The Six-Pack Together Again, Fernie, BC

It was back in 1989 when Mark and Jeff Neilson, Sacha Singh, Rob Irwin, Mike Henderson and I went on our first big ski trip out West to Panorama. Well, this was the Six-Pack Reunion tour to Fernie. Now of course, there were a few extras (like a 12-Pack) and some minis.
It was great to get the group together again and have all the significant others (although we missed Cathy) with us, along with the kids Abby Irwin, Rhianna and newborn Callum Singh.
And what a week for skiing. Big dumps of snow and a magical powder day. Of course, there were no friends on a powder day and we all just charged, skiing with whoever could keep up. A small group of us had a dream run, as we arrived at the top of the lift just as the ski patrol was dropping the rope to an entire bowl full of unbelievable, untouched snow (25cm+). The elbows were flying as the rope dropped and it was a gong show of speed and lack of control!! * Stub

Surrounded by Visa Applications, Kelowna BC

January and February was also a busy time for getting Canadian visa applications done. First priority was the extension of my current status as a Visitor which was due to expire in March: meaning, if I didn't get this done, I would have to leave!

Well, if I thought gathering documents and filling the ambiguous forms for the extension application was challenging, it was nothing compared to the Common-law Permanent Resident application! To prove Common-law for a normal couple is relatively easy - you have a house together, you have bills, bank accounts, credit cards, blah, blah, blah. I said 'normal'! Well, as you know... we're not! How do you prove Common-law when you've been traveling in 15 different countries for the good part of the last two years?! No houses, no rent, no mortgage, no bills, no statements. Just tons of stamps in our passports and 20,000 pictures to show for it! With so many photos and emails to sift through it was a tough task. If it hadn't been for the generosity (... and printers/scanners/photocopiers!) of friends Nicole and Don, I don't know what we would have done! To boot, medicals, fingerprints, and police checks needed to be done. Not to mention the forms themselves which for me -- not being normal -- were a nightmare! Here's an example:

"Print the information requested for each address you have had in the last 10 years. You must put down every address no matter how short a period of time you stayed there. Forms will be returned if there is any period of time which you have not shown an address."

Can you imagine compiling a list of your own addresses for the last 10 years - no matter how short a period of time you stayed there? Then imagine not having a fixed address, on the move every 2-3 days and 'staying' in as many countries and places as we have!! Well, an impossible task - we have no idea of the address of most places we stayed in! So all in all, compiling the application was right up there next to writing research grant applications and my PhD thesis! In fact, by the time I was finished, the whole thing looked like a thesis! It was very very painful. Imagine my sigh of relief when we FINALLY got it sent off in the post! Phheeeewww! * Mush

Scoping Out a Line at Big White, BC

Well, this is what we had been planning for since we'd come back from our travels... and finally we were here! Big White. Martin's old ski hill. We rented a condo from one of Martin's friends, Paul Cotton, and skied as much as we could. Martin went out pretty much most days. I went out a little less sometimes working on paper work for Visa applications or job searching. Sometimes I would be put off if it was socked-in or cold. At the end of January the weather was bright and sunny, but got bitterly cold going down to -19 degrees C, and that was at the bottom of the hill!

All in all, we spent 6 weeks on the hill, every so often coming down into Kelowna for supplies and to see people. We also had friends from Portland come up and visit - it was great to have visitors, and to finally have a place that felt like our own for the very first time in just so long. It was also a very social time for us as many friends from Kelowna came up to visit and ski. We became good friends with the upstairs neighbours, Trina and Jeff, as they were up usually 3 nights per weekend. The skiing was great, and all in all, the 2 months were quite cheap! * Mush

Martin Reunites with Some Old Friends

An old work buddy from Kelowna and later, Portland, was visiting and it was a good excuse to gather together a few old faces to reminisce on old Western Star-times.

Happy New Year!

From Vernon it was back to Kelowna, Martin's last hometown. Rather than having to hook everything up (phone, water, cable) at Martin's parents' place we took Don and Nicole up on their offer of their spare room downstairs in their beautiful mansion house. It was a fun time and we were made to feel very welcome. Their two girls, Karleigh (is 5), and Jocelyn (is 6), were a lot of fun and we loved spending time with them. (They really took to Michelle!)

On New Year's Eve Don and Nicole had a huge party which was a great success, especially after a few boozey shots after midnight! We all went to bed around 5 in the morning; even the girls managed to stay awake till then! Needless to say we were all pretty zonked the next day.

Finally, our 10 days were up and it was time to leave for Big White. We were sad to leave Don and Nicole, and the girls, and Mac the dog. The girls clung to our legs and didn't want to let us go and told us that we could "stay forever if we wanted to. They didn't mind". *Mush

With the Butter's, Vernon, BC

On our way back from Calgary, we almost made it back to Kelowna, but stopped in Vernon to visit the Butterworths. Dave is a good friend, but has been living in the US (most recently Savannah, GA), but was up for Christmas to see the family. So we had some fun times in the snow both in town and up at Silver Star Mountain. I even managed to get out on the slopes for a couple of runs and Angie was finished for the day and loaned me her pass. First time out in 2 years, and on a snowboard at that!! I 'ripped' it up with Dave and Little Butter (Darren).
Special thanks to Don and Joyce for being such welcoming and gracious hosts for putting us up for 2 nights and feeding us like Kings and Queens!! We miss the Butter's. *Stub

Christmas in Calgary, Canada

Friends Rob and Nat stayed on at Fairmont for Xmas, but very generously let us stay on at their house in Calgary for the rest of our trip. Christmas Eve we went snowshoeing/cross-country skiing with Martin's friends Jeff and Alana, and Stella and Steve, Jeff's parents. It was great to see them all after so long. We spent a quiet Christmas Day mostly watching my absolute, favourite movie - Elf (I always laugh my socks off at his first time up the escalator), and on the phone to our families in England, Toronto, and Mexico. Where would we be without Skype!

Later that evening, Martin's friend Mark Nielsen (also Jeff's brother) flew into town from Toronto, with Cathy and her son Nathan. We spent the evening goofing around at Jeff and Alana's. Mark decided that Martin's hair (being quite long for him) looked like Sonny Bono. Then, out came the burnt cork and a new moustache!! It all went from there! Double click the pic for some more arty-farty shots and the redneck Donkey look! * Mush

Christmas Holidays at Fairmont Hot Springs, BC, Canada

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The build up towards Christmas was great with a spontaneous trip to see Martin's friends in Calgary. We saw Rob and Natalie and their little girl Abby. Nat's family had rented a condo at Fairmont Hot Springs in the Rockies and we were made super welcome by Nat's Mum and Dad. We felt very lucky and it was a great few days chilling out, eating, drinking and doing jigsaw puzzles. We did do some snowshoeing and it was good to get out in the fresh mountain air. Here we are at the natural hot spring - a bit of a chilly walk down to it though.
Of course, it wasn't long before the boys were up to mischief. They found a logging road and using a strong branch stump and rope, they made a makeshift ski rope, and went car skiing! It was just like water skiing except instead of a wake, there was a road and ditches. They came back looking very pleased with themselves as they had managed to get some good speed up!* Mush

Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, BC, Canada

After Michelle returned from Portland, we spent another enjoyable night with Lisa. Michelle loved the time as she and LT went to get a Christmas tree and we spent the evening decorating - getting into the Christmas spirit. The next day, we hopped on a ferry and cruised over to Victoria on Vancouver Island to stay with our good friend Bernie!!
The weather in Victoria was again unseasonably cold and windy, but we came at a good time as Bernie had just finished his semester at UVic, working towards his MBA. That meant we had time to sightsee with him. He treated us to a few good meals and toured some of the rainforest greenery the Island is famous for. The salmon run had just finished but this meant that there were still many fish corpses in the stream - a little eerie!!! Also, the downtown was all dressed in Christmas lights and the Parliament building looked exceptionally impressive with lights outlining it all.
One highlight for us was a trip to the stunning CraigDarroch Castle. Built in the 1890's by Canada's richest man of his time (Robert Dunsmuir), the exterior was ornate and the interior was decorated in wood to great detail. It took some time to circulate as there was plenty to see and lots to read.
We also managed to take a trip up to Mill Bay to visit our friend from Cambodia - Ron - at his eclectic house in the country. We had to leave in a hurry as another major windstorm was expected and we didn't want to get stuck at the ferry. A long day landed us back in the Okanagan in Penticton after driving through whiteout, blizzard conditions on the Hope/Princeton Highway. *Stub

Back in Portland, Oregon, USA

A trip down to Portland was on the cards and we were very excited about seeing old friends and good old Portland again. However, what happened next was to be our worst border crossing of our trip so far. Being British, I had to go into the US customs office to get a visitor's permit. Martin had to join me inside, and while I'm filling out the forms, Martin got asked lots of questions. Since we have been away so long, and without a current job or fixed address in Canada, after 3 hours of waiting they came to the conclusion that he was wanting to resume residence. Suddenly, he was fingerprinted and promptly refused entry! Boom! Nothing could have been further from the truth, but what could we do?!!!

I ended up going to Portland on my own a few days later. It was a hectic week, catching up with friends, and then having friends help move all our stuff to John Tomlinson's basement for storage. I managed to sift through our stuff to bring back some of Martin's things - he is still living out of his backpack. All in all, it was a fast week, and it was great to see some good old faces. The city seemed to have developed quite a bit since we left. It was great to see old faithful Mt Hood and St Helen's still there. It was great to be back no matter how short the visit. * Mush

A Brief Stop in Vancouver

Four and a half hours of driving through the beautiful mountains landed us in Vancouver. This is supposed to be the mildest city in Canada but we were greeted with a surprise sight of a large blizzard, and one that left 6 inches or more of snow on the ground for at least a week. Very weird for Vancouver. The city was at a standstill for a couple of days at least!
We stayed with a high school friend of Martin's - Lisa (or LT). She has a great little apartment across from Kitsilano Beach, so it is an excellent location in a cool and funky neighbourhood. Well, LT had a little surprise for us - a crab and shrimp feast to celebrate missed birthdays, and boy was it good.
We toured the town a little, caught up with some friends we met traveling and enjoyed a few drinks (Paul/Tracy, Andy). Spent some good nights catching up with Kelowna friends Geri/Eric, Pam/Jeremy, also a couple of Brampton friends - Sharon (with boyfriend George) and Tina. We even had a fabulous roast dinner with Michelle's old university friend Nadia and her family. They had a surprise for us too as they pulled out a bottle of Veuve champagne to celebrate our engagement.
We did even manage to do some sightseeing and getting to know Vancouver a little more as we have talked about moving there. One of our stops was the Museum of Anthropology, at the University of BC on Point Grey. A very interesting museum showcasing some of British Columbia's native culture and artwork including totem poles, masks and other artifacts.
Very cool. *Stub and Mush

With friends, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

So it was time to leave family and friends behind. All in all we had spent 6-8 weeks in Toronto and although we were sad to leave Martin's sister and family, we were not sad to leave the flat, sprawling 'burbs! Kelowna, B.C., made for a refreshing change with its rolling hills and huge lakes! Mega thanks go to Martin's parents for lending us a car - it has been a godsend and definitely made getting around seeing people and doing our chores way more easier in the short period of time that we've had.

In the two weeks we have been here, we have seen Martin's Aunt and Uncle, and his grandparents who are now almost 90! (His parents winter in Mexico, remember). Since I last saw Martin's grandparents, they moved into assisted living - a move they are very reluctantly coming to terms with, but the best in terms of help being on hand for when Nanny falls down. It has been great too to see all of Martin's friends that are still here. We have enjoyed doing some hikes in the hills pictured here above Kelowna, and just hanging out. I'm certainly getting to hear lots of stories as Martin and his friends reminisce over years of mischief and adventures!

Our short term plans -- there aren't any long term plans yet! -- have been forever changing, but we've finally made plans to head to Vancouver and Vancouver island to see friends tomorrow, and then south into the States landing in Portland for the month of December. Then back up to Kelowna Boxing Day and in time to get our ski legs on for the New Year. * Mush

On Top of the World Again, Toronto, Canada

No, not Everest this time, but the CN Tower - the highest building in the World. We had to splurge a little as it is one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World! Around 4 PM, we took the speedy lift up to the first viewing platform, 342 m (1,122 ft) above the ground. Here, there is an outdoor viewing area, and a glass floor!! Even though you see everyone else standing on them, it is still a little frightening stepping out onto the glass. We managed to take the obligatory pics laying down on the glass with the ground far below. There is also a revolving restaurant on the next floor up, for some great dining views.

But this was not high enough! We had booked to go up to the SkyPod, which is the World's Highest Public Observation located at a dizzying 447 m (1,465 ft.)!! What a view, and we had a clear day to boot! Tiny ants below driving miniscule cars! You can easily see over all the skyscrapers in town, and in the picture you can see the shadow of the CN Tower on the right hand side. We managed to spend about 4.5 hours up here, enjoying the sunset and watching the city lights come on. Our usual picnic up tall structures this time consisted of some really great stinky bleu-brie cheese freshly bought from the Kensington Market. I'm surprised we didn't stink out the whole SkyPod as it is not a large space!!

Of course, the Tower is higher than this. At a height of 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), it is Canada’s National Tower, the World's Tallest Building, and an important telecommunications hub.

It's purpose: The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world. The construction boom in Toronto in the 1960's transformed the skyline characterised by relatively low buildings into one dotted with skyscrapers. These new buildings caused serious communication problems. With its microwave receptors at 338 m (1,109 ft.) and 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches) antenna, the CN Tower swiftly solved the communication problems with room to spare. As a result people living in the Toronto area now enjoy some of the clearest reception in North America. *Stub

Take Me to Niagara Falls, Canada

.... that's what I said to Martin ! Although Ontario has been home to Martin before, for me this was all new stuff, and in my mind, no trip to this part of the world would be complete without a visit to one of the most famous waterfalls in the world - Niagara. I have to say I was very excited about seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. Sadly, the commercialism surrounding it is a sorry sight to behold with poor planning and lack of thought for the actual nature of the attraction. I did not care too much for the numerous tacky tourist attractions of wax museums and casinos right at the falls. But inspite of the tacky stuff, I was not disappointed with the Falls themselves! They were breathtaking!

For those who have never been, the Niagara river (which is relatively young at 12,000 years) straddles the border between America and Canada. An island splits the river in two giving rise to waterfalls on both sides of the border. Officially it's made up of three falls - Bridal Veil Falls, American Falls (not surprisingly, on the American side!), and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. Although the American falls are 9ft taller at 176ft in height, Horseshoe is the most impressive being much wider. It is - yes, you've guessed it - horseshoe-shaped! About half a mile long (2600ft) at the rim, Horseshoe has an average volume of 600,000 gallons of water flowing over its crest ... per second. Crazy! I'm very glad we came to visit at this time of year even though it was pretty cold. Apparently, Niagara receives 12 million tourists a year, and thankfully there weren't too many today, apart from the usual Chinese tour bus groups that we are now so accustomed to after our travels in China. I was shocked and relieved to see there was not much spitting going on! - something we are not accustomed to!

If it hadn't been for Martin's friend, Mark, lending us his car we would never have been able to see Niagara or explore the local area. The drive along the river passing large wine estates to the charming town of Niagara-on-the-lake was quite picturesque. All in all it was a great day out - pity we didn't have time to sample some of the fantastic wines the region is famous for! * Mush

At Earl and Joy's Cottage, Ontario, Canada

You meet so many good people when you're on the road, that you just have to go and see them in their natural habitat when you get back. Our good travelling friend's Earl and Joy live in this part of the world too. They picked us up from the Neilson's cottage and took us over to their place on Four Mile Lake near Coboconk, still in Ontario.

It was a relaxing few days and it was great to see them. It rained quite a lot, but it was cool to hear the pitter-patter on the roof and feel cosy in their cottage. We got spoilt by Joy and her good food, we took the odd trip into town and played Euchre every evening. And while Joy got me hooked on crosswords and a game called SkipBo, Martin helped Earl on his computer. When the weather was nice we went for walks, played horseshoes in the garden, or took the 'Snooz-cruze' paddle boat out on the lake. Sometimes, it was nice just to sit on the swinging chair overlooking the glass-like water and enjoy the peace and quiet, only interrupted by the occassional squark of Canada Geese overhead. It was a nice few days of chilling out, and great to see Earl and Joy before they took off for Asia again. We were disappointed that we wouldn't be criss-crossing paths with them again on those same roads. * Mush

It's Snowing! Ontario, Canada

One morning at Mark's cottage I awoke to find Michelle missing from the bed. I eventually found her with a big grin on her face outside, dancing and whirling around in the huge snowflakes falling to the ground. We haven't seen snow fall since we left Portland. So I guess she's missed snow!

We don't have very much in the way of warm gear with us as we sent what we had to B.C. after we left Tibet, so the jacket that Michelle has on is Mark's and is about 10 sizes too big for her! * Stub

Neilson's Cottage, Cottage Country, Ontario, Canada

Mark and Cathy managed to fit some relax time into their busy schedule and took us up to the family cottage on Dickie Lake, just East of Bracebridge (which is about a 2 hour drive North of Toronto). As you can see, the weather was turning a bit, but what better place to be in a snow storm than huddled up warm and cosy by the fire in the cottage.

First night on arrival into Baysville, we had a good meal at the local dive - the Pav! Not much happening there this time of year though, so it was off to the cottage for some evening games and a little wine!

Mark took the role of chef for the weekend and cooked us up some delicious meals (I had no idea he was such a good cook!). After a hearty brunch, we went up to Algonquin Park to do a 4-hour hike along the Track and Tower Trail. Unfortunately, we missed the Fall colours in the trees, but it meant we could enjoy the colour on the ground as all the leaves had fallen and created a bed of yellowy-browns and rusty-reds, and see more through the trees! A good hike, with a beautiful lookout over some of the lakes at the top of the cliff. We didn't manage to see much wildlife though. It was back in the evening for some more tasty warm grub and relaxation enjoying the good company and some good laughs.*Stub

Canadian Thanksgiving

Well, we hit it good for Thanksgiving. Knowing our passion for food as you all do, think of three turkey dinners in a row!!! We loved it!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1. Starting on the Friday Oct 6th, we cruised up to Keswick,Ontario, to Colin and Shona's place. It was time to get together with the best friends from High School. We each brought our significant others and some kids, and a dish to add to the feast. It was great to spend the day and evening together because it is very seldom that we all get together in a group like this. The turkey was great too, succulent and juicy.

Thanksgiving Dinner #2. We borrowed a car from Mark and made our way up to Midhurst (near Barrie) also in Ontario, to visit Michelle's cousin Anna, her husband Andrew and kids Seb and Dom. Michelle's Auntie Alda and Uncle Umberto were visiting from Portugal too which made the visit even better. She hadn't seen them in about 10 years. We were also joined by their friends from when they lived up in Yellowknife. Once again, the turkey dinner was fabulous and the hospitality was great.

Thanksgiving Dinner #3. Back at my sister's place, we enjoyed some of my Mum's cooking. As usual, it was fantastic, although we all chipped in a bit. A beautiful Fall day was spent outside in the garden with the kids, a good meal and some fun games in the evening.
We were available for a turkey on the actual Thanksgiving Monday, but no offers came in. We did manage to have turkey soup for lunch though. I think the turkey hangover lasted the rest of the week, but it was great while it lasted. Roll on Christmas - we're ready for the next turkey! *Stub

Birthday With Family and With Friends

October 4th was my 36th birthday. I was lucky enough to have my entire immediate family in town to celebrate with. My Mum and Dad were visiting from Kelowna. Of course, my sister Lorraine, brother-in-law Marshall, nephew Spencer and little niece Jayden live in Brampton. We went out to lunch to an all-u-can-eat buffet with roasts, pasta, seafood, salads and desserts! My celebratory lunch was courtesy of my Dad, who had a big surprise sale on E-Bay of an old Indian money order which fetched about $1700 - sweeeet! He had no idea!! It was nice to spend the time with family, although we missed my nephew Spencer, who had to be at school!

In the afternoon, we met up with Sacha and headed down to the Beaconsfield Bar in Toronto. It was great to catch up with old friends Sacha, Mark, Greg, and Kimmy D. All good friends from my high school days at Brampton Centennial. There was also an additional guest - Leigh Wingfield - who I had not spoken with or seen in at least 13 years. Great to catch up. Also good to spend time with new friends - Mark's girlfriend Cathy and her 8 year old son Nathan who spent some time up at the bar by himself, chatting on a Blackberry, ordering Coronas. Kids grow up so fast these days! Plenty of beers of course and a few surprise shooters courtesy of Kimmy D. We managed to spend the night down at her place near High Park, and enjoy a morning with her before getting back to Brampton. Good times. *Stub

With Niece Jayden, Brampton, Canada

Well, I am back on home turf, but still 3000 miles from 'home'. On Sept 16th, I made my way to Toronto, or Brampton specifically (a suburb of Toronto). Time to visit my friends and family, and to finally meet my cute little niece, Jayden. She was already 14 months old by the time I met her. I also got to see my nephew, Spencer, who was approaching his 6th birthday already.

My sister and Marshall graciously let me stay on their couch for a few days between visits to my other friends. But with my parents and Michelle arriving just a day apart (Sept 26th and 27th), there was simply no room for us at the house so we are now camped out at my good friend Mark's apartment since he has somewhat moved in with his girlfriend. It is nice to have our own place for the first time in over 18 months. It is amazing how you miss having your own space and somewhere you can just chill out without someone bothering you, or you bothering them. Being without wheels we spent a lot of time catching up on our movie-watching thanks to our 8-movies-in-1 DVD specials that we bought in Burma for about 1$.

It was wonderful to see my parents again after so long. They decided to visit Brampton during our time here as they head to Mexico every winter and would have been gone by the time Michelle and I made it to Kelowna B.C. We did plenty of family things and even managed to celebrate Spencer's 6th and my 36th birthday with everybody while we were all together. *Stub

Farewell Dinner, England

So it was time to say goodbye to England. All in all the last few months have been great (after the intial shock of being back), but have flown by. It was great to see my family pictured here - left to right - my brother Richard with my niece Christina, my dad, my mum, sister and her husband (remember they got married in Italy over a year ago?), and nephew Dylan and my brother's wife. My family were exceptionally generous to us in so many ways and Martin and I could have not have transitioned back without their generosity and help. Thank yooou.

It was also brilliant to see lots of old faces of friends from all my previous 'lives' in England. And Martin's too. So many of them made such an effort to come and see us, or just put us up.. and just put up with us!! Thank you to everyone for just making the time - we loved seeing you all.

I stayed on a few days after Martin left, to go to a good friend's wedding. An excellent laugh with great people. Then it was time to say goodbye to my family (yes, my mum let me go!), and onto the next chapter... Oh, Canadiaaa. * Mush

I Amsterdam, Holland

In what seems to be a city wide promotion, this huge sign was just outside the famous Rijksmuseum. A beautiful building, famous for housing one or two million Rembrandts. Unfortunately, as with most of the museums, it was under renovation. We did manage to spend a few hours at the Van Gogh Museum, which we loved; it was an interesting exhibit with some of his best works on display (The Bedroom, Wheat field and crows, Sunflowers).

We loved the atmosphere of Amsterdam. It seemed very relaxed with tons of bikes around, just cruising along. It didn't feel like a big city, but along with all the canals and bridges, there were flower boxes everywhere. The beautiful canals were lined with narrow, wonky houses of all different shapes and sizes with fancy architecture and gables. The buildings have a distinct lean forwards towards the street with a pulley at the top of the gable deliberately designed to move and hoist furniture into the building. One day strolling the streets, it was pretty cool to watch a huge fridge being hoisted in through the window.

Of course, no trip to Amsterdam would be quite complete without seeing the infamous red light district. Being a native to Amsterdam, Stiffler had no desire to see it, but as we strolled towards the area we encountered it by accident. Actually, it's really quite a picturesque area being in the older part of town. It is also the 'coffee shop' district - where shops sell 'wacky backy' in a somewhat legal fashion! Not our cup of tea, or even 'coffee', but it had a cool vibrant atmosphere even though very popular with tourists. We strolled around the red light district later at about 9pm and it didn't feel as seedy as we expected. Of course, it's hard to miss the girls in each window and the Erotic museums along the road. We did get offered various stimulants by people selling on the streets and bridges though, but no different from other parts of the world, I suppose. * Mush

Reunion with Stiffler, Amsterdam, Holland

Since we had been apart for almost 2 months, it was time to see Stiffler again. We originally met her in Vietnam and travelled with her for about 2 months through Vietnam and China. The last time we saw her, she was reluctantly heading back to China after some fun times in Hong Kong with us and friends.

We flew over to Amsterdam from Birmingham and she picked us up at the airport. It was great to see her again, and as always, was weird to see travel friends in their 'home habitat'. We saw plenty of sights around Amsterdam, and enjoyed some evenings at various pubs around town. This old pub called Hoppe was actually where Stiffler's parents met, and frequented with her after she was born. I think she had her own table in the back corner to play at. Pretty cool to return to your roots so to speak.
We spent four quick days in Amsterdam before heading back to England but it's always great to catch up with old travel friends. *Stub

Keswick, The Lake District, England

We had wheels for the week thanks to Michelle's brother, Richard and sis-in-law Nicola, so we buzzed up to the Lake District, stopping in Liverpool for a night on the way up.
Michelle's friend from Portland, Vida, and her husband Jay live there on the Wirral with their cute little girl Bronwen. We spent the day walking around town before having a nice meal, some wine and a good rest.

The next morning, we did a whirl wind trip of the two impressive cathedrals in Liverpool. The Anglican Cathedral is absolutely massive with a surprisingly simple stone design inside, and the Catholic Cathedral which locals call Paddy's Wigwam from it's shape, looks like a bit of a disco inside too - lots of coloured lights and colourful stain glass windows. We then had a lovely drive through the Lake District, finishing up in Keswick. Our friends Claire and Ralf from Bangkok had recently moved back here. They were staying with Claire's Dad, Tony, who gratiously put us up in the spare room for a couple of days, even with all the construction going on. Keswick is a beautiful little town, one of Michelle's favourites, with lots of character - and great Cumberland Sausage!

The Lake District is all about walking, so that's what we did. A ramble through the farmers fields led us up to Castlerigg Stone Circle, with great views around the valleys. Passed many sheep and cows in the fields on our way up there. Would have been a surreal place up there in 'druid' days, but today, far too many tourists and kids running around. I guess we did get up here at the end of Summer holidays. Ralf joined us on a quick hike up Latrigg before dinner, which had stunning views over Derwent Water and Keswick, but was dwarfed by larger Skiddaw beside it. Had some amazing sun beams breaking through the clouds on our hike down. It was just nice to be outdoors and get some fresh air. Of course, we came back to the aforementioned Cumberland sausage that was literally 10 feet long.

Our time in the Lake District was great and loved seeing old friends. It's also Michelle's favourite place in England and she was excited to have the chance to show me this pretty part of the world. Our brief trip culminated with a visit to see Colin and Flo, friends Mush knows from Scotland, and then a stop to see her good friend from secondary school, Becky and her husband Karl and new baby Max. *Stub

Pub Crawl at Bury St. Edmunds, England

A spur of the moment visit to Bury St. Edmunds. Good ol' Sarah (on the right), who we traveled with for 3 months, lived there, and also my Mum's best friend Barbara along with her husband Philip and son Joseph (2nd from L). We found a cheap train ticket up there - only 5 quid, and Sarah agreed to drive us back to London the next day.
Joseph met us at the train station and we spent the afternoon with him, Barbs and Philip. As usual, Barbs loved feeding us, and we loved eating her great food - mmmmmm shepherds pie! After some puzzling moments (Michelle and Philip love to do puzzles), we headed off with Joseph to meet Sarah.
Of course, what better way to catch up with Sarah than to join her on a pub crawl of her home town, where she seems to be well known in all of the local establishments. A couple of other friends of hers joined us for the night and after plenty of pints, a nights sleep on the floor at her Mum's place, we were back in London ready for our MegaBus back to Birmingham. *Stub

6 Days in London

A necessary trip to London was in the cards for the month. I have many travel friends in London, and Michelle has a few of her own and some family too. So, the trip was not so much about being tourists, but visiting everybody. We did however manage to cruise the sights a little as everything is just so close. This picture is of the Millenium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the background.

My buddy Biscuit was nice enough to let us crash on his 'pallet' as he calls it - a well used futon in their living room. Nice base for us though as it was in the Camden Locks area - Chalk Farm, and easy for us to hop on the tube into the heart of London.

We managed to catch up with some friends from Tibet, Iain and Liz, who we toured the Courtauld Art Institute with, as it was free! A 'business' dinner of some great Thai food with Steve, an old friend of Michelle's that same day. A quick visit with Rachel, Pierre and Adrien near Kew Gardens, who had just driven over from Paris. A lovely dinner with cousin Isabel and Mark, with a surprise visit from Uncle Manuel and Aunt Rachel. Isabel and Mark gratiously let us stay the night at their new flat. A night on the piss with Biscuit, Bartlett and Cranky, who Martin traveled around New Zealand with in their van called 'Bill the Disco, Dingo Bus'.

We did do some sights walking around Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and a quick hour at the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone, and the Parthenon Marbles. We also managed to catch a show at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre - A Comedy of Errors!

And finally, we spent some time with Martin's Grandad, who had recently suffered a stroke. For 89 years old, he is remarkably resilient and shows no ill effects of the stroke. We wish him many more years of exploring London. *Mush and Stub

Bourton-on-the-Water, The Cotswolds, England

In Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, we met Lydia. She was a good laugh and we enjoyed a few drinks with her, and she showed us the institution of Mike's Burgers at about 3AM one night. What a great late night burger! One of our favourite burgers on the trip (yes, we did miss those things). Well, a few months later, we bumped into her in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After that we kept in touch and met up with her and her friend Jim (Painer) traveling throughout Vietnam for about 3 weeks together.

Lydia and Painer both live in Cheltenham, a short 30 minute drive from Bromsgrove. So, a trip to visit them in Cheltenham turned into a day trip to Bourton-on-the-Water in the heart of the Cotswolds. The town is very charming and quaint with lots of cute shops and oldey-worldey pubs and so was was very busy with tourists. Later, Jim joined us for dinner and it was great to see him. A nice day all round catching up with them again. * Mush

Packwood House, Solihull, England

Whilst in England, we've been spending a lot of time with Michelle's family, staying with her sister Jacqueline and brother-in-law Mark in Bromsgrove. Just around the corner is her Mum and Dad, and a few miles in the opposite direction is her brother Richard, his wife Nicola and her nephew and niece, Dylan and Christina. So, being this close, we see a lot of the family and have some good laughs and also loads of good food and tons of good wine!!!

We spent a nice day out at a 'National Trust' property just east of Birmingham, with Michelle's Mum and Dad. The 'National Trust of England' preserves old heritage properties all over the UK. Packwood House is originally a 16th century house much altered over the years, but still a really fine house with some great 16th century artifacts and furniture, and the gardens are famous for its 30 large and immaculately clipped yew trees which apparently take some maintenance. Pretty impressive. *Mush

Return to Blighty - Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, England

Well, it is with some sadness that we bid farewell to the Asia part of our journey. For us though, it was time to come back and we had been looking forward to it for a couple of months. There is only so long that you can live out of a little backpack, and keep moving all the time.
Michelle arrived back in England about 3 days before me, as she wanted to get back in time for her Mum's birthday. Her Mum asked if she wanted to go out for Sunday Roast lunch, which Michelle promptly declined. We have eaten out for 3 meals a day over the last 14 months - one thing we really missed was HOME COOKING. So, Michelle managed to tell me all about her amazing home cooked roast beef dinner while I was still eating rice and noodles in Bangkok. No worries though, I was soon back for fish'n'chips, curries and meat pies along with some tasty roasts too.
We did experience culture shock on returning!!!! Mainly due to the incredibly high prices of everything. We could live on £25 ($50) a day easily in Asia. That includes food, accomodation, transportation, drinks, entertainment, etc. Now, all that buys is a meal in the pub. Needless to say, we haven't been eating out much.
It's was really good to meet up with Michelle's family again, and they are as hospitable as ever. Staying again at her sister Jacqueline and brother-in-law Mark's lovely house in Bromsgrove. It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that we were meeting them in Lake Como, Italy for their wedding! *Stub

Tub Tim's on Koh Samet , Thailand

You all know we love our food, and of course always have a favourite restaurant, but how about this location??
When we arrived back in Bangkok from Myanmar, we really felt like we needed some beach time to finish off our trip. After some gift shopping at the massive Chatuchak market with friends Scott and Nina, we decided to visit another friend Paul in Jom Tien Beach, near Pattaya. Now Pattaya is the sex capital of the biggest sex industry country in SE Asia. A place we had absolutely no intention of going to on our trip, but wanted to visit Paul who was finishing off his diving instructors course there. He did take us on a whirlwind tour of the famous 'Walking Street', complete with pubs, go go bars, strip clubs, and toy bar (full of lady boys). After one night walking 'the street', it was time to get to a proper beach!!!
Local buses to the pier of Ranong, where we took a rough boat ride over to Koh Samet, the first island we visited in Asia 11 months ago. We knew where we wanted to go, and made our way to a beach front bungalow on Ao Phudsa, and quickly went to our favourite restaurant - Tub Tim - to get some BBQ squid and relax on the beach.
As you can imagine, our last few days were spent totally relaxing and eating. Quick swims to cool off, sitting on our sarongs on the beach watching the crabs dig holes and ball up the sand, eating some of the local seafood, and enjoying some drinks at sunset whilst relaxing on the comfortable triangle cushions at the bars.
Then it was back to Bangkok for some last minute shopping and sending some packages and just enjoying Bangkok for what it is. Michelle flew back to England a few days earlier than me, to make it for her Mum's birthday. I stayed around and enjoyed time with our local friends and even got treated to a dinner out with our travel agent of the last 11 months, Mr Thai and his brother. It was a really nice send off!! *Stub