Running Log - May 28

I am therefore I run.

Left at 9:15, home at 10:00. Good run. Grooved to JayZ over and over again (New Yooooork). Felt good for most of it. Forced myself to walk. Must start 10 and 1's and build to a really strong pace. I'd like to strive toward gaining energy rather than losing it by end of a run.

Also going to start cutting white food today. See if replacing it with beans and lean meats and more veggies will give me more energy : )

Africa - Zanzibar

Hello all

Here we are in Stonetown on the island of Zanzibar

This is an amazing place. We went scuba diving the other day...we might as well have been in a National Geographic documentary. The fish and plants and coral - it's like being on another planet

The people are very friendly here...we speak to them in English but we also try to speak some of the Swahili we pick along the way, like: Jambo! (hello) and if they ask "Mambo" (how are you?) we say, "Pua" (cool) or "Nzuryi" (fine)...it's fun! and we make friends at the same time!

The food is really good. They use the best spices like cardamon, cinnamon, clove, cumin...their palate isn't hot at all, just tasty. We went to a spice farm yesterday and learned all about where our spices come from - it took a couple of hours and it was fantastic. I did not know, for instance, that pepper is a vine. Little pods on a vine in the forest. And ylang ylang is a leaf as well as the spice All Spice, it's a leaf! I thought All Spice was a blend of different spices, not so...I had a little cut on my foot from sand rubbing in my sandle, we passed a tree that's sap provides iodine! my foot is fine now! nature is so wonderfully plentiful and amazing, what a learning experience it was. And the work it takes to harvest all those spices! I'll never shake pepper again without thinking about the people that had to deal with allll those little pods, then dry them, then peel them, then grind them....

We also took a tour around Stonetown, an old port town built in the 16th century and where slaves were captured and imprisoned before being shipped off...it all happened here, not a movie not a book, we've seen the history right here. Our travels have included some pretty grim places but that's one of my favourite things about travelling - is learning about the past in the place that it happened, very rewarding...you get transported in time. Makes you really take stock of where you come from...

I have lots of stories to tell about Africa so far and we've only been here a week...we are off to Dar Es Salaam today (3 hour ferry ride) then we set off on the safari tour in the Serengetti.

We probably won't have a lot of access to internet for the next couple of weeks, but if we do, I'll drop another line or two!

LOVE
A&A

The Ash

It's been a long time since our last post...been busy dodging volcano ash

Since you last tuned in, we left Thailand for a night in Kuala Lumpur. There we stayed in a 5 star hotel for only $60/night! We have a secret website that shows us great deals on hotel and car rentals : ) Those who answer the trivia question at the end of this blog will receive the name of the website. I know, this blog is the coolest. Website referrals, yeah!

Moving along...we flew from KL to London (again, in business class seats because we rock when it comes to finding deals now. Comes with seasoned travelling skills ; ) We found business class seats one way to London for $700 for BOTH of us! 13 hour flight ladies and gentlemen)

Aaaaanyway, back to the ash. We arrived in London to stay with our fantastic friends Michelle and Chris and their two daughters Iris and Lana. We expected to stay for only a week as we had booked our trip to Africa on April 17. Well, as you can probably guess, all of that went sideways once Exleiepaiklsioriealksjakdjoha (spelling?) volcano errupted. So. Because our friends are fantastic they said, "stay, stay, get it sorted out!". So we did. We stayed in their lovely house in Barnes and spent the majority of our time rearranging flights, talking to our insurance company, rebooking Africa, rearranging rental car pickup and dropoffs, rejigging visits to friends and family in England and throw in a West End show starring Jonathon Pryce ("The Caretaker") which was AMAZING and a visit to the National Gallery. Oh, and a visit to Canada House in Trafalgar Square where we were interviewed on CBC, improptu, asking us about how the ash has affected our travels! Were we on? who knows...

So. Our Africa trip has been delayed and we now leave on May 4 to Zanzibar.

Our time in UK has been so lovely and English! We stayed at our friends' Roseanne and Gordon's house in Somerset which is a beautiful abode called Walnut Cottage. Their house is very close to a town called Street where Glastonbury Abbey is located. There, you can linger at the gravesite of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere. We also climbed Tor Glastonbury where you can see a 360 degree view of the green lush countryside while steadying yourself against winds that feel strong enought to blow you right off the edge. While staying in Somerset we attended the Christening of Roseanne and Gordon's children, Elizabeth and Nicolas. Alex took his Godfather vows in the old church and is now proud to call himself Godfatha. I stood as proxy Godmother for Reneee and I hope I did you proud!

We also stayed with my Aunty Kathryn and Uncle Nick in Andover for a couple of nights (separated by 2 weeks!) where conversation and food dominate the evening! Home away from home, the term "cozy wozy" originated there. We laugh and eat and talk and drink wine and tea throughout the evening feeling so happy and lucky to be with family away from family.

Bristol or "Brissle" as it is known in the south is Alex's opportunity eat pie, oh and, and to visit our friends Vicky and Simon and their two boys Orson and Dexter! There is a shop there called the Pie Minister. They have the best meat pies in the world there and Alex will forever be grateful to Vicky for showing him The Way. I must admit, after trying their pies I am also converted and shall pay homage yearly.

Bath is one of our favourite places in England and our friends Pete and Sian make it memorable every time we visit. Well, this is the second time we've been here together so they've started a trend that must carry on. Pete and Sian treated us to a spa day yesterday right next the Roman Baths. We sat in hot mineral pools on the roof of the spa looking out over the spiral columned buildings and butter coloured stone of ancient Bath. The sun set a brilliant orange while the moon rose all pink and bigger than I've ever seen it!


We are so lucky and grateful to have friends and family that show us the best England.

It's back to beautiful Barnes tonight where we will stay a night with Chris and Michelle before we take off for Sweden tomorrow. There, we visit my cousin Justin who I haven't seen in over 20 years! Lots to learn and catch up on...

Then we are back to London for a night and a day then we fly to Zanzibar!

We're booked for home on May 28! It's so close!

LOVE
A&A

TRIVIA QUESTION:

In the past, what was Cambodia more commonly known as?

Cambodia/Thailand

Here we are at The Sanctuary. A small Bay on the island of Koh Panghang in Thailand.

Yoga, meditation, beach, yummy healthy food, fresh juice - it's a health paradise! It's a nice change from the madness of Vietnam and the sadness of Cambodia.

Don't get me wrong though. It has been AMAZING to see those countries. With the privilege of travelling, however, comes the responsibility of confronting things that are so horrible, it shakes the dust off your soul and you can't help but become so very thankful about where you come from...and I mean VERY thankful. I appreciated our way of life before, but after visiting former Pol Pot country, I'll be checking in with myself a hell of lot more before moaning about ANYTHING. Of course, the feeling is amplified by my recent experiences. But it does bear to keep in mind the kind of attrocities people have had to deal with and continue to do so while I'm sending back my over-done steak.

The Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng School where Pol Pot murdered his own people for no reason other than to rule with absolute power was so very sad. I know you can imagine the horror because of all of the genocides that have occurred in our world. Seeing it in person takes you out of the box though. It becomes very real. It's not a history lesson from a book or scene from a movie. People are animals. We really are.

And then, again, here I am about to do a yoga class in the Buddah Hall with some very peaceful and kind people - the horror of Cambodia remains with me and I am putting it in a place within me while I carry on with living the best life I can - it's really the only thing we can do to honour the memory of those people who died so senselessly (even writing these words seems stupid to me because they don't come at all close to explaining it).

Next stop after Thailand is UK for a week then Africa for a 15 day safari.

This is one heck of an experience out here on the road...

Until next time
LOVE
A

Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh/Saigon!

Well hello everyone! Long time since I logged on! Ok here goes. Hanoi was Hannoying to say the least! Then we had a great motor scooter ride in Hue as Andrea told you. Well in Hoi An we went a little bit nuts and had clothe and shoes tailored made to fit us!! I mean I am a guy as you know but let me tell you, this is the only way to shop! Nothing off countless racks, you see it, think about it, describe it, bring in a photo or jsut talk about what you are looking for and the next day, BINGO you are wearing it! So very cool. Not like being a shopping drone in a mall! I had 2 suits, three shirts done at one store (Andrea had a suit, dress, pants, shirts etc and they made me a shirt for free!) At another shop we had coasts shirts and dress made, Andrea got a coat at the first, shop Mr. Xe's the second place was New World and fianlly Shoes shoes shoes at the Shoe shop! I feel like a character in Sex and the City, cause I had 4 pairs of shoes made! Custom made to fit my feet!! Ahhh! Andrea had four pairs as well and a purse made! Really it was nuts and not expensive!

WE managed to get in some sun at the little hotel pool, while I fought off a cold, brought on by hellish bus rides and too much AC in the rooms, lack of sleep and travelers tummy! Had some great meals and between fittings. Oh we had to run all over town to get enought Dong out of the ATms, that's right I said Dong! For some reason on Saturday at 5 pm all the ATM's stopped working, I had just taken out several million Dong so you can imagine the exchange rate! Then off to fittings and cooking class! REally though it was three days of being a kid in a candy store for clothes. Very cool!

Getting everything shipped home airmail! YIKES$$$! But well worth it! So keep an eye out Heald's! Then up super early to make the plane! Oh did I mention the hotels like to save on power bills and they turn off the power to the AC systems in the rooms sometime in the wee hours when they think we won't notice?! Well waking up in a pool of sweat at 4 am puts somepeople in a bad mood and they can't get back to sleep, hmm me perhaps?! Yes well got the front dest staff to put the power back on anyway and stayed up made the plane and landed in Ho Chi Minh/Saigon. Pretty cool so far. Had the best meal of the trip so far. Imagin a huge elegant restaurant with little kitchen stall all around the outside and you go around and look at what they are cooking, pick what you like and they bring it to you. Kid in the candy store again! You can use the menue too but the other is much more fun!

Well it is very late and not sure if we will be in Africa on the 4th of April or the 17th, still waiting to see, better get to bed!

Take care everyone and hopefully blog more soon. Alex and Andrea.

The Road to Hoi An

Well after the hell of Hanoi, we decided to join 'em and took scooters out to the streets in the town of Hue. The streets aren't as crowded here and they are wider, so all the beaping and weaving wasn't as, well, close. Bit of a thrill to be a part of the madness! We rode all around the city stopping for lunch and to see the Forbidden City. Lunch was at a monestary. Delicious! Vegetarian delights cooked by monks! Then we hopped back on our scooters (driven by locals, we rode on the back) and attacked the streets again, stopping at temples and little shops to see how incense is made as well as those iconic hats you see farmers wearing out in the rice fields.

It is 8am and we've just finished breakfast and are on our way to Hoi An today. It's a four hour drive. We'll arrive there around noonish to hit the shops early so if we decide to have some clothing made (Hoi An is THE place for tailormade clothing - earlier I had said it was Hanoi but I was mistaken) then we'll get measured and make fabric decisions and have the garmet ready for when we leave. We are there for 3 days. I'm not sure I'll have a wedding dress made there - but I would very much like to have some kind of dress made - we'll see what they have to offer.

Vietnam is an intriguing place. It's a country of so many contrasts you can't name them all. It's truly a place that you have to see to believe. The people of Hanoi weren't too friendly, but who would be when you breathe in soot all day and listen to constant high pitch horn honking. The people of Hue are much more laid back - isn't it interesting how impressions of people are made just by feeling the vibe of the city! The people I've talked to here, though, are much more open and calm...the people of the north are, allegedly, less friendly than those of the south. Perhaps it's because before unification, it was the northerners, the Viet Min, who fought hard against resistance to their communist regime. There are many propaganda billboards and images of Ho Chi Min in the north. The south is supposed to be a little easier...

Alex has had a bit of a rough time of it, he was sick (both ends!) and it lasted for about a week. I've managed to avoid it thus far...his back has been really sore too due to the non-existen mattress situation. All the hotels seem to only offer box springs to sleep on! So, we rollup quilts for cushion the blow so he doesn't creak and crack out of bed in the mornings.

Facebook is blocked here in Vietnam! I'm hoping to log on in Cambodia.

We have booked our trip to Africa - it starts in April. A fifteen day safari trip with three days in Zanzibar! Really looking forward to it...

We read a message on a hostel bulletin board in New Zealand that we are the lucky 10% of the world population that have the means to travel. We keep reminding ourselves of that whenever we hit a rough patch (I went a little "moody" in Hanoi, as you can probably imagine ; ). It helps to keep remembering that....

LOVE
A&A

Road to Vietnam

Greetings All

After a 13 hour drive from Laos to Ninh Binh, Vietnam, let's just say we are glad to be here ALIVE

We've all heard it before, about the traffic in Asia. Well, it's true folks. Like one of the people we are travelling with put it, "it's a once in a life time experience!" - ONCE in a lifetime.

As I write this the cars and trucks are screeching and honking their way down the streets, weaving around eachother like maniacs. Maybe the force is with them and they just know that when they pass on a blind corner on MOUNTAIN RIDGE that there just won't be a car coming the other way. Mountain ridge passing is nothing compared to the stunts they pull off in the city. Picture this: a donkey pulling a cart with a man and a load of live ducks, I mean a LOAD of piled up LIVE ducks! MILLIONS of scooter riders donning masks to cut the choking fumes of the road. Semi trucks. Cars. Children on bikes, often doubling up. A family of usually four on a motorcycle. Old women on bikes carrying a mind popping load of cans, I'm talking cans somehow attached all around the bike up to her nose, leaving enough room so she can, well, SEE! OK, got all of that pictured. Now, imagine all of the motorized vehicles going about 40 to 60 K an hour, no traffic lights and NEVER stopping. Every single moving thing weaving in and around in a kind of organized chaos. Add to it LOUD horn honking and the occassional HOLY fuck from Alex sitting next to me. While I sit bug eyed and white knuckled with a permanent Wallace (a la Grommit) expression on my face - then, you have an idea of what we endured yesterday for 13 hours.

Travelling is all about the experiences - sometimes they aren't great. Those are the ones that make you appreciate the hell out of home.

It's about 8:30 on Saturday morning and we are about to depart for Halong Bay via overnight boat....time to chill out and aquaint ourselves with this beautiful country. Personally, I'm looking forward to the food in Hanoi (supposed to be some of the best in the world) and seeing about having a dress made there (they are reknowned for inexpensive and lovely tailored clothing).

LOVE
A&A