen so much of Australia. From Alice Springs I flew back to Sydney via Melbourne. I booked all my own tickets online, not realizing that I had to change airports in Melbourne. I arrived and started looking for the domestic terminal and my gate, only to soon find out that it was across the city. I had to take a bus into Melbourne and then another shuttle to the other airport. Fortunately I had about five hours, it would have been tight if my layover was only two or three hours. I stayed with an amazing couple south of Sydney at a Baptist camp for almost a week. It was a beautiful rural setting and they were so kind to me. From Sydney I headed north to Coff's Harbour. My university friend from Newfoundland lives there. I hadn't seen her for over ten years, so it was great to catch up with her again. I think she enjoyed having someone to talk to about Newfoundland. From Coff's Harbour I took a bus north to Brisbane, I spent just a few days there. It was in Brisbane that I had a very interesting 'interaction' in a hostel that resulted in my changing rooms for the first time in eleven months. The story isn't really for public consumption, you can ask for details... ;-)
From the beginning of my trip I wanted to spend time in Fiji. I went to a travel agent and we talked about the South Pacific Islands and all the options. Fiji was a bit too expensive for me, so the agent suggested Vanuatu, a small island between Australia and Fiji. I'm spending just four nights on a TINY island off the main island. There is a ferry that runs back and forth all day. Its a spectacular place. Yesterday I went on a snorkeling safari. There was a guide pointing out all the different fish and coral. The colours of fish and coral were just brilliant. I met a great Australian couple here and we hung out for most of the day. In the afternoon we went to the main island and went to one of the local villages. The people are so very welcoming. We tried a local drink that smells a bit like dirt, also looks very muddy. Its a non-alcoholic drink made from the the kava root. It does cause a strange sensation though, it makes your mouth and tongue a little numb. Almost like a visit to the dentist. You drink it in one gulp, its not a beverage to sip that's for sure. It tastes awful.
Last night the place I'm staying at had a feast with loads of food and local music and dancing. It really was an amazing day. I could live here on this tiny little island.
I found this information about Kava from a website..
Kava Root (the only part of the plant that is used) is largely employed as a celebratory drink much in the same way that alcohol is used in the West. It helps mark momentous occasions such as weddings, public festivals, political powwows and holidays, and it is even used in ceremonies honoring the dead. Unlike alcohol, kava does not produce or stimulate aggression. It does not condemn the user to a dreaded hangover, unlike alcohol. Alcohol literally kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, and Kava, when properly harvested, has never actually hurt anyone. Kava has even been known to help reduce alcohol consumption!
Many people find other uses for kava, including many medicinal ones. It’s interesting to note that kava has been shown to help ease anxiety, depression as well as producing a restful sleep. It is used by athletes, businessmen and diplomats to help “take the edge off” and focus concentration. Widely prescribed throughout Oceania and Europe to treat hyperactivity in children, it has also been used to aid children who have difficulty sleeping on occasion.
From the beginning of my trip I wanted to spend time in Fiji. I went to a travel agent and we talked about the South Pacific Islands and all the options. Fiji was a bit too expensive for me, so the agent suggested Vanuatu, a small island between Australia and Fiji. I'm spending just four nights on a TINY island off the main island. There is a ferry that runs back and forth all day. Its a spectacular place. Yesterday I went on a snorkeling safari. There was a guide pointing out all the different fish and coral. The colours of fish and coral were just brilliant. I met a great Australian couple here and we hung out for most of the day. In the afternoon we went to the main island and went to one of the local villages. The people are so very welcoming. We tried a local drink that smells a bit like dirt, also looks very muddy. Its a non-alcoholic drink made from the the kava root. It does cause a strange sensation though, it makes your mouth and tongue a little numb. Almost like a visit to the dentist. You drink it in one gulp, its not a beverage to sip that's for sure. It tastes awful.
Last night the place I'm staying at had a feast with loads of food and local music and dancing. It really was an amazing day. I could live here on this tiny little island.
I found this information about Kava from a website..
Kava Root (the only part of the plant that is used) is largely employed as a celebratory drink much in the same way that alcohol is used in the West. It helps mark momentous occasions such as weddings, public festivals, political powwows and holidays, and it is even used in ceremonies honoring the dead. Unlike alcohol, kava does not produce or stimulate aggression. It does not condemn the user to a dreaded hangover, unlike alcohol. Alcohol literally kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, and Kava, when properly harvested, has never actually hurt anyone. Kava has even been known to help reduce alcohol consumption!
Many people find other uses for kava, including many medicinal ones. It’s interesting to note that kava has been shown to help ease anxiety, depression as well as producing a restful sleep. It is used by athletes, businessmen and diplomats to help “take the edge off” and focus concentration. Widely prescribed throughout Oceania and Europe to treat hyperactivity in children, it has also been used to aid children who have difficulty sleeping on occasion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
